Lighting large groups, help needed!

[adebrophy]

Great subject - I learned a lot from the advice on bigger groups here.

On individual headshots, I'd recommend a very fast option - find a large window and use that as one light and set up a strobe and umbrella on the opposite side. The results can be gorgeous - nice diffuse light all round - and you're working with one light, one stand, one modifier and a trigger on camera. Makes it very fast to dash between rooms if you have to!!

 

[emag]

Good to see some folks stepping in to help the OP.....kinda what these forums should be about. Some people were born professional, experienced photographers.....we mere mortals have to learn. Have fun and let us know how it works out, Zv!

 

[Zv]

Good to see some folks stepping in to help the OP.....kinda what these forums should be about. Some people were born professional, experienced photographers.....we mere mortals have to learn. Have fun and let us know how it works out, Zv!

Isn't until the 30th. In the meantime I'll be practicing in my living room and any other place I can! I'll keep you guys up to date.

Adebrophy - hmmm finding a room with a window in a Japanese office might be difficult!

 

[RAKAMRAK]

Adebrophy - hmmm finding a room with a window in a Japanese office might be difficult!

(This might not give you "professional" arty portraits, but will give properly exposed headshots; however it is so stupid lighting that you may not even think it is worth it)

Ok, can you find an inside corner of two white walls? Then stand kind of at the vortex of the two white walls such that the two walls are behind you (imagine standing in the middle of "V") Ask your subject to stand at the open end of that "V", mount the speedlight on your camera but facing backwards towards the corner and fire. The results always pleases me for simple headshots.

Another good headshot lighting is available in hallways (not too wide and with white walls). Put the speedlight off camera facing one of the walls (right or left) Now depending on where you make your subject stand you can get differential lighting on both sides of the face. You may also use two speedlights hitting both the walls and get more even (or by chaning power of the flashes differential) lighting on both sides of the flash. For the headshots I will always go for bounced light (assuming that you do not have softbox or any such contraption). And if possible get some large white chart paper (may be called art paper or cartridge paper in your country). You can probably pin or tape them on any wall or glass window or partition or even white board and use them as reflector for any of the above lighting set ups.

Also pay attention to how you are asking your subjects to pose for the headshots. Do not let them stand as if you are taking passport photos. Make them stand side ways facing you. They may rest their hands on something, brace themselves tightly or looses.... different poses with similar lighting will also give you different results.

 

[agierke]

lighting is simple, 2 45" umbrellas to left and right. get them positioned above the subjects heads so shadows fall behind them. speedlights or strobes doesnt matter so long as you understand your limitations on power output and how that will affect your optimal exposure settings. dont overthink this...you dont have the time to mess about.

the real problem will be 1. finding space to accommodate a group of 30 2. organizing that group of 30 so they aren't a mess piled on top of each other and (steps or chairs will come in handy) 3. maintaining enough depth of feild (this will greatly depend on the maximum power output your lights are capable of).

i would bring a step ladder if i were you.

 

[Zv]

My YN-560IIIs arrived today!

Just had a play about with them there - these things are frikkin awesome! Especially considering the price. Built in wireless trigger work real nice and the speedlite makes a recycling whine (can be switched off) to let you know it's ready. Pretty cool!

 

[pwp]

Flashes for this type of group photo, no scouting, multiple locations, limited set-up time, no assitants = recipe for disaster

Brilliant! Thank you so much for this! I feel more confident about bouncing as per my original plan.

If you haven't done a location check how can you be sure you can bounce your Speedlights? I've gone into locations and been hit with 40 foot ceilings, or dark brown wood ceilings or had to contend with incredibly bright light from windows that speedlights couldn't possibly balance against. Assume nothing about your location.

Personally I just wouldn't dream of approaching an indoor group photo of 30 people equipped with speedlights. You need good old fashioned V8 universe horsepower. That means mains powered monos, be they Einsteins, Alien Bees, Profoto or whatever. In the absence of a location check, I'd go to this job with six Einsteins and a selection of modifiers. But if you are going for it with speedlights, then good luck. I hope the physical environment at your venue works in your favor. If you're doing lots of headshots as well with your speedlights, be aware that you'll flatten the batteries in short order. Take plenty of spares, external battery packs if possible.

A tip about positioning people, if you can't achieve even lighting, put the palest skinned people where there is the least light and the darkest skinned people in the lighting hotspots.

Lotsa luck!

-PW

 

[Zv]

PWP - thanks, good tip about the skin tones. The ceiling is relatively low and walls are white according to the client. I saw some pics of inside the office. Looks like any other office. No wood paneling!

 

[digital paradise]

Here is something else you may find helpful.

Digital Photography 1 on 1: Episode 59: Inverse Square Law: Adorama Photography TV

 

[adebrophy]

Adebrophy - hmmm finding a room with a window in a Japanese office might be difficult!

Ah - good point! Two umbrellas two flashes is the only way. Or three if you want to light the background or create a nice rim light. But the point of using window/ambient is that doing lots of headshots when you need to move around an office a lot and don't get the luxury of setting up with lots of time means that - as you suggested - simpler can be best. It also helps subjects relax more.

One good tip from Strobist.com was using coloured gels to warm up your flash much more than the ambient. Colour correcting afterwards in post makes the non lit sections cooler than the subject. Its a good way of making a dull office look good without having to light the room as well. Another example of more with less that's faster.

By the way, I should add that I'm still quite new to doing paid jobs so unlike some of the others here - who are offering excellent and very valid advice on much more sophisticated lighting set ups - I am sticking to simpler set ups to make things faster and to let me focus on the subject and the shot and not the lighting.

Having said that, as I've grown beyond those simple techniques, I still find that for the most part doing photos of people in at work means speed is more often more important. Execs too busy to stick to time slots, impromptu set ups in meeting rooms, subjects not willing to all come to one location on site... Often keeping mobile and simple is better for the client too, which is another reason a bag of flashguns isn't neccessarily a bad option. If you can stay on top of the batteries!

 

[adebrophy]

Here is something else you may find helpful.

Digital Photography 1 on 1: Episode 59: Inverse Square Law: Adorama Photography TV

Great vid - thanks for sharing!

 

[Nishi Drew]

Turns out to be an informative thread, nice advice guys!
And Zv, might I ask where in Japan you're at? I'm in the country as well and do the rare part time shoot for a wedding and portrait. Just curious, and I'm around Kobe/Osaka

 

[Zv]

Turns out to be an informative thread, nice advice guys!
And Zv, might I ask where in Japan you're at? I'm in the country as well and do the rare part time shoot for a wedding and portrait. Just curious, and I'm around Kobe/Osaka

Cool! I'm around the Nagoya area. I've been to Osaka a few times it's a great place to shoot, loved it!

We're taking a beating from this tropical storm / typhoon this morning!

 

[wickidwombat]

Hey guys I would like some advice on a job I'm doing at the end of the month. It's going to be a series of group shots of employees for a company. It's a busy schedule over 2 days and there will be two shots with 30 people. I have pretty much full creative control and the possibility of doing the shots outside the front entrance. They also want about 30 headshots / ID type shots. The images will them be used in a magazine.

I was wondering how you guys would approach this purely from a lighting perspective. Lenses and camera choice is already sorted, no shortages there! However in terms of lighting equipment I only have 2 shoot through umbrellas and 5 speedlites. (1 430exII, 2 YN-560II and just ordered 2 YN-560III)

I was thinking to try bouncing the speedlite off a wall or ceiling but then I keep coming up with more complex set ups with backlighting and all sorts. I think I'm over thinking this especially since the schedule is tight.

There will be about 30 mins max for set up and execution. Then I get driven to a different location - about 4 in total. Since it's multiple locations (all offices) i can't really scout them out and research so am going in blind.

What is your tried and true lighting set up for groups of 8 and groups of 30. Plus what works best for employee head shots?

Any help or advice would be great!

Thanks!

I've done this a few times
I usually use 2 or 3 speed lights and shoot through umbrellas spread out along the front to provide a wide even spray of light everywhere depends on the group size. for 30 i'd go with 3 speed lights.

or if its windy i've turned the back of an suv into a giant softbox using a 5 in 1 reflector scrim stuck in the back with a few speedlights inside

 

[Zv]

Thanks Wickedwombat I'll aim for three speedlites using umbrellas. Are you using three separate umbrellas on lightstands? Two on one side and one on the other? If there's wind I might see if I can find a couple of people to assist as VALs.

How would you pose thirty people in front of that entrance? (see pic on page 1) I was thinking of rows of 8 or 9 in a sort of diamond config taken from above on a ladder.

Thanks for the advice everyone. My friend is going to try and sort out a pre meeting where I can do more scouting. I have a much clearer idea already though. I've been bouncing speedlites about my living room to get a feel for power levels and what not. I should have more than enough light with white walls and ceiling for groups of eight and individual shots. I can get f/4 at ISO 100 for a subject 4m away at full power through a shoot through brolly. That gives me a nice baseline to help with my calculations and set up.

 

[Nishi Drew]

Turns out to be an informative thread, nice advice guys!
And Zv, might I ask where in Japan you're at? I'm in the country as well and do the rare part time shoot for a wedding and portrait. Just curious, and I'm around Kobe/Osaka

Cool! I'm around the Nagoya area. I've been to Osaka a few times it's a great place to shoot, loved it!

We're taking a beating from this tropical storm / typhoon this morning!

Ah, not too far from here, though I've only been through Nagoya on the way to Tokyo and back....
Yeah the typhoon was strong, it degraded into a tropical storm right before landing I think, and this area got around 500mm of rain but not as hard hit as up your way