Portrait/ID Photos

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Hi folks,

New member. Amateur photographer of around 10 years. I had a 450D for several years, but sold that for a Lumix GF6, just to have something more portable.

For my sins I take the staff photos at work, which are used for ID badges and also printed for a display board in the reception (around 110 staff).

Prior to this the photos were taken all over the place with different cameras, and were a real mess. The more recent idea was to take them (I used my GF6) in a consistent location (a projector screen backdrop).

The photos are still rather average though and some staff have complained they want them retaken, which looks like it will happen.

If we're going to all the effort of retaking them I'm thinking that a better setup would help. I'm thinking of asking the company to buy a mid-range SLR (so I'm not using my camera all the time, as the staff change quite frequently requiring new photos to be taken), but I suspect lighting is by far the bigger issue.

What would recommendations be for a modest (< £500) lighting setup. I was thinking a couple of softboxes and a backdrop, but what do others think based on the objective and problems to-date?

TIA
 
A plain background either a pop up or even a plain wall would be fine for headshots.

A single light with a modifier of your choice (softbox, beauty dish, octobox) would do the job.

If you want a little more creativity look at the two head lighting kits from Lencarta (other makes are available ;)) and use the second light as either fill or for a bit of separation from the background.

If you have a read in the Studio and Lighting section there are loads of threads very similar to this with a 101 solutions :).
 
If there's a problem with the shots a new camera is unlikely to help! Why not just get the local pro to come in and do it properly?
 
SSR said:
What would recommendations be for a modest (< £500) lighting setup. I was thinking a couple of softboxes and a backdrop, but what do others think based on the objective and problems to-date?
Click to expand...
Bets mug shot set-up I've seen ;) - http://strobist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/sbpd-booking-mug-booth-is-pretty-good.html

snap-happy said:
If there's a problem with the shots a new camera is unlikely to help! Why not just get the local pro to come in and do it properly?
Click to expand...
Cost effective for 110 shots over a week. Not so cost effective for one or two new starts per month. Becomes demoralising when the company hires the pro for the big gig and then goes back to the keen volunteer for the dribs and drabs.
 
I suppose it depends how much they value their image - and how much they value your time - surely you're being paid to do something other than photography.
 
two head kit from lencarta and shoot against a plain wall? Some sort of dslr or csc would be needed though imo - you might be lucky enough to get all this for under 500.
I guess you can make a business case for spending the money
 
Who's paying for & storing the kit?
You can go a long way with a single speedlite, convertible shoot-through / reflector umbrella, bracket, stand, trigger & 5-in-1 popup reflector. Total cost < £100. See strobist101, again.

Am I right in thinking the GF6 doesn't have a hotshoe? Does it have a PC sync socket? Or you might be able to use the popup flash to trigger the speedlite; if not then a new camera is indicated. A second hand 450D would probably do the job very nicely :)
 
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