Baptism Lighting

<p>Hi, To start with I will say "Thank You" for taking the time to read and hopefully have an opinion for me.<br>

I will provide 2 photos so it is easier understood what I am trying to do.<br>

First off as you can see in pic #1 behind our Pastor you see a cross on the wall. This is actually another small room where there is a Baptismal. There isn't much lighting in this room at all, a couple of small bulbs.<br>

In pic # 2 you see what I want to achieve as a finished photo. I am using a Nikon D 90, with a Sigma 24-70 lens and it works out that I am always on 60mm. I shoot at f5.6 and usually iso 400. I sit in a chair in front to capture the shot. I'm guessing I am about 10-12 feet away from the subjects. My shot is a little bigger than the finished one so I am able to crop a little bit to give me the desired finished look.<br>

Currently I use my SB-900 on camera. In doing so I wind up with many unwanted shadows as you can see in Photo #2. Whereas no one has complained, I don't like it and I know it could be better.<br>

I have 2 flashes one sb-900 and 1 sb-600. I also have a wireless transmitter and 2 receivers that I can use for the flashes should I be able to figure this out. Of course I also have the onboard flip up flash.<br>

The delima is what ever needs to be done has to be set up ahead of time as when the Pastor and the person getting Baptized come into the Baptismal I only have enough time to sit in my chair and take the photo. Obviously taking the photo is not the overall important part of this so I can't have anything that would interfere with the Baptism.<br>

I was thinking if I could get a flash somewhere in the Baptismal area the shadows could be dealt with.<br>

Any ideas or opinions will be greatly appreciated.<br>

Thank You<br>

phil b<br>

benton</p><div></div>

<p>Photo #2 is what I hope to finish with but without the shadows.</p><div></div>

<p>Your biggest challenge here is that you have very little working distance (subject to wall)</p>

<p>I see no way to place a flash near the back wall w/o producing extreme hot spots; obviously a softbox in such a confined space is out of the question.</p>

<p>Here is what I suggest:</p>

<p>1) Bounce flash at a extreme high angle to drop and soften the shadows.<br>

If the ceiling is too high, use a large white reflector, someone can hold this for you.</p>

<p>2) Forward firing flash as (fill) only. 1-2 stops less than the bounce. Use your SB-900 here.</p>

<p>W/o allowing a fixated light source above and near the wall, it will be difficult to eliminate the shadows.<br>

The rather bright overhead church lights are not helping this scene for what you want to accomplish.</p>

<p>Last possibility that I know will work; have them baptized in the Jordan River. ;)</p>

<p>It looks to me that you're getting some contribution from the ambient (tungsten) lighting. Note the warmer tones except where there's flash reflecting in front.</p>

<p>I'd suggest gelling the flashes with a CTO filter and setting the camera to a tungsten white balance.</p>

<p>The high bounce might be a problem: increasing the shadow effect at the top of the frame. Would it be possible to hide a flash behind the opening to the baptismal room and bounce that off the ceiling in there?</p>

<p>Based on Picture No. 2, the setting is actually very plain and you're going to need to work with lighting and posing to make an interesting picture. To start with, instead of facing the camera, you need the minister and individual facing each other, with the minister doing something visual like making the sign of the cross or dribbling water on the person or whatever it is that they do. I would not put the flash anywhere near the camera. Instead I would use flashes off to either side, one facing the minister and the other facing the individual. Ideally a third flash hitting the cross. But you need to keep light off that boring wall as much as possible, or break it up with a "cookie" on the flashes. I'm picturing a dark wall with light on the faces of the minister and individual and a "heavenly" glow on the cross. If you include the tank, maybe backlight it with a blue gel to make the water glow. Also I think you're much better off doing a posed shot when you can work with the lighting and pose rather than interfere with a religious ceremony.</p>

<p>Is there anyway you can be back there with them? I shoot all our baptism's at my church and our setup looks like yours. You can enter into the pool from either side and there is enough room for me to neal down in the corner and shoot. We have a room in the back that I take pre-baptism pictures first of the family and the individual by themselves and then the pastor and then shoot the actual baptism.<br>

I am not allowed to use flash so I shoot at ISO 800 to 1600 with my 35mm 1.8 on my D300s. It just depends on if the lighting guy remembers to turn the lights up for me.</p>

<p><img src="http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i320/Ray_Dockrey/RAY_2026.jpg" alt="" /></p>