Event photography back drop

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Olix23

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Covering the leavers do at a local sixth form, I've done a lot of photography but not an evening do before and have been asked to do portraits of groups upto about 10 ish. And not really sure on what colour or size background to go with, the clothes will be smart casual with the occasional dress, if that makes any difference to what colour. I've got a background support which I will probably get another pole to extend across as its a little short. Will be greatfull for any advice, and got abit of knowledge on lighting but any links will be much appreciated. Thanks
 
Brave man taking on a do like that with little experience!

You will need better lighting than say a single speedlite - get some decent flash equipment so that you get your groups lit properly.

Backgrounds... the choice is endless, but suggest you avoid white, and if you go for mottle or plain colour, stick to something neutral so that as few of the dresses as possible clash with it

An alternative is a themed background - quite expensive to buy for a one off job
 
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Bayrunner said:
the choice is endless, but suggest you avoid white,
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I have no idea why you wouldn't use white for an event like this, as it will go with whatever colour people are wearing, and is totally neutral, if you can get a 8x7 Hi-lite setup with some lights, i would have thought it would be ideal, take a look at this event photographer who does this type of shoot for a living HERE
 
Are you producing a disc of images after the party, or offering them on-site? The reason I ask is that if it is on a disc afterwards then you will have time to post process, so some shadows will be less of a problem. If it is on the spot then you are going to have to be more precise with your lighting, so the right backdrop for you it going to be more important.

Black is another option, but the background material then can be quite important.

Good luck.
 
I've done, portraits before for a yearbook so know my why around flashes and have been on an event photography course so know what to do, don't worry ahah. But just done portraits so could get away with using a white projector screen instead of a proper back drop. Will be producing around 50 discs for about two weeks after so got plenty of time to edit them after. Wild anybody recommend the hi light system plus would you recommend a train or just use the carpet and just have a right angle on the floor (if you know what I mean)
 
TG. said:
I have no idea why you wouldn't use white for an event like this, as it will go with whatever colour people are wearing, and is totally neutral, if you can get a 8x7 Hi-lite setup with some lights, i would have thought it would be ideal, take a look at this event photographer who does this type of shoot for a living HERE
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Group of 10 teenagers in front of an 8x7??? Rather you than me - particularly for an inexperienced photographer.

I suggested avoiding white not because of the look of the images, but to try and keep the job simple and not have to unduly worry about the background. Granted, the Hi Lite is very simple, but it is not suitable for an inexperienced photographer to try and shoot groups of 10 lively teenagers.
 
Bayrunner said:
I suggested avoiding white not because of the look of the images, but to try and keep the job simple and not have to unduly worry about the background
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If you set it all up correctly it will be simple, if you check out the video, the guy their pretty much sets everything up, right down to camera settings, and he gets it right every time, he has too because he is printing and selling photos on the night, he may have to tweak a little but generally all that he does is change the groups onto the set.

Olix23 said:
I don't understand why being so inexperienced is making everyone really shocked, surely you have to start somewhere ?
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Of course everyone has to start somewhere, however this is not the ideal place to start, i don't know what setup you have already, but if your thinking of the Hi-lite when you purchase have plenty of practice first, before you do an event of this kind, else you will just put yourself under a lot of pressure, and that will manifest itself in your work.

In answer to your question about the Hi-lite floor, yes for an event like this you will need it, or at least some sort of white vinyl floor ;)
 
You only need a vinyl floor or train of you are planning on doing full length. Oh, and if you are expecting to use the set up advocated by Keith then you will struggle to get 6 people in front of the Hi-Lite without getting half the room in the shot!!
 
The Noir Dude said:
if you are expecting to use the set up advocated by Keith then you will struggle to get 6 people in front of the Hi-Lite without getting half the room in the shot!!
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Why so, if you look at the beginning of his video you will see 7 people in each photo


[URL=http://s59.photobucket.com/user/beachy47/media/LAST1_zps155ab2f0.jpg.html][/URL]

[URL=http://s59.photobucket.com/user/beachy47/media/LAST2_zps4002267d.jpg.html][/URL]

I have had 10 people posed on the Hi-lite, without them spilling over, all of these images will just need cropping, and in my own, a bit of PP on the floor

[URL=http://s59.photobucket.com/user/beachy47/media/K43Resized_zpsda1a1ab7.jpg.html][/URL]
 
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You haven't seen the final shots straight from the camera! The side kicker lights aimed at lighting the paper will be in shot. Your set up is using a vinyl train, not paper on a raised Hi-Lite, Therefore you haven't got to kicker lights in your shot.
 
The Noir Dude said:
if you are expecting to use the set up advocated by Keith then you will struggle to get 6 people in front of the Hi-Lite without getting half the room in the shot!!
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The way i understood what you said was as above, the edges of a couple of kicker lights is hardly half the room in a shot, if you watch the full video, when you see the setup full on, you will see that the kicker lights barely encroach on the floor, and the bit that does can be cropped/cloned out in seconds :)
 
TG. said:
The way i understood what you said was as above, the edges of a couple of kicker lights is hardly half the room in a shot, if you watch the full video, when you see the setup full on, you will see that the kicker lights barely encroach on the floor, and the bit that does can be cropped/cloned out in seconds :)
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I have had people come on my training days, and got them to set this up, and they nearly all get half the room in the shot. They bring the subjects so far forward to avoid the lights, then stand between the main lights (rather than moving back and zooming in), hence they are shooting wide to get everyone in the shot, and I can get from them pretty much what you have in your shot. I'm not saying, it can't be done, and Keith has years of experience. What I'm trying to say is that this is a common mistake made especially by many photographers.

Your set up would work for the OP. But in a pressurised event situation, it really needs, as far as possible, to be correct when shot with no PP required.
 
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Olix23 said:
Max it be groups of 6 at the most. I don't understand why being so inexperienced is making everyone really shocked, surely you have to start somewhere ?
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Don't think we are shocked - we are trying to prepare you for what will almost certainly be a fast evening's work, with groups of teenagers, probably growing more boisterous as the evening wears on... You have to think on your feet, think fast, expect the unexpected, and be expected to deal with it calmly and efficiently in order to produce decent images.

So going in with a set up where you can keep things simple, with a minimum of adjustment during the evening and also trying to minimse PP is very definitely going to help you get through.

It would be interesting to know what set up you choose, and how you got on after the event. Good luck!
 
Thanks, felt abit worried when people where saying i was brave, but I'm friends with the students as its my sisters year, so will make it a little easier to tell them what to do first time. But ive got 3 strobes, a shoot through and reflective umbrellas, 2 softboxes, barn doors and gels, and the 2 video light soft boxes which are constant lights. What would people recommend to use out of that lot ? Thanks
 
The Noir Dude said:
I have had people come on my training days, and got them to set this up, and they nearly all get half the room in the shot. They bring the subjects so far forward to avoid the lights, then stand between the main lights (rather than moving back and zooming in), hence they are shooting wide to get everyone in the shot, and I can get from them pretty much what you have in your shot. I'm not saying, it can't be done, and Keith has years of experience. What I'm trying to say is that this is a common mistake made especially by many photographers.

Your set up would work for the OP. But in a pressurised event situation, it really needs, as far as possible, to be correct when shot with no PP required.
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Fair comments, i guess i wasn't looking at it from that point of view, and i can see why someone not familiar with these type of shoots, would do just what you have mentioned :)

Olix23 said:
Thanks, felt abit worried when people where saying i was brave, but I'm friends with the students as its my sisters year, so will make it a little easier to tell them what to do first time. But ive got 3 strobes, a shoot through and reflective umbrellas, 2 softboxes, barn doors and gels, and the 2 video light soft boxes which are constant lights. What would people recommend to use out of that lot ? Thanks
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The only thing i can't see you using in the setup you have, for this type of shoot, are the barn doors, and the video lights, the gels could come in handy if you wanted to change the colour of the background.
 
The only thing i can't see you using in the setup you have, for this type of shoot, are the barn doors, and the video lights, the gels could come in handy if you wanted to change the colour of the background.[/QUOTE]

Yeh i wasnt planning on using the barn doors, video lights or the gels, Was going to go for both umbrellas one on either side of me at my distance from the group, would that be alright? Or would soft boxes work better ?
 
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