14-18 Group shot lighting

Hello all- first post with a question on lighting a group of yoga/pilates teachers in a yoga studio.

 

The situtation:

 

I am a professional press photographer and have been asked by a yoga teacher friend to do a group portrait of all of

the teachers at her studio (14-18 will be there). I am kitted out for press photography and dont have any studio

lighting so will be renting equipment. I do have studio experience but not alot, so I'd like to let you all know what i'm

thinking and get some feedback before I go ahead and book equipment to rent.

 

First off all, as its a big group shot I'm aiming to shoot at about f.11- and I'm after a mid-key lighting. I will be

shooting this when it's dark outside so there will be no ambient light coming through the windows. I intend to use two

1200 watt Elinchrom flash heads triggered by pocket wizards...one camera left and one centre for fill.

 

QUESTION 1: Would that be enough power to light a group this big at f.11 hopefully no higher than ISO200 bearing in

mind i'm working with probably zero ambient light.

 

I'm also intending to use 1m softboxes on each. QUESTION 2: seem sensible?

 

 

Now I come onto my main concern- the room I'm shooting in is fairly large, probably the size of a tennis court..here's

a link with a picture of the space http://www.suryayoga.co.uk/studio_hire.html.

 

I'm at a bit of a loss with what to do with the background. I'd either like it to be brightly lit or if thats too tricky perhaps

make the shot quite low key..dark background perhaps with a light in the back to pick up their outline to add a bit of

drama. Any ideas?

 

I'll be shooting with Canon 5D

 

so far renting;

 

2X 1200watt flash heads

2X 1m soft boxes

3 pocket wizards

 

sound about right?

 

many thanks

Will

If you want to put a separate light on the background you'll need three lights. I would rent three lights with two 3'x4' softboxes and 1-11" reflector with grid(s) for the bkgd. Use the grid light to make a splash of light on the background.

I'd forgo the softboxs :-) I'd put them high as I could to the ceiling and use the white ceiling as a bounce-- to get the depth of light, I don't think that 2 medium softboxes for a 14-18 group in yoga spaceing will be enough. I like the 11" reflector on the background.

 

You also don't need to shoot at f11 if this is a commercial/ad shoot. The instructor should be shaper than the students to draw the eye in. I think I'd go for f8, and do a few at 5.6 and 11 (even if I had to go to ISO-400) and let her choose.

That space isn't really that big and shouldn't cause a light quantity problem if you want to light the background.

 

I'm sure that Brooks' suggestion will work but my guess is that you'll be able to hide the third light with reflector behind your group pointing back and have plenty of power to light the visible background fully, if you prefer this to using the honeycomb grid to create a splash of light. Incidentally the high intensity Elinchrom reflector produces a very directional light (45 deg from memory) and is 10 1/2" diameter, the standard one is 7" and 60 deg from memory. You might want to rent both so I thought I'd mention that, to avoid possible confusion with the rental people.

 

I think that Nathan is right, 1 metre sq softboxes won't give you soft lighting for this size of group and at the distance you'll have to use them, but then you probably won't want soft lighting for this type of shot. If you go for both reflectors you'll have a choice of using 1 softbox for key and bouncing off the ceiling for fill and depth, or using both softboxes. Personally I never really know how to light a shot until I actually do it, so like to keep my options open.

 

Hope this helps

William,

 

As has been mentioned, the softbox will not be particularly soft at the working distances you'll face. Don't count out large umbrellas as alternatives to the softboxes, they can be a good choice for this kind of shot, especially in the configuration you're suggesting. And, they're a lot easier to set up. Having done similar shots, I'm quite certain you'll get enough light for f11 at ISO 200. If you are not going to use a background light, and I don't think you absolutely need one, keep the fill lighting source as big as possible and back as far as possible, so that the relative light fall-off between the group and the wall behind them will be minimized. Bouncing the fill into a very big umbrella behind and above the camera or, better yet, bouncing it off a white or cream wall behind camera will give a good result. However, bouncing fill off the ceiling or wall will greatly reduced your fill f-stop, and depending on the lighting ratio you are seeking, you may come up short on output. If you have a good speedlight with manual settings, you can use that attached to one of the Pocket Wizards as a background light, either facing the group from behind for the halo or behind the group facing the wall for that splash of light on the wall. Of course, you'll need a background light stand and a swivel adapter with a cold flash shoe attached if you go that route.

 

Good Luck!

With the 5d, isn't iso 400 just killer (excellent) quality? With iso 400 I think 2400ws is way more than you will

need, unless you plan on counting eyelashes at 16x20. <p>If you have this group with their backs to a relatively

light wall, I don't know why you would need to light the background. Bouncing one off the ceiling and

feathering the other across the tightly arranged group (use a 60in umbrella) and you'll be fine. <p>A group of this

sort calls for creative arranging. Take advantage of their physical conditioning and body consciousness and make

it fun for them to be

stacked in close.<p>my example is done with one 400ws Lumedyne in a 45" Westcott Halo. They told me the largest

group that day would be 4 or 5... ha. This was in a very dark theater on the stage. I brought the ladder. iso 400

f 7.1... t<div></div>

and...<div></div>

<p>hi!<br>

in my experience as a school photographer on 1200ws flash head with a brolly is enoug for an proper groupshot of 20 to 30 people.<br>

the flash head must be placed above the camera, you must be careful with the reflections in the gym of the yoga  studio.<br>

i wish you good luck with the shooting<br>

ciao gerhgard</p>