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Shooting a Large League (175+) Picture in Gym--Advice?
Hi everyone,
I am doing a big shoot (for me) for a basketball league I've been shooting for--it's going to be one group shot of 175+ on the bleachers (8 rows deep, 20+ wide) and then breaking down quickly and backing up to do 15 team pictures (shuffled through, nothing too fancy). I have my D700, 3 SB600's and light stands (one 13', 2 10'), and a SU800 commander. I'm planning to shoot with my 18-35 3.5. I plan to use a ladder (although how do you get a stable picture without the tripod on a ladder--I'm pretty steady, but--should I put my monopod through the hole in the top?) I plan to use a setup similar to the one shown on the strobist site here: http://strobist.blogspot.com/2009/10/qna-big-group-in-big-dark-room.html however the crowd will be on the bleachers and I'll be on the floor on a ladder.
It's indoors, I'm assuming there will be some light bounce off the walls of the gym and assuming the infra-red will reach. The SU800 is rated at 66 feet, and across the basketball court is 50 feet, so I think I'll be close to that range for my furthest flash. (see photo of gym attached). The bleachers are not pulled out in the picture, and the team shots will be on the floor around the eagle's head. In theory, it "should" work.
I toyed with purchasing 4 PocketWizards (one trans and 3 receivers), but the cost is like $650-700. (oh, and of course I'm not getting paid a million dollars for the shoot, but they are paying me). And today I found a rental shop near me (Calumet) that rents them for $12 each for a one day rental. I've never used them before, so there would be a learning curve there--but do you think it's worth it? That's $50 more out of my pocket, but I don't want to die of embarrassment in front of 300+ people if my flashes don't work. But, maybe I shouldn't worry about it, the CLS system is supposed to work great, especially in an indoor environment. And I know how to use the CLS with the flashes, no problem and I've used it on smaller team pictures just fine. I'd love to have the pocket wizards at some point, but it's not going to happen soon.
Oh, and did I mention the shoot is Sunday (LOL!). I've been stressing over this for weeks and NOW I think to ask.
Any help/advice/anything(!) is welcome.
Thank you in advance!
I am doing a big shoot (for me) for a basketball league I've been shooting for--it's going to be one group shot of 175+ on the bleachers (8 rows deep, 20+ wide) and then breaking down quickly and backing up to do 15 team pictures (shuffled through, nothing too fancy). I have my D700, 3 SB600's and light stands (one 13', 2 10'), and a SU800 commander. I'm planning to shoot with my 18-35 3.5. I plan to use a ladder (although how do you get a stable picture without the tripod on a ladder--I'm pretty steady, but--should I put my monopod through the hole in the top?) I plan to use a setup similar to the one shown on the strobist site here: http://strobist.blogspot.com/2009/10/qna-big-group-in-big-dark-room.html however the crowd will be on the bleachers and I'll be on the floor on a ladder.
It's indoors, I'm assuming there will be some light bounce off the walls of the gym and assuming the infra-red will reach. The SU800 is rated at 66 feet, and across the basketball court is 50 feet, so I think I'll be close to that range for my furthest flash. (see photo of gym attached). The bleachers are not pulled out in the picture, and the team shots will be on the floor around the eagle's head. In theory, it "should" work.
I toyed with purchasing 4 PocketWizards (one trans and 3 receivers), but the cost is like $650-700. (oh, and of course I'm not getting paid a million dollars for the shoot, but they are paying me). And today I found a rental shop near me (Calumet) that rents them for $12 each for a one day rental. I've never used them before, so there would be a learning curve there--but do you think it's worth it? That's $50 more out of my pocket, but I don't want to die of embarrassment in front of 300+ people if my flashes don't work. But, maybe I shouldn't worry about it, the CLS system is supposed to work great, especially in an indoor environment. And I know how to use the CLS with the flashes, no problem and I've used it on smaller team pictures just fine. I'd love to have the pocket wizards at some point, but it's not going to happen soon.
Oh, and did I mention the shoot is Sunday (LOL!). I've been stressing over this for weeks and NOW I think to ask.
Any help/advice/anything(!) is welcome.
Thank you in advance!
0
Comments
CLS should do the job fine. Set the flashes up on manual rather than ttl though. Set the focal length at 85 to 105mm 1/2 to full power and bounce them. If you have a whiteish wall behind you, use it, otherwise use the ceiling. The flashes won't need to be that far away from you or each other as a result. Aim them evenly spaced so you get relatively even bounced coverage. As for the need for a monopod or tripod, you won't need it. The burst of the flash will stop any camera motion or shake assuming you are generating at least 2 stops of light above ambient with your flashes.
If you're on a budget, try some of the e-bay or cactus triggers (http://www.mpex.com/browse.cfm/4,514.html). They are very inexpensive and can easily handle a gym if setup properly. There are a number of people who lengthen the antenna, but there is a much simpler method of extending the range. The key is always buy a transmitter/receiver kit. Use the sinc cord that comes with each pair to connect an extra transmitter to one of the receivers in the gym. This will make this transmitter act as a repeater, easily doubling your transmission range.
www.seanmartinphoto.com
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it's not the size of the lens that matters... It's how you focus it.
aaaaa.... who am I kidding!
whoever dies with the biggest coolest piece of glass, wins!
I shot this picture, plus then pulled back, reset lights and shot 15 team shots (came out great) with the time constraint of one hour, plus 20 minutes only allowed for initial set up. So I didn't have a lot of time for finesse, unfortunately.
I broke down and rented the PocketWizards--love them! I decided to use them several times over the weekend and strobe the gym I shoot basketball in as an experiment and it was really cool! Took an evening basketball game and it was a great learning experience and I loved the shots. I'm going to check out the cheaper ones on EBay though to purchase. NOTE: the pc cords I was given to go with the PW were very flaky and 2 did not work at all. I read on the internet that SB600s don't work well with standard cords, and plan to purchase some through www.flashzebra.com instead. Paramour cords were not reliable and caused misfires and shorts in the lights. I think this is a SB600 specific sync problem.
Setup for big pic:
SB800 at full power on camera left, 50mm, 13ft light stand (sand bagged). Two lights on right (similar to strobist article), one camera right at 1/4 50mm and one on bleachers 1/2 way up pointed just over their heads at 1/2 50mm. All lights bare, no umbrellas or boxes. Used 18-35 and final pic was at 800 iso (D700) 35mm, f/7.1 and 1/200. What could I have changed to make it better?
Things I learned:
1. Two SB600's on the right at 1/2 power don't equal one SB800 at full power on the left, and you won't be able to see the light fall off until it's too late.....
2. Recycle times at full power are long, (4 secs approx) and you'd better get the first click right and then redo after a few seconds. I was happily clicking away, and the next few frames would be dark and then the right flashes would fire but not the left, etc. since they didn't recycle at the same rate.
3. So, if you are using the trick that I did to try and get open eyes, having them close their eyes then open at the count of three--don't take the picture until at least 1 sec. after you say open (VERY loud), or your flashes will fire too soon and everyone's eyes are closed!
4. If you smile and relax and be VERY loud and tell people (nicely) what they should do (and how much longer they have to do it), it will all work out!