Need help with Photogenic Lights in Banquet hall

prophotodude · Jan 20, 2011

So I am new to this forum and would appreciate whatever help I can get from you professionals. I am using my D700 with a Nikon SB-800 flash, all of which are sitting on a stroboframe. I also have two pocket wizards ( the blue colored ones, one is a receiver and the other is a transmitter), I also have a black colored pocket wizard which is a transceiver (the new pocket wizard), and I have two Photogenic Lights, one is a 1200 watt and the other is a 750 watt. I want to be able to use my D700 along with my SB-800 flash and to be able to have my flash set off the two photogenic lights at the same time so that I can brighten up the banquet hall. How would I setup the pocket wizards to coincide with my camera and my SB-800 so that my photogenic lights will go off at the same time. Also, where exactly is the best place to put both of my photogenic lights and what angle (straight up to the ceiling? or 45 degree angle facing the corner of the room or 45 degree angle to bounce off into the direction of the dance floor?) Should the lights be in opposite diagonal corners of the room from each other or on the same side of the room? Thanks in advance for your help.

prophotodude · Feb 7, 2011

Wow guys, 107 views and not one reply???? C'mon, help a brother out!! lol

GeneralBenson · Feb 7, 2011

The short answer is to put you SB on top of the camera, but in manual mode, and have the PW connected to the sync port on the D700. Then have a PW on each head, then they will all go off. Bu this take away any TTL and make it harder to make adjustments on the fly.

KmH · Feb 7, 2011

prophotodude said:
Wow guys, 107 views and not one reply???? C'mon, help a brother out!! lol

In 19 days you did no other online research or testing on your own?

Talk about Wow! :lol:

Big Mike · Feb 7, 2011

I use a somewhat similar set up when shooting in banquet halls.

I use a Canon flash on camera (usually with a bracket) and it's attached via a TTL cord and I keep it in E-TTL mode.

I then attach a radio trigger to the camera via the PC sync port, and have a radio receiver on a studio light positioned somewhere in the room.

The studio light fires at a consistent power level, so I can use the aperture and ISO to control the exposure I get from it. The on-camera flash is usually in E-TTL, and I often dial it down, using just for fill, while the studio light acts as a key light or accent light.

If I can, I like to position the light up high. My favorite locations have a balcony where I can put it. Sometimes I just aim the light (or maybe two) up to the ceiling, making it look like the room is full of ambient light (when they fire).

If you are using two lights, it will be important that you have a receiver on each one, because that will cancel the built-in optical trigger, which might otherwise cause that light to fire when it detects other people's flashes going off.

prophotodude · Feb 7, 2011

KmH, I did do more investigating online, but I figured I would get a better answer from true professionals on this site rather than some random person online not associated with this site...guess you're NOT the guy I would get any advice from anyway...now talk about WOW! Oh, and thanks for the help.

prophotodude · Feb 7, 2011

Thank you General and Big Mike, your help is much appreciated.

GeneralBenson · Feb 7, 2011

Mike's answer = better than mine.

I didn't realize that the sync port would still send the regular signal when the rest of the camera and hotshot flash are using TTL. That's good to know.

jcolman · Feb 8, 2011

Regarding the placement of the lights, if the walls are neutral gray or white, aim your lights at the walls, about 15' high. The light will bounce off the walls/ceiling and give you some very beautiful soft light. Place your lights on opposite walls.

If the walls have any color, then your best bet is to aim the lights into umbrellas. The light won't be as soft, but it will still look much better than direct light.

In these two photos, I used two lights, bounced off the walls on opposite sides.

In this photo, since the walls were colored, I used two umbrellas as described above. You can see how the light is a bit harsher. You can even see one of the lights in the background.

Same setup but the couple was in the "sweet spot" of my lights.

Big Mike · Feb 8, 2011

Not my best examples, but here are a couple that I have on hand.

Especially during the dancing, I like to inject some drama into the photos...often using high contrast lighting, a lot of back lighting and intentionally putting the light into the frame.

For shooting the more important moments like toasts etc., I'll usually won't use such a deep ratio.