Lighting for group photos.

[FlyTVR]

I was 'volunteered' to shoot a 18th birthay party the other day. This was my first experience of shooting upto 10 subjects in one group.

Standard setup, a softbox key light and a fill.

Shots have come out pretty well, but I've noticed that the person standing closest to the key light is definately illuminated more than the others.

It was a pressured shoot, so I had no time to experiment, but I'm guessing I should have used a different setup. Larger softbox, or repositioning further away (with a loss of softness)?

Thoughts and advice appreciated.

 

[HoppyUK]

Yes, inverse square law - the first rule to heed with any form of artificial light. It's very simple - double the distance equals quarter the light. Point a torch at a wall and note the size of the circle. Now move back to twice the distance and the circle will be twice as wide, but four times the area, so the light is reduced by two stops.

In practice, there are various things you can do. One is to arrange the subject or light so that all important subjects are the same distance from it. And/or, increase the distance between the subjects and the light so that the fall-off is relatively reduced. This is one of the reasons why bounce flash works so well - it automatically increases the distance between the light and the subject, so as well as softening the light it is more evenly spread over a room.

 

[CJB64]

Yes, inverse square law - the first rule to heed with any form of artificial light. It's very simple - double the distance equals quarter the light. Point a torch at a wall and note the size of the circle. Now move back to twice the distance and the circle will be twice as wide, but four times the area, so the light is reduced by two stops.

In practice, there are various things you can do. One is to arrange the subject or light so that all important subjects are the same distance from it. And/or, increase the distance between the subjects and the light so that the fall-off is relatively reduced. This is one of the reasons why bounce flash works so well - it automatically increases the distance between the light and the subject, so as well as softening the light it is more evenly spread over a room.

I have been trying to work out the lighting too. I did nt know it was so mathematical with a quarter this times 2 of that. Seems hopeless for me at the minute

 

[HoppyUK]

I have been trying to work out the lighting too. I did nt know it was so mathematical with a quarter this times 2 of that. Seems hopeless for me at the minute

It's not difficult at all, just plain logic really.

The light falls off over distance, so arrange your subjects so they are all about the same distance from the light.

At the same time, moving the light further back obviously reduces the distance differential between nearest and furthest.

Simples

 

[itsdavedotnet]

point it at the conveniently placed white low ceiling, aimed half way between the camera and the group. On camera with a stofen, means you get a bit of forward fill, and a load of nice diffused light. Job done.