Help with prom photos...

Tim Kamppinen

The junior class at the school I where I teach is hiring me to take their prom photos. Basically I need to take shots of all the couples together and maybe some group shots as well. I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to do yet but I have two SB-28's, a 600, and a 900. I'm going to try to keep it "safe" with a large margin for error as far as how the couples/groups are posed so that everything goes smoothly and quickly. I have a 40x28 inch softbox that I was thinking about putting two lights into with another off the ceiling for general fill, but I'm not sure if that will provide even enough coverage. The other thought I had was that maybe stacking two shoot throughs right on top of each other would give a nice huge wall of light that would be forgiving of shifts in position and number of people, etc and also would provide even illumination for the full body shots. I'd still probably use ceiling bounce for fill in this case. I'll definitely experiment with some stand-ins before the actual shoot so I'm not so worried about that...

The thing that I'm having a hard time with is coming up with a good background. I haven't done a lot of full length shots and the ones I have done were mostly outdoors. I have a background stand that I can hang whatever background I use from... I could do white seamless, but it would tie up two of my flashes just for the background and IMO it's kind of a boring look for this type of thing. I don't have any muslins and I'm not sure if it would look right anyway. I was thinking about getting some nice looking curtains or draping some colored fabric for the background but I've never done this and I'm not sure exactly how to make it look good... My biggest concern is not having an awkward transition between the vertical background and the floor. I was thinking with draped fabric that could blend together rather well. I asked the class president the other day about the theme and they said it was "Tropical"... which to me sounds like I'm better off just forgetting about it and doing my own thing. A background of light, airy pastels with formal wear-ed subjects in front of it seems like it would clash pretty terribly...

Anyone have some advice that you'd like to share? About lighting couples or about good options for full length backgrounds? I'd really appreciate it.

Art Scott

I would if possible rent 3 lights....strobes and light stands and a second softbox........ 2 lights front so you can turn and twist the couples either way and still are covered with main lights.....3 light background.......

As for background.....here where I live it seems to be normal to use a black background and then decorate with
stuff that resembles or actually comes from the prom committee......
A couple of columns out front or an archway to hold the prom couples prisoner for the shots....i like the arch ways better than columns....just better containment.

Now if your school has a theater dept...well then use a couple of Fresnel lights inside the softboxes or use diffusion silk to broaden the light off the Fresnel.....the theater dept should have a couplr of lighting trees (light stand just for Fresnels and pars and ellipsoidal light to hang from) that you could use also......they may even have a black background for you to use.........

If you are set on suing speedlights then I suggest using them with the 600 and 900 as main lights and the others aback lights and hair lights.......but I believe you will have to have iso cranked way up.......it you had something along the lines of sunpak 622's then I would feel more confident for you to be using just speedlights....

When is this prom??

divamum

Where's the prom happening? If in a hotel or somewhere relatively aesthetic, can you find somewhere there attractive enough to act as background? Would set it in time and place which might be neat for them in future years as a memory.

Just brainstorming....

Tim Kamppinen

The prom is next weekend. Honestly renting more lights isn't an option, I just need to work with what i have. I don't really think it will be a problem. FYI, I'm pretty sure the 28's are the most powerful of the bunch by a couple of feet according to the GN, but practically they're about the same as the 900. The 600 is much weaker, like a stop or two (I don't have exact figures). I'm planning on keeping the lights close and using them at 1/2 power won't be a problem as there are not that many couples in actuality (I should have mentioned that it's a very small school... I don't know exactly but I would anticipate no more than 30 couples at the high end of things). At up to 1/2 power at close range and f-5.6 I think I should be pretty good based on past experience. I can always bump up to 400 ISO with little worry on my D90.

I thought about a double key setup with two umbrellas but my concern is having the light look flat and boring... however that may be a compromise I need to make. I guess I'll find out more when I do my test shots.

EDIT: Unfortunately, the prom is happening in the very un-aesthetic school building. White cinder blocks don't scream "romance". On the other hand, I always thought it was a little shady allowing students to hold proms at hotels...

Scott_Quier

I have a couple of thoughts:

• Background - buy/rent a couple of large, leafy plants. If you can rope the student council into doing it for you, they might be able to get a local nursery to loan them out for the evening kind of as a "support your local school" type thing, especially if a deposit is made to guarantee their safe return. The right plants would tie in with their theme quite nicely. A cheap trellis with synthetic flowers/plants and a sheer drape might be workable as well. Anything to hide the white cinder block walls. If you also run a couple of light ropes through them ....
• I would not worry about making a "wall of light". For the key light, I would go with a single large light source, quite close to the couple, centered about head height. This gets a couple of things done for you:
  1. Lights their faces - usually a good thing
  2. With the light close, you will have some light fall off. This will hide the transition between any backdrop you might select (if you choose to ignore my thoughts on using plants) and the floor. It will also tend to hide the floor altoghter.
  3. This will also provide an in-camera vignette effect.
• Of course, another large light source for fill would be nice. This one should be a bit further from the couple

WingsOfLovePhoto

I actually hate those inside prom pictures that my kids got. They were just full length expressionless on a muslin background. I was so not impressed. So.... Why not just find a place outside to do them? You can use your sb900 in the softbox off camera, (bring lots of batteries) use a reflector if needed, catch a bit of evening light since there aren't that many couples. Take a traditional pose but then do some fun ones. I am sure they will appreciate them much more. Plus it saves you money!

Tim Kamppinen

WingsOfLovePhoto wrote:

I actually hate those inside prom pictures that my kids got. They were just full length expressionless on a muslin background. I was so not impressed. So.... Why not just find a place outside to do them? You can use your sb900 in the softbox off camera, (bring lots of batteries) use a reflector if needed, catch a bit of evening light since there aren't that many couples. Take a traditional pose but then do some fun ones. I am sure they will appreciate them much more. Plus it saves you money!

The way you describe your kid's shots is exactly what I want to avoid. However, outside is not really an option since we just had a blizzard that lasted two days and I got stuck in my driveway this morning on the way to work because of the two feet of snow... it will probably melt by next weekend but the ground will most likely still be soggy and muddy. Also, there are not very many scenic locations near the school and I don't really want to have to deal with the wind issue... so I need to come up with something that doesn't suck but that can be done indoors. There have been some good ideas so far and they've given me some things to think about. Thanks guys. If you have any more suggestions, keep them coming.

divamum

I love the idea of the trellis and/or plants - that could be very pretty without costing much or getting too cheezy.

Also... what about some kind of a screen (like the folding kind)?

As Art suggested, is there a theater dept you can ransack for some flats or props (like the columns, another great idea) or anything else that migt be appropriate? A chorus shell, or perhaps something they take to sporting events that has the school logo, crest of arms, or mascot painted on it (assuming it isn't too inappropriate for a formal occasion)? An office in the school that has portraits, crest or something else that you could use as the backdrop, and also a mini-studio for the occasion?

ETA: Aha! I see you mentioned the theme up above and it's tropical. Potted palms?

Khristen

I'd stick with the theme. Since it's generically "tropical" that leaves creativity in your court. You can still have a plain background, maybe a tan, white color of some sort. As a prop you could get a small planted palm or maybe make an arrangement of exotic flowers- some flower galleries would let you rent arrangements for the occasion. If you did this I would not have anything too bulky, just a little to add to the photo and not take away from. If you decided to purchase flowers and make your own arrangement you can always sell it afterward if you don't think you'll have a need for it, but you never know when someone might have an "exotic wedding"

You could always create a "test" backdrop before hand and post pics here- we'll tell you the truth, lol!

As far as the lighting goes.... I'll leave that advice to the Pros!

Just remember- you're dealing with Teenagers, they just want to party!

Tim Kamppinen

But hopefully their parents want to buy photos...

Thanks for the continued suggestions.

Mr. 2H2O

I agree with Scott's suggestions on a single light. You can create nice directional lighting with one speedlight and one umbrella - it will look dramatic and definately not flat.

If you don't want to mess with a backdrop, consider remote trigger of a speedlight washing the wall with a gel on it - you can create a color that will also provide some separation from the couple. With this suggestion, I would recommend needing about 18 feet of space in front of the wall to give you about 4 ft to flash the wall, place the students about 6 feet in front of the wall, and give yourself about 12 feet in front of the students. You can shoot full length at 50mm focal length in 35mm terms. At F4 you should be able to blur the wall texture some.

For the floor, you can get a neutral colored queen or king flat sheet and wash/dry it wrinkly.

I did this kind of setup recently and the students and parents went gaga.

- Mike

The Mack

WingsOfLovePhoto wrote:

I actually hate those inside prom pictures that my kids got. They were just full length expressionless on a muslin background. I was so not impressed. So.... Why not just find a place outside to do them? You can use your sb900 in the softbox off camera, (bring lots of batteries) use a reflector if needed, catch a bit of evening light since there aren't that many couples. Take a traditional pose but then do some fun ones. I am sure they will appreciate them much more. Plus it saves you money!

Most proms start at 8pm, kinda hard to do outside shoots for everyone, especially with the minimal lighting that he has.