School Portraits - equipment suggestions

mbg0333

So I got contacted to shoot some kids gradution and spring pictures. Part will be indoors and part will be outdoor.

Problem is I have mainly focused on my outdoor photography not so much my indoor. I am looking to buy some lighting and want to know if this will accomplish what I need done.

The photos will be inside a library using books as the background.

2- Alien Bees B800


[SIZE=-1]2[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]CB1 Single Light Carrying Bag [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]2[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]LS3050 10-foot General Purpose Light Stands[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]1[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]U48TWB 48-inch Translucent White "Shoot-Thru" Umbrella[/SIZE] 1 [SIZE=-1]U48SW 48-inch Silver/White Umbrella[/SIZE]
1 [SIZE=-1]RFT1TX Radio Flash Trigger One Transmitter[/SIZE][SIZE=-2] [/SIZE]
2 [SIZE=-1]RFT1RX Radio Flash Trigger One Receivers [/SIZE]

Please I am in desperate need of advice. This shoot is on Feb 15th and I need to order ASAP. Much thanks in advance.

swintonphoto

Looks like the gear you have listed would do a fantastic job. The transmitters are not a necessity, but if youve got the money you could pop for them.

mbg0333

mind sharing a little newcomer advice....best arrangement with that equipment?

swintonphoto

mbg0333 wrote:

mind sharing a little newcomer advice....best arrangement with that equipment?

Sure,
Just setup the lights at about 8-9' high, and angle them toward the center so the lights or umbrellas are pointing at the persion you are photographing. Point both lights or umbrellas right at the waist of the subjects - this will ensure balanced lighting from head to toe. Place the lights (depending on space) about 10-20' back from the subjects. Set one of the strobes about 1 stop brighter than the other to give a slightly more interesting light. But you could just set them to the same as well. Set your camera to an f-stop you are comfortable with - somewhere from 2.8-8.0 is always a safe bet - depending on what kind of depth of field you want. Then set your white balance to daylight and your ready to roll! You'll do great I am sure. Share some pics with us when you are done!

LCD

swintonphoto wrote:

Sure,
Just setup the lights at about 8-9' high, and angle them toward the center so the lights or umbrellas are pointing at the persion you are photographing. Point both lights or umbrellas right at the waist of the subjects - this will ensure balanced lighting from head to toe.

Swintonphoto,
Since you're sharing...If you're shooting a subject with a hat - or a mortor board - wouldn't you want to lower the lights - at least one of them to avoid too much shadow on the face?

And wouldn't you want to light the background to prevent shadows? how far from the background should the subject be with this set-up?

Thanks for helping all of us!

MBG0333 - congrats on your job! will love to see what you get!
Lisa

Swartzy

One more thing
By slowing the shutter speed, you'll allow more background light in...so, if you are shooting at 1/250th you won't get as much ambient as say 1/60th....and actually, if these are individual shots you could use one AB800 shooting through umbrella to camera left or right (depending on the pose), use a reflector for the other side, and use the other AB800 for the background 2 stops less than the key light....this way, even at 1/125th second you'll have real nice balanced lighting with sharp images.....set your custom white balance in all cases...that will be of most benefit.

Look forward to seeing the shots! Good luck!

mbg0333

Thanks for the support guys. Really nervous about. But I will have about a week to practice with the lights so that makes me a little less nervouse.

Reflector would be nice but looking for simplicity, first time and I will be all alone!

Thanks guys!

Anymore suggestions Ill take them!!

Joe Dukovac

I have Alien Bees, actually I have 4 SB400's which I use in my studio at home. In a studio setting, with one to about 4 people, the SB400's are more than enough. Any larger groups, then more power. If you have the money to drop on more powerful lights, then by all means get the 800 or 1600's.

Are you going to be doing individual shots or group shots? If you are doing individual and doing just head and shoulders, then have your key light a bit higher than the top of your subject's head and pointed down to his/her face, after all, you are trying to focus on the face of the subject and not the waist right? Also, in the studio, I setup my key light to be about 3 feet away from a single subject at about 45 degrees from the camera. The fill light, I usually set it at about the same distance from the subject, and the same 45 degree angle from the camera. Use the shoot-through for more softer light (Somewhat like a softbox), or use the white bounce. Use the silver for your fill light. The background does not have to be lit if you are about 6 feet or less from it, as the lights on either side of your subject will help to reduce the shadows thrown on the background.

Now for your lighting ratios. By keeping your lights at the same strength, you will have a 1:1 lighting ratio, very boring, very flat. A 2:1 ratio is ok, but I prefer a 3:1 ratio at it adds depth to the subject. An example of 3:1 ratio with the lighting setup mentioned in the previous paragraph is at the end of this post. Here is how to figure your lighting ratios. A 1:1 ratio is simple. If the key light measures F8, then the fill light should measure F/8 also. A 2:1 ratio is one stop difference, another words, if your key light is f/8, then your fill should be F/5.6, a full stop difference. 3:1 ratios are measured as a stop and a half difference, so if your key light was F.8, then your fill light would be about a F/4.8. There is also a 4:1 ratio, but this is for a VERY dramatic look. The difference is 2 full stops. So if your key light was F/8 then your Fill light would be F/4.

There is SO much you can do with Strobes. I hope that this helps you out a bit. Also, ensure that your subjects bodies are at a 45 degree angle to the camera, another words, make sure that their body is facing either the Key light or Fill light, and then just rotate their heads towards the camera.

Hope this helps.

3:1 Ratio Lighting Example
229075854__DSC0022_2.jpg

Joe Dukovac

Here is an example of 4:1 ratios. This of course is emphasized by the use of a black background.

229077182__DSC0080_2.jpg

Joe Dukovac

Correction to my second post.

The lighting ratio is 4:1, however the key light was moved to be just abour 90 degrees from the camera. The light was basically pointing to the subject's left ear, camera right.

Sorry for the mixup

mbg0333

mind sharing a little newcomer advice....best arrangement with that equipment?

Adaptive

There's no exact way to light the situation. It's all up to you. You will develope your own style.

Here is a quick sample I whipped up. This is what I would do given limited space and limited amount of lights.



Softbox to camera left and unbrella to camera right. Actually now that I think about it I might switch the umbrella and softbox to opposite sides so the unbrella can give more of a wrap on the subjects right side. Gotta have a hairlight for separation. Well you don't have to have one but I like it personally, my style.

you can use two umbrellas or 2 boxes, it really doesn't matter what diffusers you use at your point in the game. Once you get more experience and more technical jobs you can move up. And I would recommend getting pocket wizzards instead of the alienbees wireless triggers. Or look into MicroSync. Cheap and work great!

Good luck!

Adaptive

Oh and obviously instead of the seamless paper there will be books. If you have the subject that far from the books the books will not be very bright so you will have to bump up your lights. If you get your subject closer to the background you will probably have better luck having your subject and background well lit.

Oh and as people have mentioned it's all about ratio. You will have the settings higher or lower on either light. Don't make them the extact same because that will make the picture look very flat and boring and unprofessional snap shot-ish. Ratio, live it, learn it!