Getting a studio portrait look, in tiny backstage space

Hi,

I have been booked to take some actors portraits in small ante-rooms in theatres (just

before they perform). The rooms are about 10 feet by 8 feet and 7 feet high (I know, tiny!).

I want these to be really well lit and am worried that my Elinchrons will bounce all

over the place and give me flat dull light.

 

One thought I had was to place black velvet on

the background and side wall (as an absorber) and just use one small soft-box quite close

to give a hardish side light, thinking that the other side of the face will be filled by the

reflected (from the ceilings, other walls etc). Could this work - maybe for a moody shot?

 

Or, should I just encourage the bouncing light, use a white background and make a no-

shadow kind of shot? I would just be concerned with unwanted shadows on the

background and light

spill coming from any backlight (that I would use to light the background).

Or

just use a snoot? Any suggestions how to cope with this kind of small space really

welcomed. As you can see I'm pretty confused!

 

Many thanks.

 

David

Why not a few test shots the day before with a digital and laptop to give you an idea of what to expect and not go in cold.

Depends on the type of shots you are wanting. If typical headshots then even flat lighting might work the best. If more dramatic then a higher contrast shot using just one light would work the best.

Yes, black velvet should work fine but I think you'll need it on the ceiling too. Can't they find you a larger space?

Thanks for the ideas - velvet on the ceiling as well, hmm - kinky, but makes sense. Yes it

is astonishing that in these theatres (quite large theatres) that they only have lots of tiny

rooms. But then again they were all built 200 years ago (when I suppose people were only

3 or 4 feet tall or something like that). I going to experiment before hand and let you

know how I get on.

 

Thanks

 

David

white bg, and a ring flash... make the tiny space work for you instead of against.

 

Anyway you can set up in one of the wings of the stage? I've shot a few portraits in that space

that work well as environmentals. I think I have one of my brother the set designer in my PN

gallery still.