Need Softbox Advice

<p>I will do my church's outdoor group photo in front of church this Fall. The weather will be wet and dark here in Vancouver. The group will be formed from 4 to 30 people. I have Nikon Speedlight SB800 on my D300 and one 20" x 20" softbox on light stand. If this softbox is too small for 30 people, what size and shape do I need to get the volunteer job done ?<br>

I won't have assistant, two lights may be too much trouble for one-man-band. Do I need to rent battery powered strobe light and large octagon softbox or my SB800 speedlight and smaller softbox set up behind me pointing down to the group center will work ?<br>

Thanks. </p>

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<p>A 20" x 20" softbox is definitely too small for a group of 30 people. Better than nothing, but the light is still going to be quite hard by the time it's far back enough to cover a large group. You're also going to lose a fair amount of light through using a softbox, which will stretch the capabilities of your speedlight.</p>

<p>Let's do a bit of calculation. You can easily push your ISO to 400 I expect, giving you a realistic GN of 45 or thereabouts with the flash at (say) its 24mm setting. A single light might need to be 5 metres away from the group in order to cover it - giving an aperture of f/9. That's a bit tight on DOF if the group is 3 people deep. Knock off at least a stop for any modifier and you either need to up the ISO considerably or add another light. So two speedlights with the same power as your SB-800 would be the bare minimum I'd go for. Set into ~42" silver brollies to maximise light efficiency and placed to give clamshell lighting across the group.</p>

<p>The lighting isn't going to be very pretty whatever you do, unless you rent really big softboxes or so-called parabolics and portable strobes with 400 or 800 Joule outputs each. With the kit you've got + another speedlight, I think the best you can go for is "bright and cheerful", which simple clamshell lighting can give you.</p>

<p>An octa wouldn't be my 1st choice for this job. The group is going to be landscape format, and any light going vertically is just wasted. Maybe two rectangular boxes would be an option if you're going to rent. Either placed side-by-side or again in clamshell formation.</p>

<p>For a 30-person group I'd use a 60" umbrella and 500w/s (or greater) monolight. Your current outfit is inadequate IMO. Adding a larger softbox or umbrella won't help, because your SB800 is itself inadequate. You could shoot the SB800 straight, on the camera's hot shoe, and you'd have enough light, but it wouldn't be pretty.<br /><br /> You need to rent a battery powered strobe light and large umbrella. I would not use a softbox at all. I would not try two light sources because handling two attractively takes a bit of experience and is done more easily with assistants and a reliable flash meter.</p>

<p>Henry Posner<br /><strong>B&H Photo-Video</strong></p>

<p>Thanks for all excellent advice. <br>

I have some concern about the windy weather in winter if I set up one 60" umbrella 7 ft high behind me, unless I added sand bags. It will cause more trouble if I need to keep moving to different background outside the church. </p>

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<p>unless I added sand bags.</p>

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<p>Trust me -- sandbags are NOT optional.</p>

<p>Henry Posner<br /><strong>B&H Photo-Video</strong></p>

<p>I'm all in favor of proper lighting regardless of whether it's inside or outside. But for a group of 30, I would use your SB-800 as flash fill and not worry about a softbox at all. As others have said, it simply doesn't have the power to cover a group that large once you lose light to a modifier. But used straight on it might do the job. I would do a test ahead of time. You don't need 30 people, but maybe grab three friends and position them to where the left, center and right of the group would be in the same location and same lighting conditions. See if 1) you get enough light from the SB-800 and 2) if you like the quality of the bare light.</p>