Photo Booth setup advice

[doublemint76]

My daughter wants a photo booth type thing at her 13th birthday so i just wanted to ask for any pointers, suggestions, lighting setups etc as I'll be taking the pics!

I have 2 Nikon speedlights so TTL is an option but i was thinking manual is the best way once everything is dialed in? Also, i have 2 light stands, large-ish shoot through brolly, softbox and a westcott rapidbox. Also have light meter, 5 in one reflector, tri-reflector and my gear is in my signature. I've been to the venue before, its below a pub so the ceiling is quite low.

I was thinking 1 light, white wall, shoot through behind me or slightly to the side and probably use my 50 1.4. Nail exposure in full manual with light meter or by chimping. Settings probably something like 1/160, F8-F11 and a highish iso so the flash doesn't have to work so hard. I was also thinking of mounting 2 speedlights in one brolly to speed up recycle times but would have to buy a new bracket for that but not sure what i would need really and don't want to waste money..... well the wife doesn't, i'm happy to

Anyway, my daughter has ordered the props etc she wants so any advice anyone can share would be much appreciated.

 

[twhite87]

I'd use two flash guns in TTL with the umbrellas, each at just under 45 degrees from head on (So about 70-80 degrees apart, with camera in the middle). One at 0 compensation, one at -1. Then use manual exposure. Let me know if you want any more details

 

[blakester]

I have assisted at quite a few weddings with @Slimbert Damien on here where he has set up a photobooth.
It is a very simple setup. Damien sets up a white background and uses a speedlight in a softbox. Its half body type shots, you may need to step back a little with your 50mm for that.
He has lit the background in the past, which helps if you are after a blown out background with some work in post.
The look he achieves is similar(ish) to your avatar, quite harsh shadows but it works (IMHO) with that party look. Bold colours, quite contrasty too.

This can be achieved with one speedlight, you may wish to add another dependant upon the maximum group size.

Oh, forgot to mention, no lightmeter was used, manual flash and chimp/adjust to taste!

 

[twhite87]

Just to clarify, Something like this

 

[CraigDHD]

I do the studio photo booth thing occassionally, I don't want to put you off it but things to watch out for.....

If using a plain wall make sure it really is painted flat and is clean as you will not want to do any individual post work on the images after the event.

If you're going white light it, this will require at least 2 lights just for the background, just off white usually looks a bit s*** and accidental, either get it white or find a grey/coloured wall.

Shoot at as small an apperture as you can get away with at least f11 to allow for movement/rows in groups.

You're going to struggle with a speedlight, shooting at a small apperture even if you bump the iso can mean quite high power on speedlight leading to slow recycles and potentially running out of batteries when you don't want to. Using 2 in one brolly will help but a lot of speedlights also have a sleep timeout which can lead to issues depending on triggers and brand. I'd borrow/buy a cheap studio head if you can even a cheap godox de300 or better a lencarta smartflash will be much better than speedlights for this.

Keep the lighting simple, one light only for lighting the groups, keep it fairly frontal but to one side of you mabe a 20-30 degree angle to someone right in front of you to create some shape but keep lighting even on group. Set the light up on whichever side of you will get the least traffic then get it as high as you can using as big a modifier as you can, 60" umbrella is ideal imo. Mark a line on the floor with masking tape for the front row of any groups and set your flashes to manual test lots and get exposure exactly where you want it then don't change the camera or light settings all night, again you don't want to need to do individual edits to any images.

Make sure you have a solid light stand, not a lightweight speedlight stand, and sandbag/weight it as much as you can. It will get tripped over at some point.

If you can take a cheap laptop with tethering software so you and guests can review as night goes on, I highly recommend http://digicamcontrol.com/ which is free if you don't currently have one. Seriously a cheap one it may get wet.

Take a zoom lens rather than a prime and set up on a tripod, at the apperture your shooting a fast prime is wasted and ability to zoom in/out as groups change is more useful. I like a standard zoom, usually use my 28-75 on full frame.

If have one take a remote rather than using shutter, makes it easier to interact with groups while you're shooting.

Excited kids are just as bad if not worse than drunk adults, even though most of these tips sound like for rowdy party they go double for kids.

 

[doublemint76]

Thanks everyone, some great advice so far, definitely food for thought...... i don't think I'm going to have enough space to get any distance between subjects and background, let alone light it......

Good point about the zoom, might as well have that flexibility. Was going to take 24-70 along anyway as i will no doubt go walk about with an attached speedlight at some point in the evening.

 

[juggler]

Just a couple of small things to odd to @CraigDHD's excellent post - at a distance a silver reflective brolly is usually more efficient than a shoot through or softbox so will recycle faster.

Can you use one with the triflector for fill or will the groups be too big? The harder shadows mean it is more revealing of height issues than a shoot through so watch for that though.

Or maybe use the softbox without the outer diffuser?

External battery packs can hugely improve recycle times, too.

 

[cargo]

Don't think I would ever be doing this. That said the replies given are a great insight into the thought process which can be adapted to many situations. A really good read. The forum that keeps giving ! ;-)

Thanks

Gaz