Lighting Arrangement - Need Help!

mbg0333

Ok I am doing Kindergarten Graduation Pictures and need help on the best lighting situatuion!

The equipment I have:

2- Alien Bees B800

[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]
2 [SIZE=-1]RFT1RX Radio Flash Trigger One Receivers

The following pictures are of the location I will be shooting at:



I wasnt sure if I should put the strobes closer are further back or if they would even be necessary.



Keep in mind the furniture will not be there and they want to incorporate the globe in the compostion.

Any ideas would be great.

I shoot a Canon 20d if that helps!!

Also keep in mind, I am totally new to indoor lighting. I have shot outdoor events for everything. I actually just got my lights today. But I got to start somewhere and if this job goes good I will book the entire schools outdoor spring pictures. 130 KIDS!!!

Thanks in advance!!

Maxx Gandy
www.mbgphotography.com
www.mysportphotos.com
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joshhuntnm

I am no expert, but i'd err on the side of close rather than farther.

It is hard for me to tell in the second one. it looks like the background will not be too well lit, which is good. That is what I would look to do--get the background to fall away by getting it quite a bit darker than the subject.

Swartzy

My take
The first one (group shot)....reflective glass windows.....I see strobes waving loudly at you. Depending on the amount of ambient light/time of day, all you'll need is fill for the shadows...you won't need to really light them up.

The indoor shot would be fine with 1 light/umbrella to camera right/or left (you choose), a reflector on the other side (lower for reflective fill) and use the other AB down a full stop & 1/2 (low) for a small kicker light on background. Both set ups will depend on shutter speed and ISO for mixing ambient with strobe. 1/250th will flash them like Men in Black, so you may want to try it around 1/125th or less...I assuming your aperature will be at least f/9.0.

Thinking out loud here.

Scott_Quier

Here’s the thought process I would go through:

How many children are in the class? How many rows of children are you going to be shooting in the first location. The more rows you have the FURTHER back the lights need to be to avoid dramatic differences in light from one row to the next. You need to remember and take into account the inverse-square law of light propagation and how this describes the nature of the light fall-off with distance.

If you are lucky, you’ll be shooting on a more or less overcast day, in which case you’ll have some decently smooth lighting to start with. In any event, I’m thinking you want to use your ABs for fill rather than main light. Do what you can to keep the strobes higher than the head of the tallest individual in the shot, otherwise you may end up with funny shadows.

Keep the strobes well off to the side to avoid reflections in the doors behind. I would also suggest you take a test shot sometime without anyone in the view to see where those reflections will appear and to enable you to move the strobes to compensate.

with everything Swartzy had to say with reference to the indoor shot and can’t improve/add anything there.