Social Event Lighting Help! On Camera

[june_daley]

<p>Need some advice re: shooting an event. Guests are arriving on a red carpet, at night, into a large foyer with floor to ceiling windows. I’ve been asked to photograph each guest as they arrive, against a banner advertising the event. I want to know the best light modifier to prevent ugly shadows and create a softer, wider light? I know the bigger the light source, the softer the light, but as I will need to be moving around I’m only able to use my 5DMKII with 24-70mm f/2.8 and 580EXII attached.</p>

<p>In the past I have just used a plastic diffuser cap which has worked OK, but still having problems with harsh shadows and the flash not reaching the whole area of the subject (eg – lights their face evenly, but full body portraits are gradually not lit properly from about the thigh down). Would be great to have some recommendations from event photographers, what lighting do you use and how do you solve the problems I’m having? Usual settings for flash/camera etc? Also are GELS any good at reducing colour temperature issues?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

[picturesque]

<p>If you can't bounce your flash against walls (are there any solid walls, and if so what color and distance away?) I'd have one light stand with a fairly powerful flash and umbrella set up to work with the banner.</p>

<p>On camera, I'd use my 'baseball glove' modifier if there were no workable bounce surfaces.</p>

<p>You really should get at least one person to help you. I've done red carpet arrivals before and the biggest problem is corraling every arrival. Some will sneak past you while you're photographing because they don't want to bother with having their picture taken.</p>

<p>A helper can also watch the off camera light so people don't trip over it, and help people pose and wait in line.</p>

<p>Re the flash coverage problem--it means you are standing too close for full lengths. Even an OmniBounce should cover adequately but not if you're standing too close.</p>

<p>Gels are great for balancing different color temperatures with your flash--or rather, balancing your flash color temperature to the ambient. There would be a problem if it was in the day time and there was a lot of light coming through the windows because you'd have very mixed lighting. If night has fallen, you should have fewer mixed lighting problems if you gel the flash for whatever the foyer's lights are.</p>

[Spearhead]

<p>While Nadine has some great recommendations, one question needs to be answered - are you the only photographer at the event? Every red carpet event I've done has had a gaggle (i.e., more than ten) photographers and there is no way a light stand and umbrella can be used. FWIW, the vast majority of true red carpet events are shot with on-camera flash, and at a power level to make sure that ambient light isn't a factor.</p>

[june_daley]

<p>Just me at the event Jeff - I've been hired by the venue. It's a fundraising event for a charity I support so I won't be paid.</p>

[june_daley]

<p>Thank you for the great advice Nadine!</p>

[june_daley]

<p>Nadine, may I ask what light modifer you use on camera? I completely agree that off camera would be better, but I may not be able to do this (if I can I will).</p>

[picturesque]

<p>Jeff is right about the multiple photographers, but I've done charity red carpets before, and they can't afford the multiple photographers. I was alone at that one, which is why I'm telling you that you are going to need someone to help you collar people, particularly if they need to be photographed in front of a banner.</p>

<p>If you really can't get the off camera flash and umbrella, check out the following thread in which I show my homemade 'baseball glove' type modifier. It is not as nice (light quality) as bouncing off a large wall, but it is better than direct flash. It is even better held off camera--see my UltraPod handle, but I can't see you doing that while chasing down people. Perhaps if you can have it so the flash (with modifier) can be taken off the camera easily so that when you do the banner photo, you take it off the flash. Then put it back on when you are running after people.</p>

<p><a href="../photography-lighting-equipment-techniques-forum/00Z8Ck">http://www.photo.net/photography-lighting-equipment-techniques-forum/00Z8Ck</a></p>

<p>It is modelled around A Better Bounce Card, which you can buy, but there are lots of DIY patterns floating around.</p>

[maira_sharron]

This works for pretty well for me. http://www.expoimaging.com/product-detail.php?cat_id=13&product_id=21

[picturesque]

<p>Yes, and a plain white sheet of paper taped to the flash works too. Be creative.</p>

[markonestudios]

<p>Joe Demb's Flash diffuser pro. I highly recommend it as a modifier. It is also relatively cheap., extremely light and very versatile. It will throw some light forward and bounce most of it upwards. I would avoid head-on flash as much as I can. You have superb tools fort the job.</p>

<p>Try and do a practice run at the venue. See if you can corral some friends to act as your models. Go there at the same time of day that the event would be (you need to be familiar with the light levels)</p>

[richardsperry]

<p>Ring flash?</p>

[craig_shearman1]

<p>" It's a fundraising event for a charity I support so I won't be paid."<br>

Not to change the subject, but I hope that means the staff of the charity, from the chairperson down to the secretaries answering the phones, don't get paid. And that the venue where this is taking place doesn't get paid. And if there's a meal at this event that the caterer isn't getting paid. Charities and fund-raising for worthy causes are big business. Some occasional pro bono work can be good for business development, and if this is a cause you support, I suppose your labor is in lieu of writing a check.</p>

[savagesax]

<p>Can you take a photo or 2 and post it. One thing for sure is you need consistant lighting so everyone looks the same on every shot. Depending on the location, the carpet, the time of day, people standing in the way can get a bit difficult. I've done this a few times and you need 2 or 3 people to push the guests along, or to the sides while photographing the guest.<br>

Most likely I'd try to use 2 to 4 strobes. If it's night you should probably light up the background with 1 or 2 strobes so the background and the black haired people don't melt away into the background. 2 strobes, with radios inside and outside. You are looking for "Safe," lighting on every shot. Your strobes should be something with modeling lights for 2 reasons. The first is you will be able to see if anyone is in the way and somthing like white lightnings recycle very fast, so you can knock out 2 or 3 shots in just a second or 2. Most of the time I also have someone posing the people really fast, in fact I've been known to pose and have someone shoot; because I know poses and can set the people up fast and make them look good.</p>

 

[ianivey]

<p>Yeah, I think Bob has the best approach, and if it's just you shooting, there's a pretty good likelihood that you can set up strobes on stands before-hand. In my experience, most charities asking for photos <em>pro bono </em>will give the photographer considerable leeway in running lights at the event, so long as you're not a jackass about it. :)</p>

<p>Four strobes is great. Let's say the banner is to camera right of the carpet. Consider:</p>

<ol>

<li>one <strong>key light </strong>up high and to camera left, and </li>

<li>one <strong>fill light </strong>on the other side of the carpet (i.e., behind and camera-right), as close to the carpet as possible, probably set to a 3:1 ratio. Then, depending on how big the banner is, </li>

<li>one strobe to <strong>light the banner</strong> (gobo'd so that light doesn't hit the subjects--just the banner), and </li>

<li>the last strobe up high way off in the corner to camera right, with a grid or a snoot, to use as a <strong>rim light, </strong>aimed at the spot on the carpet where I expect to shoot the subjects. (Or, use this as a second strobe for the banner if the thing is huge or you can't evenly light it with one strobe).</li>

</ol>

<p>If you can't use four, but could use two, try items 1 and 3 from the list above (key and banner lights) with maybe one strobe on camera for fill, dialed way down.</p>

<p>I'm sure they've asked you to feature the banner for promotional purposes, so having just one light will be problematic if the subjects are more than a couple feet away from the banner because falloff will light the subject more than the banner unless you bounce from a source that is equidistant from both (e.g., just the right spot on a wall or ceiling). And shadows on the banner could easily ruin the shots too. So this is the sort of thing that really calls for at least two lights, and would benefit a lot from using four. </p>

<p>I wouldn't explain a lot of this to the organizers -- just tell them you need access to the location in time to evaluate the shot and set up lights to get the exposure right, without going into detail, and you'll probably be allowed to do what you think is best. Once you've set your lights up, it's a lot less scary looking than it sounds if you try to explain how four lights will work ahead of time. :)</p>

[ianivey]

<p>...and by "so long as you're not a jackass about it....", I mean so long as you consider carefully any impact your equipment might have on the people at, or the flow of, the event, and adapt your approach accordingly, thus minimizing the effect of your presence. So, for example, no insisting on sticking your fill light stand in the middle of the walkway just because you want on-axis fill. :D</p>

[michaelmowery]

<p>in short there is nothing you can do to get what you want without adding an additional light. That said you need an extra person as already said to hold a light on a pole not a stand. That light can have a 3foot octa soft box on it or whatever. This keeps you mobile. you do not need the above set up with multiple lights and background light. The one light or two from the front will light up the people and the banner nicely. Your not getting paid so don't worry about it, it will be fine and the people will be happy regardless.</p>