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Scott Clark Online Upload & Sell: On p.1 #1 · Formal lighting options... Hey guys, Got few options I'm considering for formals, and I was curious what you guys think... I'm thinking about indoor formals. I've got a bunch of speedlights, a pair of Norman 200b's that I've modified to use a big 12V NIMH battery pack. Also have a small Speedotron pack and head set I could use, but that's probably overkill...and would require AC power, and more time to set up. Yes, ever situation is different, but I'm just looking for input on what would work best for a smiling group of people in a row, inside, without a ton of ambient light. Don't want anything fancy or dramatic...just nice even light that makes everyone look good. So here's what I'm considering-- 1) Single light. None of my soft boxes are big enough for a group, but I've got a pair of 60" convertible umbrellas. This could be set up either way, although I don't see much point in using it in shoot through mode since spill probably isn't a concern and I'm not trying to get it closer to the subject... Just a light up high on a stand above the camera. 2) Two lights, close to the camera. Basically two lights, fairly close left and right...would act more like a single really big light than cross lighting. Maybe feathered slightly. 3). Two lights at 45*. The old favorite cross lighting...I always read different opinions on this...thoughts? 4) Clamshell. Key light a 60" shoot through, fill light a 48" shoot through (the two 60s would be impressive, but probably impractical). I'm sure the light looks nice, but it seems like it would take more time to get it right and it seems like you would run into coverage issues if the group was big enough. Other suggestions? Are speedlights enough for power, or should I just hook up the Normans? The little Normans put out 200 w/s each, and with the big battery I built for them I can shoot just about forever. Recycle time even on full power is just over one second. They do take slightly longer to set up than speedlights, but not much. I do have plenty of batteries for the speedlights if I go that rout (and a Jackrabbit for one of them). I tend to like to keep things simple, and like I said...not looking for anything more than nice even light that will make people look good. Thoughts? -Scott Jul 05, 2009 at 02:26 PM

RedWhiteandRed Offline Dedicated FM Upload & Sell: On p.1 #2 · Formal lighting options... Do you have any examples of what you are trying to achieve? Jul 05, 2009 at 02:46 PM

Scott Clark Online Upload & Sell: On p.1 #3 · Formal lighting options... RedWhiteandRed wrote: Do you have any examples of what you are trying to achieve? Not handy...I'll see what I can come up with. Just basically even lighting without weird/distracting shadows in the group if possible. Or least minimized... Jul 05, 2009 at 02:55 PM

kdphotography Offline Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #4 · Formal lighting options... Options 2 and 3 are most likely to give you: quote]Scott Clark wrote: weird/distracting shadows in the group ... ....that you don't want. Jul 05, 2009 at 03:17 PM

jcolman Offline Dedicated FM Upload & Sell: On p.1 #5 · Formal lighting options... What's been working well for me is a lightsick with two speedlights fired into a 48" umbrealla placed just over the camera or slightly to one side. I have a Lowell umbrella mount (not shown) that clamps onto the mono pod holding my flashes. Here's the results Works well outside too The very first wedding I shot, I tried the "two softboxes on either side of the camera" approach and didn't like the results, shown here. Too many shadows. Also, I had the lights too far away from the camera and too far back. btw, these aren't the "normal" formals as you can tell. Edited on Jul 05, 2009 at 05:13 PM · View previous versions Jul 05, 2009 at 04:51 PM

Ryan Britton Offline Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #6 · Formal lighting options... This is a two light setup closest to your option #3. The lights are in 48" octaboxes but are placed closer to 30º. Jul 05, 2009 at 05:10 PM

dannyrod Offline Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #7 · Formal lighting options... jcolman wrote: I think I like this one the most, Jim! Jul 05, 2009 at 05:58 PM

dannyrod Offline Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #8 · Formal lighting options... For outdoor formals, I set the group up with the sun behind them with an off-camera, unmodified flash for fill set up opposite from the sun at 1/8 power or so: For indoor, I try to let some ambient in and set up two off-camera flashes fired into umbrellas, one each about 6-8 feet to my left and to my right: Jul 05, 2009 at 06:31 PM

brett maxwell Offline Upload & Sell: On p.1 #9 · Formal lighting options... Indoor: One flash in a double-fold compact umbrella, gelled to match ambient, about 3 feet to my left or right, ambient used for fill. Outdoor: Same, except AB1600 into silver umbrella, ambient still used for fill. Simple, quick, effective, ang "good enough" for a part of the coverage that everyone wants but don't care if it's perfectly lit or super creative. Jul 05, 2009 at 07:44 PM

Scott Clark Online Upload & Sell: On p.1 #10 · Formal lighting options... Thanks for the examples guys! Exactly what I was looking for (and exactly the kind of light I'm looking for). I do have a setup similar to what Jim has if I wanted to use it (my lightstick setup)...I welded up this bracket to use with my Cybersync CSRB+ receiver. Here it is with a pair of SB-28s. Here's what it would look like with my little Norman heads stuck on it: That would give me 400 w/s to put into an umbrella if I needed it. The umbrella adapter stays on the bracket, even when it's mounted on a monopod as a light stick, so it's easy to put on a light stand if I need to. I'm thinking if there's room (and time) I'll go with the two 60" umbrellas fairly close together. I suppose the hard part is finding the sweet spot where you get: a) full coverage, b) the least amount of light fall off in the back row if there is one, and c). the lights aren't in the frame. If there isn't enough room or time is really short, just put a single 60" up and a little to the side, and dial in the exposure. Maybe I'm over thinking the problem...but I do want get these lit as well as possible since they tend to be the ones that get blown up and put on a wall. Jul 05, 2009 at 09:25 PM

RedWhiteandRed Offline Dedicated FM Upload & Sell: On p.1 #11 · Formal lighting options... You should take the reflectors off the norman heads - or at least consider doing so. Jul 05, 2009 at 09:27 PM

Scott Clark Online Upload & Sell: On p.1 #12 · Formal lighting options... RedWhiteandRed wrote: You should take the reflectors off the norman heads - or at least consider doing so. You've definitely got my curiosity... The only reason I can think of to fire them into umbrellas sans reflectors would be to let the spill from the bare bulb bounce off things and add some fill, or add more light from the flash to the overall room exposure (?). Correct? Never tried it...only times I've used them without the reflectors was for some bare bulb back lighting fun. Jul 06, 2009 at 04:38 AM

Jonathan H Offline Upload & Sell: On p.1 #13 · Formal lighting options... I prefer single-light options 100% of the time, no matter the group size. There's just no chance of conflicting shadows. Even in dark caves, it still works just fine. Set-up shot showing same lighting scheme: Jul 06, 2009 at 06:47 AM

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