How much strobe Power is really needed
Mar 19, 2015 20:24:25 #
closer
Loc: Tennessee
I am going to do photographs for a church directory. The pictures will be taken in a room that is 20 x 24 feet. The ceiling is 20 to 25 feet high. Walls are white. Their is really no ambient light at all. I have decided to go with studio strobes. I don't know much about them except what I have read. They insist on a blue backdrop. I don't won't to pour a lot of money into this project. I am doing it as charity work for them. I am looking at two options: 1. Flashpoint (Adorama) 300w/s 2. StudioPro 300w/s would welcome any help on this subject.
Mar 19, 2015 20:57:35 #
Mar 19, 2015 21:12:29 #
closer
Loc: Tennessee
Yes, like individuals. Maybe a group shot of the choir and families events and such mostly using the strobe for people pictures. Portraits
Mar 19, 2015 21:32:30 #
The size of the room is unimportant then. Stop looking at surroundings and pay attention only to your subjects.
Any kit will do as the power will need to be regulated on the spot, just don't go for dinky slave flashes.
Depending on how sophisticated you want to be you need between two flashes to five flashes with reflectors.
300ws is more than adequate.
Personally since this seems to be a 'mass shooting' I would go with 2 flashes and reflectors. I possibly would use a light to separate the subject from the background thought.
Any kit will do as the power will need to be regulated on the spot, just don't go for dinky slave flashes.
Depending on how sophisticated you want to be you need between two flashes to five flashes with reflectors.
300ws is more than adequate.
Personally since this seems to be a 'mass shooting' I would go with 2 flashes and reflectors. I possibly would use a light to separate the subject from the background thought.
Mar 19, 2015 21:42:58 #
closer wrote:
I am going to do photographs for a church director... (show quote)
For individuals, you can use two (key, reflector, background) or three lights (key, fill, background). For groups, you should have four (two in front, two for background). You can use speed lights or strobes; my cheapest flexible setup is Nikon SB 28/28DX or SB 80 DX. It's manual, and I use a flash meter.
If it's really dark, you should get some lighting so you can see what you are doing (important for focus, especially if you don't have a fast lens). If you have daylight balanced bulbs, that helps with color balance but you can overpower the lights with flash/strobe if you need.
Try to use the same model all around, just for consistent white balance.
The strobes you mention will work, but you need light modifiers to avoid harsh light. For group shots, I recommend large shoot through umbrellas. The room might be too large for bounce; if you do you might find 300 w/s a bit low.
Instead of buying, you might see if you can rent.
Mar 19, 2015 21:44:21 #
closer
Loc: Tennessee
Since most of these pictures with be single portraits. I was thinking of using an 36 inch octagon for the main light and maybe a smaller 200w/s to light the background? What do you think? I've never done indoor portraits. How far should the subject be from the background. I know the light will fall off the further away they get.
Mar 19, 2015 21:48:35 #
closer
Loc: Tennessee
Yeah, maybe rent. 4 strobes or flashes is way beyond the budget. These won't be glamour shots. Just decent shots with uniformity in mind. The group shots will be taken outside the church. That one I can do with no problem. The portraits will be with 50mm 1.8 lens. It is way fast enough for this.
Mar 19, 2015 21:51:18 #
You have one prerequisite: A blue background.
Deal with that first.
Then deal with the subject lighting so that the luminosity between the two stays basically the same.
Get your lights and test various setups. I find nearly impossible to say more than that as per your own account you have no experience.
Deal with that first.
Then deal with the subject lighting so that the luminosity between the two stays basically the same.
Get your lights and test various setups. I find nearly impossible to say more than that as per your own account you have no experience.
Mar 19, 2015 22:03:25 #
closer
Loc: Tennessee
This is all true. You never learn til you try. You can bet I will. Everyone has to start somewhere. This is a free one for experience. Been mostly shooting events. I said what the heck. I really appreciate your help. If I didn't work all the time, I would come around more often.This is a great site with great people.
Mar 19, 2015 22:42:14 #
This is simple. ONE strobe directly over the camera. you can place it up high right behind you and into a 42" or 60" umbrella. I would NOT use a shoot-through, but than can work. I prefer the umbrella used as reflective, but both approaches work.
Forget the whole main/fill thing.It is beyond your skill and absolutely not needed anyway. Every time you have to change from a single person to a couple to a group, you will have to change the lights and ideally, re-meter them.
With this setup you will NEVER get shadows on other group members. For individuals, it is flat light, but very forgiving and it really is fool-proof and since you are inexperienced, that is what you need. These are church directory photos, not art.
Keep the subjects at least 4 feet from the background and with a high light, you will have no shadows on the BG.
DO NOT waste money on a softbox.
I have done exactly this setup with both a two-speedlight set into the umbrella and with a strobe. Simple, cheap, works, foolproof.
I will try to find you BTS examples to show you the setup and results.
Forget the whole main/fill thing.It is beyond your skill and absolutely not needed anyway. Every time you have to change from a single person to a couple to a group, you will have to change the lights and ideally, re-meter them.
With this setup you will NEVER get shadows on other group members. For individuals, it is flat light, but very forgiving and it really is fool-proof and since you are inexperienced, that is what you need. These are church directory photos, not art.
Keep the subjects at least 4 feet from the background and with a high light, you will have no shadows on the BG.
DO NOT waste money on a softbox.
I have done exactly this setup with both a two-speedlight set into the umbrella and with a strobe. Simple, cheap, works, foolproof.
I will try to find you BTS examples to show you the setup and results.
Mar 19, 2015 23:11:23 #
closer
Loc: Tennessee
Thanks a lot. That is what I will try. I've seen some videos and just kept wondering why all those strobes for a simple photograph.
Mar 19, 2015 23:33:52 #
closer wrote:
I know the light will fall off the further away they get.
For the future I suggest you start learning about the inverse square law. For now go with Cliff's solution as it is the easiest way to deal with your shoot.
Good luck.
Mar 19, 2015 23:53:27 #
tsilva wrote:
For the future I suggest you start learning about the inverse square law. For now go with Cliff's solution as it is the easiest way to deal with your shoot.
Good luck.
Good luck.
I am glad you mentioned that!
The reason I suggested having the light BEHIND the camera is it addresses the light fall-off issues for groups and ensures a reasonable "depth of light." For beginners, the tendency is to have the light too close and the inverse square law works against them.
Here are the Behind the Scene images showing how this works in practice. I thought I used two speedlights - obviously it is 3, but your 320WS strobe will be fine.
Mar 20, 2015 00:51:19 #
One more thing to add: When you are set up, take a photo with NO strobe to be sure that you get a black frame. That way you know all the light will be what YOU control and there will be no contamination from ambient sources - very important.
Mar 20, 2015 00:52:27 #
closer
Loc: Tennessee
That is a great looking setup and resulted in a great picture. That inverse square law is like the light falls off twice as much as the distance the subjects' distance gets from the light source. Or something like that.
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