Back to School

[mwilson263]

Hi,

My wife's clinic had a back to school themed party & potluck. I was asked if I would take some fun "back to school" photos. I'm fairly new at strobes/flash so was a bit unsure about the setup. They were thrilled with the pictures, and in general I'm fairly happy with the results, but know there's a lot of room for improvement.

There was a mix of individual and group shots. How do you manage the lighting for shooting both individuals and groups without moving things around? I felt that with groups the people on the ends seemed a bit hot. How did I do with the light setup in general (I didn't use the speedlight that is at camera left by the background). I would've liked better separation & definition between the background and subjects so maybe I should've used the speedlight.

I shot the pics with a 24-105mm lens at 60-100mm depending on the group size (this particular shot of the group was at 60mm), 1/125, F6.3, iso 100.

Would love to hear any CC or suggestions.

Thanks, Mike.

 

[tirediron]

Not bad, and for the kit you used, quite respectable. A few thoughts for potential improvement: Bring your lights in a little closer and reduce the power to avoid the hot spots. When you have two rows of people in a small group, have those in the back lean forward to avoid either deep chin shadow we see on the gentleman with the yellow spectacles. Also, watch your reflections; The first few letters in the sign suffer badly from reflective glare; it's likely that changing the angle of the light on the right just slightly would have eliminated that. Also, watch your composition: You have lots of room image left, but you're cropped the right arm of the chap in the blue/grey shirt.

 

[chuasam]

There's only a few lighting solutions good for individuals and groups.
Single very large circular softbox (about 60" or larger) above and slightly behind the camera.
AlienBees 56" moon unit with the camera in the middle.

 

[mwilson263]

Also, watch your composition: You have lots of room image left, but you're cropped the right arm of the chap in the blue/grey shirt.

Thanks for the feedback. I did notice that many of the shots had similar composition errors. Some I was able to extend the background in post, but in this case with the crop cutting through him I couldn't do anything. I was concentrating so much on getting the light right that composition went right out the window. A good lesson to remember for future shoots.

 

[mwilson263]

There's only a few lighting solutions good for individuals and groups.
Single very large circular softbox (about 60" or larger) above and slightly behind the camera.
AlienBees 56" moon unit with the camera in the middle.

This did make me realize that the softboxes were probably a bit small - I'll learn what I can with them for now and start making up a Christmas wish list to give to my wife.

I may have read wrong but from the Paul C Buff site it appears that the 56" moon unit was being discontinued (low demand & lack of parts availability).

 

[chuasam]

There's only a few lighting solutions good for individuals and groups.
Single very large circular softbox (about 60" or larger) above and slightly behind the camera.
AlienBees 56" moon unit with the camera in the middle.

This did make me realize that the softboxes were probably a bit small - I'll learn what I can with them for now and start making up a Christmas wish list to give to my wife.

I may have read wrong but from the Paul C Buff site it appears that the 56" moon unit was being discontinued (low demand & lack of parts availability).

72" umbrella works too