 Diane H. Inskeep |
Flash lighting for on location group shots How can I have better light, on location at a local dance studio, for all of the group photos for the yearly recital at a cost that I can afford? I have a film 35mm and a digital Canon D30. I am hoping to take mostly digital this year, to keep my expenses down. I have a Canon 550 EX speedlight flash. I want to have better quality lighting this year, yet I do not know where to start. When people start talking lighting, they seem to be in the $1000 + range, and I only do one or two of these events per year. One of my thought was to buy the canon Speedlite Transmitter, for my camera, perhaps get another Speedlight flash, and have the 2 flashes be my only lights. This option means I only buy another $500 worth of toys. These flashes are suppose to be wireless, which would help in a small room full of children...... Any ideas would be appreciated. I am also looking for suggestions for books on the subject...
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Jeff S. Kennedy |
Another flash wouldn't hurt. But if you want to keep it cheap for now I would suggest looking into umbrellas to spread and soften the light. It will help to more evenly light your groups. You can get an umbrella for $15-20. You will also need a lightstand or another tripod to hold the light and a Photoflex MultiClamp to attach the flash, umbrella, and stand(tripod) together.
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Mark English |
Diane, I know you posted this request over a month ago, and you may infact already have done this job, but here's my two cents worth. Lighting large groups with a small on camera flash, even with two of these is going to be difficult. Diffusing, or otherwise enlarging the light source, will eat up so much power, that it just isn't feasible with small 4AA flashes for other than say, headshots. You're going to have to be satisfied with the harsh specular light of these units... certainly less than optimal, and likely less that will be expected out of you. I've done this type of work before using about 2400ws worth of lighting, including a variety of light modifiers. I was darn glad I had that much power. Why not rent say two 500-600ws monolights with stands, and couple of "50 or so" inch umbrellas? This should set you back maybe $US 60-75 per day. Using two lights as main + fill isn't all that difficult, particularly if you're comfortable with basic lighting concepts... just don't forget to rent a flash meter as well. To be safe, set the mainlight about 1 to 1 1/3 stops brighter that the fill, and don't (for starters atleast) let the mainlight get too far out from the fill-camera axis. Rent for a day and run some tests before the big day. Shooting colour negative film will get you past any minor exposure errors.
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Jeff S. Kennedy |
Not to be contentious with Mark but when I was first starting out all I used was a pair of Vivitar 283 flashes. I shot weddings and other groups with them mounted on lightstands and fired through translucent umbrellas. So I know it is very do-able. Granted, it is easier with studio strobes but you can get very nice results with small flash units.
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Diane H. Inskeep |
This job is in 3 weeks. After getting burned buying used lighting equipment on Ebay,returning it and loosing $400, I went ahead and bought the Canon Transmitter and another 550 flash, 2 light stands and brackets. I looked into renting, but it means going out of town to get equipment, and this job requires photographing different kids every day for about 8 days. so renting was expensive..... I went to the dance studio just yesterday, and played with my new toys. (I used the Canon D30, 2 550 speedlites on light stands) I now need to know stuff like, how high should the lights be? How far left and right of the camera? How far from the background should the kids be? What book do I need to read (in the next week) The room is rather small and has overhead florescent lighting. It seems like all of the photos I took yesterday could be useable. I could see the difference between where the shadows fell, but no one else noticed. If I use umbrellas, do the shadows go away? Any help appreciated...this learning while I go is way too slow! And if I can make sure the light is consistant, I get a better price at the lab..... Thanks again. Diane
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Mark English |
Ouch! Sorry to hear about your Ebay (mis)adventures. Your ST-E2 and two 550EXs will let you forget about exposure and light ratio issues... so relax. The only issue I can see is that you MUST go out and by up EVERY AA battery you can find... Lithiums if you can afford them. What are you using for a background? Typically I place the subject 6 to 8 feet in front of the background, sometimes more if I have the luxury of that much room. Light placement: Just don't get too extreme. Fill should be close to the camera/lens axis, and somewhat above. The main should at oh, 30-45 degrees above and to one side. Allowing it to get too far out with this probably isn't a good idea, but if you keep the lighting ratio low, any mistakes you make here won't be disastrous. The goal is to get the main far enough out and up to provide a pleasing modelling of the subjects features. You're too far out and up when the eye sockets drop into shadow, or when the shadow of bridge of the nose falls in to the shadow side eye. Both situations are professional no-nos with this type of shoot, the parents just want a good, well lit likeness of their kids. Will you be shooting this assignment entirely on digital? My experience is limited to film, and I'd be careful about those overhead flourescents. With film I'd just be sure to set a high enough synch speed so that the flourescents don't register... green tints don't enhance most faces. I'm not even sure if the concept of synch speed has any meaning in digital. If you've tested this and it doesn't seem like a problem, then there's obviously no need to worry. As for books, I wouldn't get yourself to tied up in second guessing what you have already tested. If it works, then don't sweat it too much. Vic Orenstein's "Creative Techniques for Photographing Children" comes to mind. Simple, no nonsense advice, clearly written.
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Jeff S. Kennedy |
You have the advantage of using digital so you can basically see if your light set up is a good one. It's like having a polaroid without the wait. Umbrellas will definitely help reduce shadows and make for more pleasing even lighting. For groups I wouldn't worry too much about fill light. Just trying to keep the light even is usually enough. But as I said, you have the advantage of digital preview so do some experimenting in the next few weeks and see what works.
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Diane H. Inskeep |
What is there to know about size of umbrellas? Should I have something with both white and black with the black removeable? I still have time to order umbrellas, and I think I have a friend with one large umbrella. The largest groups have about 14 teenagers. According to the instructions, one flash is not wide enough for the entire group, so I was planning on a flash on either side of the camera. If the lights overlap in the center, does that make it too much light in one area and not enough on the sides? and what about photos of the littlest kids. should the lights be lower? Or, if I use umbrellas, should they be higher than the people? I apprecitate the comments from everyone. Thanks again.
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