I have a shoot saturday from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. And there's going to be 16 people there,half of which will be children,and also one babie. There will be a lot of boys and men there and i have never shot either. I have only done one on one and even then i had all day to do it. I really need some sort of idea on how to do this.

Ummm... What is the shot for?  How many shots are you trying to get (group, groups, individuals, couples, families)?  Did you already agree to this timeline?

I hope this is a not a paid family portrait!

The basics:  Talk with your client/subjects about clothing.  Colors and clothing need to be coordinated for a successful portrait.

Work in tiers.  Each subject should be posed in the group such that each individual portrait stands on its own.  Work lines/triangles in tiers.  If you're not familiar with group portraiture---I'd suggest a quick trip down to the bookstore for reference materials.  Look for resource materials from JD Wacker and Bill Hurter.

Large studio or location.  Use flatter lighting with a large source to avoid shadows.  Break the group down into couples and individuals and families for more shots---and additional print sales.  Lotsa details you need to work out before Saturday!  Good luck!

ken

Well its mainly going to be outside. I did not have a choice on the time. And i will not be able to talk to them again untill i arive there saturday morning. Its a huge family but the woman that hired me wanted something different and "fun".

I'v done a lot of shoots before.But alas only one person at a time (always female) and it was completly on my terms,not theres.Plus i have never done it on such a constricted time,much less with people that i have never seen in person.

There have been some good suggestions posted that I think are well worth thinking about... try a few of the whole group and then spend most of the time with smaller more intimate groups.. fathers/sons mothers/daughters, grandparents/grandkids etc.  I would definately try getting some intimate shots of father w/ baby and grandparents w/ baby.. showing the generations.  Good luck on your shoot

Thank y'all for all the great suggestions! I'll definitly incorparate your adive into what i had planned.

welcome.. anytime .. have a great shoot...and if all else fails .. smile and make it work :-)

If I were you, I'd show up at least an hour...maybe two...early and make sure that everyone is there and ready to shoot by 10.  You'll need the whole two hours to get good results.

16 is a large number for a group portrait, and outdoors you'll probably have lots of fun trying to find a place, so the other thing you should do with your two pre-shoot hours is location scout.

Natural light will probably work best.  You'll have too hard of a time balancing a multi strobe setup for such a large group, and an on camera strobe or flash will not have enough range for such a large group.

Your best light will be early.

The suggested extra shots are great.

This is a really really really short amount of time to do this, so you may want to bring an assistant/second shooter who can do competent portraits of the people you're not working with at any given time and who can act as a second set of eyes during the big group shots.

Babies and children lose attention span FAST!!!! shoot them first thing after the group.  Any of the breakdowns that you want to do involving the children or babies, shoot immediately following the group shot.  Caveat: Be flexible.  If a baby or child is crying the photo will look bad.  Just move on and come back to it later.

If you know the makeup of the group already (the names of the people, who they go with, what relationships they are), write yourself out a list of breakdown ideas with names and check them off as you go.

Most of all, keep your cool, have fun, and be confident...don't let them see you sweat and you won't need to.  Everything works out fine in the end, just have fun and roll with the punches.

If this is a paid shoot hire a secondary photographer or personal assistant, You can have that person shoot the easy shots while you get the more detailed photos. Your assistant can set up the next scene while you shoot and make things run smoother.

May I suggest that for large groups that you use a whistle just before the shot is taken. It attracts attention direct to the photographer, so be ready when everyone looks in your direction.
The largest group shot I ever did was after a church parade of the HLI (Highland Light Infantry) it consisted of 550 persons. Although I did have the services of a rather forceful Colour Sergeant to attract their attention.