Taking Senior School Pictures.

[superhero]

aka 'grads'. I'm supposed to be taking some senior picks this weekend, I just got a sb-24 and I've been messing around bouncing it off the ceiling and I think that it makes people look good, so for my outside shots should I have my 'assistant' friend hold a reflector or should I just use it straight on? Also are there like any web recourses for poses and other stuff like that, 'casue I really don't know what to tell the person I'm shooting to do, I may just have him hold his football (hes a big football player) in different ways. And if anyone with experience has any other tips I would greatly appreciate them.

thanks!

[Nicole]

Saralonde listed a great resource for coming up with poses in this thread (http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1836) (which I've now made a sticky) :) Sorry I can't offer help with lighting tips though. I'm sure someone else will be able to.

[ELAY]

Bouncing is a good idea; reflector is a better one.

Have a look at the "on assignments" section at Strobist.com (though if you have an SB-24 you may already be a reader). He shoots (shot?) many varsity athletes, and has great ideas for photographing them. One of his standbys is to photograph them against something painted in school colours, for example. (I recognize that for senior shots your model won't be wearing a uniform, but sounds like you want the athletic theme.)

Flip through the On Assignment pieces til you find photos you like, and then read to find out how he did it. They are mostly done with off-camera flash, but if you are experimenting with reflectors then you should be able to replicate his angles.

EL

[rikkersc]

You could also do some shots with his jersey in the background (hanging on a type of structure). I've seen several done this way. They have the student in "regular" clothes, then have items around him that represent the sport - uniform/jersey, shoes, ball, helmet/protective gear, etc.
If you are going to a location (or several) one could be a football stadium and have them in the bleachers.

Not sure about the lighting. If you have time, you may want to find a "test subject" and practice to see what results you get.