Tim, Walter has made some good suggestions and I'll add a few more. Understand that there are many ways to do this job...some more right than others and some more expensive than others...but many that will work just fine. Firstly, light reflects off a surface at the same angle it strikes so if you stand directly in front of the fireplace wall your flash will bounce back at you. However, if you stand at a bit of an angle to the wall the light will ricochet off and go away from your camera. You can ever so slightly angle your subjects while still having them placed neatly in front of the fireplace wall. Keep this information front and center in your mind. No matter what lighting setup you use, keep yourself at an angle to that wall. To test this in action, photograph yourself in a mirror or facing a window using flash and move yourself around in an arc from straight-on to 45 degrees. And actually, it isn't the brass of the fireplace that's your biggest problem, it's the polished wood that is going to give you some grief. The people will cover the fireplace with their bodies. Shoot on a tripod and open to something like 1/45 to allow the ambient light to make an impression in addition to your flash light...that will help add some mood to the images. The flash will freeze your subjects. The super easy solution to this shoot is to keep your flash on your camera, put a diffuser on it (like a Stofen), make darn certain you are at an angle to that wall and fire away. I think you'd be amazed at how nice your images will look doing this simiple setup. The cheapest way to solve your dilemna is to get an off-camera shoe cord which is a piece of equipment allowing your flash to be off your camera but still operate as though it were attached. Using this cord mount your flash (there are adapters to do this) on a light stand just to the right or left of yourself. (In my diagram I'd assume you hve the light to photographer left.) Use a Soften diffuser or some such diffuser on the flash head to spread the light out and make it softer. You might carry along a rather large white board or reflector panel to kick some light back in from the side opposite the flash just to act as fill. You could use an umbrella with your flash instead of a diffuser but this uses lots of battery power. Obviously renting a strobe is the more expensive, more professional way to go but it really isn't necessary. The one thing studio lights have going for them is that they plug in and you don't have to worry about keeping your batteries charged and fresh; a concern if you are shooting lots and lots of kids. I'm not sure, given your lack of experience with studio lighting, that this is the best time for you to begin using them. But if you go that route, it's pretty fool-proof if you use an umbrella near camera position and up high. Umbrellas give good even, broad light that is very flattering. Don't forget to rent a flash meter as well. I've drawn a photo of the set-up and the angle I'm speaking of and put it on my website. This should help you visualize what I mean when I say to put yourself and your subjects at an angle to that wall. http://www.whinydogpress.com/flashdiagram.html This diagram will serve you no matter what lighting you use...on camera, flash on stand or studio lights. Keep your subjects away from the wall to avoid their shadow falling on it. Keep yourself and the lights at an angle and you'll be fine. No matter what lighting set-up you end up going with I would mark the floor with tape where you want your subjects and where you want yourself. In a best case scenario you'll have your camera on a tripod and never move it. If you think you'll have to move it then mark the leg spots with tape so you can reposition it correctly. How close do you live to Kansas City? You'd be more than welcome to borrow my studio lights and I've even throw in a lesson! If you have questions don't hesitate to ask, Lea ----- Original Message ----- From: "Walter Holt" <locnleave@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: "List for Photo/Imaging Educators - Professionals - Students" <photoforum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, November 19, 2004 8:56 PM Subject: Re: Help With Banquet Pictures > Tim, > Whatever flash you end up using you have got to get it off the camera. > The fireplace background is acting like a mirror, and your focal lenght > is to short (wide). > It is hard to second guess a shooting set-up without being there and > knowing the size of the room, etc. but here goes. > > Back up if you can and use about 50mm as your focal length for full > length figures. You can also zoom in from the same position and made > waist up shots of couples. > > I don't think you can use a standard two light set-up (key and fill) > with that reflective wall and fireplace background. Your fill light > would bounce right back at you almost like flash on camera. Have you > considered renting a backdrop, or is that not in the budget? > > However, renting a big strobe and using an umbrella is a good idea. > Have the big strobe as your main light and have it high and to the > right or left of your camera. Rent the biggest umbrella you can and a > tall sturdy light stand. A weight on the stand would be a good idea so > it doesn't tip over. Along the same vein, you may want to tape down > your electric cords to prevent tripping if the other waiting coluples > start to horse around as they watch you shoot their friends. However, > it would be nicer if you could only allow the subjects you are shooting > in the room or shooting area with you. > > You and the rental strobe should be the same distance from your > subject. The big strobe should be about 9 or 10 feet high. > You can probably get away with using just this one main umbrella light > if it is not placed too far to your right or left. If you can rig up > one of your small strobes to be up by the ceiling and over the couples > heads and use it as a hair light or back light it will give your shots > more snap. Just be sure the hair light does not shine into your lens. > Use a scrim or small card taped to the hair light so your lens cannot > see it. The back light should just kiss the heads and shoulders of > your couples. It should be much less evident in the portrait than your > main light. If you end up shooting a bald headed staff person then > unplug the hair light. If possible have your hair light powered by AC > and tripped by a photo cell. Make sure the big main light and the hair > light recycle at the same rate. > > Don't allow your couples to stand too close to the background. The > couples should be standing about 6 feet away from the fireplace > background, and you and your big rental strobe should be about 10 feet > from the couples. Mark the floor with a small piece of dark tape and > have the couples stand on it for every shot. Your exposures will then > be uniform for each couple. > Set up ahead of the time when your plan to shoot and check your > exposures and balance out your main light with the hair light using > real people in the setting. > > If the back light is too hard to set up then just go with the big > rental strobe and umbrella as your only light. > > An alternate lighting set up would be to bounce the single big rental > strobe off the ceiling if the ceiling is white or cream. You still > need the big strobe to be fairly high on a sturdy light stand but with > just its reflector and no umbrella. > > Others may have better suggestions as I am not a portrait person. > Good luck, > Walter > > > ======================================================================== > ============================= > On Friday, November 19, 2004, at 03:17 PM, Timothy A. Holmes (W8TAH) > wrote: > > > Good Afternoon: > > > > Several weeks ago, I posted a message asking for help with an upcoming > > shoot that I will be doing for the school I teach at. I will be > > taking the Homecomming banquet portraits for the students, and then > > taking orders and fulfiling them. Many of you offered great > > suggestions about generalized techniques and other items I asked > > about. I recently had a chance to visit the facility where we will be > > having the banquet, and I shot some pictures of the area where I will > > be taking the portraits. The pictures are posted at > > http://www.w8tah.us/Photography/banq/index.html . > > The gear that I have available to me is as follows > > > > Nikon D70 > > Sigma 70-300 f4 - 5.6 Zoom > > Sigma 28 - 70 f2.8 - 4 zoom > > Promaster Flash - FTD 5200 > > Sunpack Auto 555 thyristor flash > > > > I am mostly concerned at this moment with proper lighting, I can > > probably rent a 1000 watt/second 2 light system from my local pro > > camera store - 2 strobes, umbrellas (silver and white) stands slaves > > etc. But I have never used this type of a system, and I am not > > familiar with using studio strobes, nor really with doing portraiture, > > as I am mostly a sports and landscape photographer. I also need > > suggestions on posing, most of the students will be friendly couples, > > with a few serious dating relationships in the mix. > > > > Any suggestions that you can offer, or advice, would be greatly > > appreciated. > > > > Thank you for all your time and help > > > > Tim > > > > Timothy A. Holmes > > Fine Light Photography > > >
