Prom theme "Old Hollywood" ideas

[Ryan L]

I am shooting a prom in a couple months and looking for ideas. Originally I was going to do a red carpet theme for hollywood, but found out the theme was "old" Hollywood. Looking for thoughts/ideas on backdrop and props. I have the usual black, white, tan, maroon, blue muslin, and black,white seamless, with a strobed set up. The coordinator wanted it set up kind of photobooth style. Thoughts?

 

[tirediron]

Straight up Hollywood glamour lighting.

 

[vintagesnaps]

Try looking at stills from some movies of that era on sites like Turner Classic Movies - you can see what kind of look they got with the lighting used. (Anything with Bogie in it usually has a number of photos that were taken on the set, any famous movie from that time period would probably have some.)

 

[Derrel]

Here's an idea I just sketched out. If you want to do the "cookie" idea, of shooting a flash through plants, you'd place the plants immediately to the right of the panel, and use a third flash for that, to cast the shadow on the background. The video above shows how that would work. The diffusion panel is BIG, as in door-sized. This is my standard old Lightform size, and with speedlights, you'd want two flashes for even floor-to-ceilingt fill light, to show the dresses and shoes and get adequate light on the couples. The thing is, in a confined space, you NEED FILL light at the bottom of the couples, at least a little. With the main light fairly close, and casting a modified loop light type of shadow pattern on the faces, the big danger is really BRIGHT faces, and then the entire bottom of the frame looking VERY dark. I see this a LOT in many speedlight flash set-ups, where the faces are hot, but the belt line area is 3 stops under, and the floor is -5 stops--and that looks, in a word, crappy.

This is not "portraiture" as much as it is "catalog fashion" with prom-goers as the subjects. You want to show the gowns and dresses and hair, the whole outfit, and you have (usually) two people, so having the fill light going from floor-to-ceiling is going to be nice, and make the shots look better.

If you happen to have a BIG strip box, you could use that. If you only have one speedlight to use for the fill, I would put it in an umbrella, camera right.



The PANEL does something you might not be aware of: it gives the subjects PRIVACY. Keep the other kids to the right, and away from you. DO NOT let groups of others hang out behind your shooting position. Keep them AWAY, so the couples can react to YOU and the camera.

 

[Ryan L]

I wont be using speed lites, as I have a few Photogenic mono-lights that should provide a bit more consistent lighting for the evening, and will probably be using a couple softboxes and a hair light.

This isn't my first dance, or event, and actually I shot this same class 4 years ago at their 8th grade formal, so its kind of fun to see the transformation this particular group made through high school.

I am more trying to find a style for the old Hollywood theme that the kids will enjoy as well. Don't forget there are guys here too. Why couldn't they just call it Hollywood!! Had to stick the "old" in there to really throw me a curve ball.

 

[Derrel]

Even better...real "lights"!!!!!!!!

 

[Ryan L]

Even if I don't use the panel for fill. I do like the idea of the privacy. I have a 8' lite panel from...I don't recall who makes it off hand...but anyway it has a gold and white panel, wish I had a black one now for a big gobo. I will think of something.