NO Pictures - but a Challenging Question

Bilsen

Coming up on my World Tour with Cyndi is Haiti with a Voodoo theme. This raises some serious questions for me, especially as a basically outdoor shooter.


The mood is obviously to be very dark. I have all sorts of battery powered candles that I want to come through as a primary light source but still see all the detail of Cyndi and her wardrobe and props.


My available equipment is:
Three studio strobes (2 Interfit 300ws and 1 AB800)
1 580 EX and 2 430 EX flashes
Softlighters (60" and 48") plus convertible umbrellas and (if I HAVE to - 2 x 24" softboxes)
Grids (10 - 40 degrees), 2 barndoors and 2 complete sets of gels for strobes and flashes
Radio triggers for all of it plus I can control the flashes through my T3i


My main lens is my 24-105 f4L IS. My fastest indoor lens right now is my Tamron 28-75 f2.8 which just isn't as sharp as my "L" lenses.
My 50mm 1.4 has decided not to use autofocus at this point.


Any suggestions on how to light this scene so that the WB is the candle colors but not so dark that we can't see Cyndi??


Thanks in advance.

WingsOfLovePhoto

Sounds like lugging all that stuff on location would be difficult. I have these nifty little things that go everywhere and shed some really great light, especially for drama. If you have a few extra bucks.. You can also get off brands pretty cheap on ebay. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/542007-REG/Litepanels_LP_MICRO_Micro_LED_On_Camera_Light.html

This is an example what kind of light you can get out of them. They also have gels for wb...

Good luck with your shoot. Sounds fun

anonymouscuban

This is beyond anything I've done. One question though, why not try to use actual candles? It may be easier just to use the real thing than to try to replicate it.

Hackbone

Note the direction of light from the candles and then mimic that direction with your main. You might want to make some snoots to light up portions that you want to accent. Shoot raw and adjust the color temp later in post.. Maybe bounce the main of the same side wall and chimp then adjust as you like.

You could also use regular light bulbs, not the curly ones, and get some work reflectors from Ace. These might be better than the strobes. Close to same color temp.

I purchase some lights like Sandy mentioned from Ebay, not exactly the same brand but very close. They were $39 each and give out alot of light.

divamum

I'd say this is a classic case of balancing ambient and fill. wedding shooters do it all the time. stalk the wedding forum, and also go read some Strobist posts on how to balance.

for myself, I'd probably put the candles where I want them, have one snorted/gridded flash [sic - I originally typed this on my phone, but "snorted flash" is so funny, I'm leaving it for posterity lol] as a main on face, and a large sb or brolly for very low fill as needed.

Gel the flashes - straw or orange - to match warm candlelight.

I think some serious reading at Strobist will answer a lot of questions.

PS I also have a cheap, small LED light from amazon - useful, although not a strong output used as solo lights. I've used mine as a gentle rim light and liked the effect.

divamum

And... a google of "strobist candle fill" pulled up this. First comment, from David, and some other great ideas further down the thread. Pretty much covers the basics, I think. Once you've got the basic technical ideas mastered, you can tweak to taste, ie in your case you may want to use the bounce flash as your fill (turned WAY down) and add another, brighter, more focused light to pick out her face.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobist/discuss/72157600922875131/

Also, I agree with Cuban. Use real candles, unless there's a safety reason not to.

Bilsen

Thanks all.

Diva, headed over there now.

divamum

Post back with your discoveries and any experiments you do before the fact - I think we'd all love to see your setup for this!

Bilsen

Will do Diva, gotta go buy a tripod tomorrow and then get at it.

Gary752

How about doing some light painting with an orange gelled flashlight?

GaryB

Bilsen

Nice idea Gary. Something else to try.

anonymouscuban

Just so you know, I'm waiting patiently to see your first attempt. Maybe I'll try something like this for 365 project.