Holiday Party Shoot
For the second year, one of my co-workers and I have shot portraits for
employees at our holiday party.
It's usually an informal thing. We shoot, do a little processing and drop them
someplace people can get to them. Of course, color printing costs rise but
hey?
This year, we were at the historic Hayes Mansion in San Jose, CA. The place
is pretty cool and this shot does it no justice (OOF--4" wedged up against a
palm tree). I had to try though.
Back to our topic.
We use a very simple set up. A backdrop and three lights. Ideally, we would
use a large softbox to side light but someone forgot to bring the speed ring
for the SB so, it was two umbrellas and a small hair light.
You can see two of the lights and my partner getting ready to shoot these
two. To his right is the other 'brella.
This year, I used Pocket Wizards instead of the corded setup I did last
year. Let me tell you, that was the bomb. I was free to move about while
I shot. And I wasn't plagued by the loose sync cable.
Here's a sample portrait.
We also used a nice chair to even out height differences. Where possible,
we'd keep people standing (better throughput).
Some things I would do differently next year. The first is light stands. These
are cheap and not very stable stands. I'd like to use better quality stands
and sand bags to weight them down. Next, a larger hair light for some
of the group shots. Possibly also a lower light for the background.
Ian
employees at our holiday party.
It's usually an informal thing. We shoot, do a little processing and drop them
someplace people can get to them. Of course, color printing costs rise but
hey?
This year, we were at the historic Hayes Mansion in San Jose, CA. The place
is pretty cool and this shot does it no justice (OOF--4" wedged up against a
palm tree). I had to try though.
Back to our topic.
We use a very simple set up. A backdrop and three lights. Ideally, we would
use a large softbox to side light but someone forgot to bring the speed ring
for the SB so, it was two umbrellas and a small hair light.
You can see two of the lights and my partner getting ready to shoot these
two. To his right is the other 'brella.
This year, I used Pocket Wizards instead of the corded setup I did last
year. Let me tell you, that was the bomb. I was free to move about while
I shot. And I wasn't plagued by the loose sync cable.
Here's a sample portrait.
We also used a nice chair to even out height differences. Where possible,
we'd keep people standing (better throughput).
Some things I would do differently next year. The first is light stands. These
are cheap and not very stable stands. I'd like to use better quality stands
and sand bags to weight them down. Next, a larger hair light for some
of the group shots. Possibly also a lower light for the background.
Ian
Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
0
Comments
Still think your a bit of a slacko for not upping the ISO on the 1st OOF shot though.
I was loading in when I took the shot. The valet's (or whatever you call them)
were getting kinda pissy because I was blocking the road.
But yeah, I'd either up the ISO or shoot with a tripod. I'd also drop the
exposure too.