How would you set up this shot with two speedlights, softbox, reflector and umbrella?

dubcat

dubcat

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Hi -

I have two speedlights which can be remotely fired from my camera. I have one softbox, one umbrella which can be set up for shoot through or bounce, and I have one 5 in 1 reflector.

I also have a pair of 11 month old twins :) I would like to take photo's of them in my living room where i have a plush velour curtain which I could use as a backdrop. Apart from the twins I would also like to take portraits of adults when the opportunity arises.

My question is - how would you set up the lights? I was originally thinking if the subject(s) were in the middle of a clock with only an hour hand:

- camera at 6
- softbox at 7.30
- reflector at 4.30
- umbrella in bounce configuration at 1.30

Alternatively I could move the reflector round more towards 3, and have the second flash without any umbrella etc pointing up at the backdrop (curtains).

With my limited equipment how would you set this shot up and why?

Cheers,
Dub
 
Sounds about right. Maybe move the softbox between 7-8 o'clock, and also try the reflector in different positions and angles - will make a big difference to the amount of fill-in. Light bounces off the reflector at the same angle it strikes it

The back-light is basically an effect light isn't it? I would lose the brolly, try different power settings and flag it to prevent spill and flare with a small piece of card and BluTack.
 
HoppyUK said:
Sounds about right. Maybe move the softbox between 7-8 o'clock, and also try the reflector in different positions and angles - will make a big difference to the amount of fill-in. Light bounces off the reflector at the same angle it strikes it

The back-light is basically an effect light isn't it? I would lose the brolly, try different power settings and flag it to prevent spill and flare with a small piece of card and BluTack.
Click to expand...

Thanks Hoppy. I think we are suggesting the same place for the softbox - between 7 and 8 is 7.30 :)

So you think I will be better off getting rid of the brolly for now? I see why you are saying that and it does make sense. When you say flag the second flash, do you mean flag it on the side of the camera? I did think of snooting it but a) i don't have a modelling light and b) the twins move around. I might buy a snoot set from FITP and use a snoot for adults if I am lighting their hair.. Do you think this is better or do you think using that second light to light up the background is better?

Cheers,
Dub
 
dubcat said:
Thanks Hoppy. I think we are suggesting the same place for the softbox - between 7 and 8 is 7.30 :)

So you think I will be better off getting rid of the brolly for now? I see why you are saying that and it does make sense. When you say flag the second flash, do you mean flag it on the side of the camera? I did think of snooting it but a) i don't have a modelling light and b) the twins move around. I might buy a snoot set from FITP and use a snoot for adults if I am lighting their hair.. Do you think this is better or do you think using that second light to light up the background is better?

Cheers,
Dub
Click to expand...

Haha! I mean try different angles for the main light. If you have two nippers moving aroud, maybe try the softbox right next to the camera. Purists will say the light is more boring, but you get better coverage over a wider area. In situations like that I often have the softbox actually touching the camera. I would say don't get carried away with great lighting technique - of course it's important, but it's the subject that matters and mum won't care about any fancy hair light. Might not even notice it if my experience is anything to go by! :eek:

A hair light usually adds something, but the other purpose is to separate dark hair from a dark backgound. If the curtains are light you might not need that so it's maybe worth trying it on the background.

Don't think you have to use all your lights just because you've got them. 90% of the work is done my the main key light and the reflector. Use more light units, or not, because they add something worthwhile.

Yes, the flag on the hair light is camera-side to prevent flare. You might also want to control spill on the other side. If you zoom the flash head to max and use flags, you have effectively got a crude snoot but one that will be easier to direct over a moving target. Might be easer to just wrap a short tube of card around the flash head to direct and control it.
 
Ahh thanks Hoppy. I get it. Will give it a go.
 
Been playing with the setup for the last hour or two. I really like having the hair light set up without any umbrella - the hard light is much better. I just set up ratio's on my ettl transmitter to reduce the power of that light.

I'm so glad I got in to this off camera lighting stuff. It's amazing :) I just hope i get consistently good at it.

I'm also glad I've started this journey with ST-E2 transmitter as it's made the learning curve a lot nicer and i've got nice shots straight out of the camera.
 
dubcat said:
Been playing with the setup for the last hour or two. I really like having the hair light set up without any umbrella - the hard light is much better. I just set up ratio's on my ettl transmitter to reduce the power of that light.

I'm so glad I got in to this off camera lighting stuff. It's amazing :) I just hope i get consistently good at it.

I'm also glad I've started this journey with ST-E2 transmitter as it's made the learning curve a lot nicer and i've got nice shots straight out of the camera.
Click to expand...

Good to hear :thumbs:

Care to post summat up?
 
Hmm ok - but bear in mind that I was practising setting up a hair light on my dad, who has no hair :) He's an awesome patient man who puts up with my fads and patiently sat for me while i figured out how to get all the flashes working. The hair light caused a big shiny patch on his head unfortunately :)

Here goes:

 
Great start! You could do a lot with that guy :) I know it's only a test shot, but he would look good against a black background. Lose the white shirt for that though ;) Hair light looks a bit strong - in fact it doesn't do him any favours really. Keep it for kids/ladies though.

Main problem there is the glasses. They are very hard to get right. And there's no highlight in the eyes. Essential really. Lower the light a bit, which will also help minimise the dark shadow cast by the side arms of the specs, and move it towards the front. Watch out for reflections though! Never easy, and a slight turn of the head ruins everything... :(

If I was shooting kids/ladies against that background, I'd have a go at putting a flash gun directly behind the subject's back firing directly towards the camera, just below shoulder height. It will pick out the subject with a halo outline and put some fun light into the hair.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I will try them out on him next time. i want to buy a backdrop...just debating which one.
 
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