Studio Lighting Set Up Advice Needed Please

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nikonuser

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Dave
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I have been asked by Family and Friends to takes some photographs of two young twins and their parents.
Unfortunately, I sold my main Bowens light some years ago through little use and am after some advice please on the best set up from the current equipment I have which is.....
Nikon D800
Nikon SB900 Flash
2 x 180w studio lights which can be fired remotely from the camera.
White vinyl background and some coloured backgrounds

What's the best combo please.......Use the 2 studio heads to light the background but then how could I fire the flash if the wireless remote is in the camera flash
Any other suggestions greatly appreciated
Thanks
Dave
 
Anyone, please
 
The SB-800 has an optical slave that can be triggered via other flashes.

Trigger the studio lights & stick the sb-800 as a hairlight
 
nikonuser said:
I have been asked by Family and Friends to takes some photographs of two young twins and their parents.
Unfortunately, I sold my main Bowens light some years ago through little use and am after some advice please on the best set up from the current equipment I have which is.....
Nikon D800
Nikon SB900 Flash
2 x 180w studio lights which can be fired remotely from the camera.
White vinyl background and some coloured backgrounds

What's the best combo please.......Use the 2 studio heads to light the background but then how could I fire the flash if the wireless remote is in the camera flash
Any other suggestions greatly appreciated
Thanks
Dave
Click to expand...

You have more than enough equipment there to cover a range of options, with or without the Nikon flash.

What do you want to do? Solo portaits, parents and kids separately, family group? Head and shoulders, full length? All options? You could actually get a very passable result with just one light, with the help of a reflector. The tricky one is a pure white background, especially full length, and to do that properly you need at least three good lights, a larger working area, and a fair amount of knowledge and practise.
 
Thanks everyone for your kind help and link which I will check out.
HoppyUK was looking at some solo, dual photos of the twins (6months old), some parent and child shots possibly 3/4 and full length
I have a black cloth background, a grey clouds cotton background, and large reflector
The Family are able to use a Church Hall so hopefully working area should not be a problem.
I would be interested in your thoughts please based on the above information.
Thanks
Dave
 
I hate to sound negative but you've gone a bit 'techie'

You're concentrating on all the gear you've got rather than the image you'd want.

If you were baking a cake would you start with:
I've got sandwich tins and loaf tins, various grades of flour, some fruits and jams, and loads of sugar etc. What do I do next?

The sensible approach is to find out what cake to bake, check the recipe, then plan further shopping if required, then off you go.

What kind of images do you want to achieve? Does the gear fit? If not can you amend the recipe to make it fit? Sorted.

Bloody photographers fall into an obsession with equipment when the only way to improve is to obsess about the subject.

You've got everything you need to provide s wide variety of images. Decide what you want to achieve and work back from there.

We can help with any questions along the way.
 
Good reply from Phil. It's a common problem :)

All I would add is, the key to a good portrait lies more in the posing, clothes, the mood, expression, and capturing the right moment. Nobody will thank you for a perfectly lit shot when the subject is gurning and blinking. Clothes are important and can completely change the mood - formal vs casual, clashing colours, or tones that may fade into the background or contrast too strongly. You may want, or not want, to emphasise these things.

With experience, it's possible to get quite technical and complicated with lighting a solo portrait if you want to (I tend not with families) but the more people you have, the more difficult it gets. You can do a little with couples, but any more than that and the opportunities become increasingly limited. With larger groups, the best you can hope for is decently attractive light on every face - ie, softbox/umbrella, and nobody blinking. Harder light (small light modifier) with stronger shadows is critical on positioning, meaning that a slight turn of the head can ruin it.

Suggest keeping is really simple. I'd probably opt for the white background, but not light it - let it go grey. And just one key light, a softbox or umbrella above the eye-line and to one side of the camera, with a reflector on the shadow side to taste. Concentrate on positioning and posing the couple and group shots, and work on inter-personal skills to make the session relaxed and enjoyable, to encourage the best expressions.

Good luck :)
 
Some great information there, Phil and Hoppy, appreciate your help and time in replying.
Never though about not lighting the white vinyl background and letting it turn grey.....will have a play
 
nikonuser said:
Some great information there, Phil and Hoppy, appreciate your help and time in replying.
Never though about not lighting the white vinyl background and letting it turn grey.....will have a play
Click to expand...

TBH, for the group shot I'd probably light the background too, white or otherwise - maybe the speedlite down low or other head with a small modifier, behind the family, and turned down for a moderate graded vignette effect. Very popular/traditional, but looks good. Turning speedlites down also speeds up the recharge time dramatically.

Practise beforehand and take notes, so you can go straight to different sets. Have a good idea of what you/they want (check google images for examples) but be prepared to go with the flow. Take an assistant to hold reflector, help with posing, changing backgrounds etc quickly. Time is often short with families, before the kids get bored and tearful. Be prepared, start with the banker shots. Adults are usually easy and cooperative, but kids can be totally unpredictable and you may only get one chance, so shoot fast and shoot lots.
 
Thanks again Hoppy much appreciated
 
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