So for events such as birthday parties especially teens birthdays, but not exclusively, as we have the older and should know better generation performing equally as badly at their parties, we often have a dilemma. Space or rather lack of it. Our normal set up for this type of gig is four speedlights consisting of 2 x SB600 and 2 x SB800 with either another SB900 as master or for some of Nikon models D200, 300 & 700 you can use the inbuilt flash.
We use a 10ft backdrop in a colour to suit the occasion, in this shoot we were using the excellent Lastolite Vinyl backdrop which we will review at a later date. So up front we have two SB600 set at Cnl 1 group B, remote mode, 24mm zoom & firing through 45in shoot thru brollies placed either side and around 4ft from the rear of the backdrop.
Key lights are two SB800 set to remote mode, Cnl 1, group A, 24mm zoom and firing into 45in softbox brollies placed either side to the rear about 2ft from the end of the background train. For high key you should be looking for around a 2 stop difference between the background and the subject.
The camera flash is set to master and both groups to manual at 1/4 power. Camera used on this shoot was Nikon D3 and 24-70 f2.8, camera set to manual with an aperture of F8, 125th sec shutter and ISO 400. If there is one thing I love about the D3 & D700 is the ability to shoot at higher ISO with the Nikon CLS system. I've shot at 800 ISO before on location shoots which makes the SB's pop! Wow, its like shooting with 600w heads but without the hassle, just got to love the D3 for opening up a whole new world of stobist lighting!
Next, get them in front of the camera. As always it's slow to start but once you get the first few in front of the camera then its stand back and watch the lemmings jump! You have to have real energy for these type of occasions getting them to have fun, posing and enjoying themselves to want to come back for more with other groups of friends. Remember the more quality shots of them the more they buy! Only real problem is having to shout over the DJ, boy that strains the old vocal cords for sure.
We always find it best to give them a time limit in which they have to get in front of the camera before you pack up, fail to do this and you will be there forever as later, the more alcohol they consume, they will just trickle back after the initial novelty wares off. We normally have a couple of laptops for viewing which helps to get the buzz going but seldom print on site for teenagers as they rarely have the money and what they do have is normally rationed for their beer! For black tie functions we will always print on site as we have mobile credit card facilities and people will always buy on the night.
One point of note from the evening which is always a great reminder is never stop experimenting with your lighting. We have always used this setup for this type of shoot where large groups can become involved as with the two key lights you have a large spread of light to cover everyone and it gives them flexibility to move around and be covered by the light. If it was just couples or up to four then you would only need one brolly as key. And the shoot thru's always give a nice even spread of light for the backdrop.
Can you see the brollys in the way?...... Concentrate guys!!!
The problem we encounted here was the lack of space meant the shoot thru's were getting in the shot so that the groups had to be really packed tight in the centre to avoid them. In the end I took the brollies off the SB600's and just used them with their wide angle diffuses in place. Result? Perfect! No need for shoot thru's anymore for mobile high key, so less kit to carry is always a result in my book!
You can see the set up here without the shoot thrus.
So Nikon CLS gets the results again! No leads for people to trip over, all the kit carried in one bag [except background and its stands] no looking for PowerPoint's and for this shoot 350 shots on one set of batteries with plenty of juice in the SB's to easily double this. Also at 1/4 power these things can keep up with the motor drive so when your in the groove and the talents rocking you can AK 47 that shutter baby and hose the set down with jpegs!!!
You just got to love this job all those lovely teenage girls to model [did they really look like that when i was 18?] and whilst I'm in the groove doing my best Baily impression in front of them I can hear in one ear one young lads comments 'you've got the best job in the world mate'! Sometimes, just sometimes, he might...... just be right!
Big love to Annette and her family for a great night, she's a star and a natural in front of the camera! Anyway, below is a selection from the night hope you enjoyed the article.
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