Lighting setup check

[this_is_gav]

First post, and a bit of a biggy.

It looks like I've been given the go ahead to order a lot of portrait gear for work (a middle school), and I just wanted to check that everything is correct and should work together!

Warehouse Express:
- Nikon D300 (I already have a D40x I'll use as a 2nd body)
- 2x Hahnel HL-EL3e Battery
- Hahnel HN-D300/D700 InfraPro Battery Grip
- Seculine Twin-1 R4N Wireless Remote Control (any cheaper alternatives that are just as good?... ideally not from Ebay!)
- Sandisk 8GB 300x UDMA Extreme IV Compact Flash (I'll be shooting motorsports occasionally)
- Sandisk 8GB 100x Ultra II Compact Flash
- Sigma 17-70mm f2.8-4.5 HSM (intended for 2nd body and a general walkabout as a replacement kit lens - I already have a Sigma 30mm f1.4 HSM which will likely be used on the D300, as well as a 150mm f2.8. Intend to get a Nikon 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 at a later date)
- Lastolite 1.8x1.2m Reflector/Diffuser (will be used instead of a Lastolite Skylite for outdoor shots in the summer... doubt I can push the budget further for a true Skylite, and indoor is the priority at the moment)
- Giottos LC210-1 Light Stand (to be used for fill light, behind and above camera, which is why I've gone for something quite tall rather than another Lencarta stand)
- Sekonic L-308S Light Meter
- Spyder 3 Pro

Lencarta (maybe Garry can help me out here?):
- ElitePro Professional Portrait Kit (key light, fill light, background light)
- ElitePro 300 Compact Flash Head (hair light)
- 150 cm Octa Softbox
- Background Support System (I already have a couple of these backdrops)
- Background stand
- Honeycomb Set For Standard Reflector (possible for backdrop light, though may not use)
- Snoot (with removable honeycomb) (intended for hair light)
- a replacement lamp for each flash head (300J and 600J)


The intention is fairly standard 45 degree lighting for portraits for our school. I'll have the D300 on a tripod, hopefully with the 30mm f1.4, the key light at 45 degrees with the 80cm Octagonal Softbox included in the lighting kit, the 150cm softbox behind the camera for the fill light, backdrop light possibly with the standard honeycomb, then the 4th light as a hairlight with the snoot+honeycomb.

The last bit is the sticking point - do I need to purchase a receiver or anything for the 4th light, given that it's separate to the kit?

I don't have a lot of time, but any tips would be much appreciated.

 

[Garry Edwards]

I'll try to help with the lighting questions.

1. You can fire any number of studio heads as slaves, so you won't need any extra receivers
2. You won't need an especially tall stand for the fill light, which shouldn't be too high.
3. Life will be easier for you (more evenly lit background, reduced image editing) if you have 2 lights on the background, and if you use background reflectors, which produce very even lighting.
4. From a safety viewpoint (bearing in mind that it's a school full of kids) I advise that each lighting stand should be fitted with castors (except for the background stands, they have them as standard) so that if anyone trips over a wire it will move the stand instead of bringing it crashing down. Weights are an extra and prudent safety measure. The same comment can be applied to the background support, but it's usually easy enough just to tie them off, like a ladder, which takes care of the problem.

 

[Leeb]

bloody hell, you have got a tidy budget from the school for that little lot!

I would suggest it may even be slight overkill for what you may need it for.

That is a huge investment, c'mon tell the truth, you just want some new toys dont you? haha

 

[this_is_gav]

To be fair, I'll be getting half myself for other things (most of the Warehouse Express stuff), but I'm most excited by portrait photography (something I really didn't expect when I got my D40x), so I want to stretch myself a bit.

I just approached the boss a week or 2 back and said if she's got some money left at the end of the financial year (ie end of this month) then I'd quite like to do this. As it turns out, she hasn't given my proposal the go-ahead yet (as another member of staff suggested this morning), so it might not happen yet.

But yes, in short, I just want toys.

Apologies for being a bit cryptic on the phone this afternoon Garry - a million and one things to do and a million and one other IT-related orders to process it seems.

Keep any recommendations or tips coming please.