I worked with the communications director to settle on a location. It is an interior space (with all this rain there really is no other option) and very modern. Lighting it is going to be a challenge but I have 15 test subjects to work with today to sort it all out. Hopefully.
The real shoot is tomorrow. I will have 10 minutes.
After looking at a ton of group photos the images that spoke to me the most were those where the subjects were all posed individually (think of the way Annie Liebovitz arranges her group shots). I don't expect to achieve those kinds of results with the subjects, locations, time and equipment available but that is where my thinking is right now.
The location.
This first image I took yesterday at the settings I wanted to use. I am using a Canon 7D for this shot with a 17-55mm f2.8 IS lens. My settings will be f11, 1/50 at ISO 400. I need to keep my aperture small in order to keep most if not all of my subjects in sharp focus and I want a noise free image so I'm keeping the ISO fairly low.
This first image was taken yesterday as I scouted the location. I had my 7D with the above settings and a 580EXII flash mounted to the camera. Underexposed and I didn't want to up my ISO or drop my shutter speed. There wasn't a good way to bounce light in this space. I needed to get my flash off camera and softened. I also needed MORE light.
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| Location: f11, 1/50, ISO 400, 1 on-camera 580 EXII at 1/1 |
Today I brought in 2 Nikon SB-800 speedlights and mounted them off camera with shoot-through umbrellas. Umbrellas are never my first choice but for a space this large that was my only available option. Progress!
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| Location: f11, 1/50, ISO 400, 2 off-camera SB800 at 1/1 |
You've got this. Resourcefulness is any photographer's best asset.
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