Why are my group pictures grainy?

Question

I have a Canon Rebel camera. I can take excellent pictures of couples or individuals, but when I take group pictures, the faces are usually grainy. What do I need to do different when I take a group picture? Thanks

Answer 1

Group photos are more difficult than most people realize mainly on 2 points:
1) Multiple focal planes.
2) Not enough light.

Multiple Focal Planes:
When photographing a single person or a couple, most likely, your camera is dealing with a single focal plane...imagine both faces are on a same imaginary sheet of glass. In this case, the camera knows exactly where to focus and where to grab its meter reading. The camera's film plane is aligned parallel to the imaginary focal plane...ideal.
But for group photography, things get complicated. Unless the faces of all the people are situated on that same imaginary sheet of glass (e.g. lined up in a straight row and all facing the camera at the same distance), the camera is now dealing with multiple focal planes...or a single focal plane that is out of alignment with your film plane. Let say you have two rows of people...a typical scenario where tall people are placed in a row behind the short people...in this case, you have a focal plane that is leaning away from you, not parallel to your film plane. If you are shooting straight-on, the camera is going to have to guess. Most likely, it will grab its reading off the most centered person, perhaps in the front row. Assuming you are on auto metering, its meter and flash settings will be optimized for that center front row person...but the back row will receive less light (causing grain), and will probably be less in focus especially if you have chosen a large (portrait setting) aperture. There are two solutions for this scenario:
1) Tell the back row to lean their faces forward, and the front row to lean their faces back...this, in a sense, is cramming them onto a single plane of focus.
2) Assuming the 'tall people in back, shorter in front' setup, get up on a chair and tilt the camera down to them...in this case, you are matching the camera's film plane to match the existing focal plane (which is slanted away from you if you are shooting straight-on).
In both solutions above, light from your flash should reach each subject evenly. If a third row is introduced, you can still practice these solutions, but you get more limited results.

Lighting:
The light from a built-in flash (even from an SLR) is usually too weak for use in any portrait situation (single person or group)...not enough light will cause your overall picture to have grain. Try to find enough natural light for each of the subject's faces...preferably indirect and difused light so that you do not get shadows or squinting eyes. Be sure no one's head is casting a shadow on someone else's face. Also, you might want to buy/borrow a speedlight to mount on your camera. I hate direct light from a flash because it is so harsh (and tends to flatten a face), but in group situations, you have less choices. If you can, fire the speedlite's "hotspot" just over the heads of your subjects...this will give them a nice softer light. The hotspot is the center portion of the flash pulse. Or, one of my favorites, it to try a bounce if a ceiling is available...the downside of the bounce is that you get neckshadows, so the solution for that is a card to divert some direct light as fill. I highly recommend the Joe Demb Flip-it for this purpose (link below).

ALSO, there could be more fundamental problems going on, such as backlight (a source of light or a bright area behind your subjects...like an open bright window). This can seriously compromise your range and cause your subjects to become grainy. Move the bright area out of your background, or draw the curtains closed.

Hope this helps

Answer 2

Is your Canon Rebel a film or digital slr? Assuming it's a film camera, graininess usually shows up when using a really fast film. I would recommend using a 400 speed film then set the lens to 28 or 35mm, then set it to the portrait mode, and don't forget to press the shutter down halfway to get a FOCUS LOCK. Assuming the light is green or not blinking, then press it all the way down. The wide angle is real good for group shots, but remember at 28mm it will push things back while bringing thing closer more up front. If you are doing a shot of just 1-2 people, I'd recommend doing it in vertical. Remember to compose your shots thinking of how you're doing it. Try varous angles to see how it affects the composition. By the way, do you have a decent tripod? Walmart has a decent one for $20-$30 with decent height. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Are you using a different lens to shoot the group shots? If so maybe your group shots are "soft", not grainy. I had this same problem a few years back. Come to find out, my wide angel lens was a touch soft. You didn't really notice it until you started enlarging the pictures and then they fell apart. I used it on landscapes and couldn't really tell. You could really notice it on the people, they were bad. I had to upgrade the lens.

Answer 4

Because you take them in a corn field ? Blake

Answer 5

SOMETIMES, WHEN SAVING PICTURES TO YOUR DESKTOP IN .GIF FORMAT CAN DISTORT THR IMAGE AND MAKE IT LOOK GRAINY.

TRY SAVING IMAGES IG .JPEG FORMAT