Photo Booth Fundraiser

[mommywesley]

Ok, so this really is a like 10 page story, so I'm going to try to shorten it down

I have a cousin who is/was adopted. She has some mental issues and had two girls. Her step sister (one of the two that her mom actually gave birth to) has taken custody of the two girls. One is 2.5yrs and the other is 7mos. The lawyer fees are ridiculous, so our family routinely does fundraisers, volunteers at the sporting complex etc, to raise money to put towards these fees. This has been a long battle, going on two years this coming Feb/March. Without going too much into my family drama I need some help with the most recent fundraiser my family is putting together.

My Aunt's church is letting us set up three booths to have parents bring their kids to have pictures taken. They are not going to be basic back drops, but actual props the kids get to pick from. One will be set up with a Castle, one with some Cars, then another I don't recall the theme. It is inside, but I was told that the room they plan to use is very big and has windows on both sides where the sun rises and sets...so I need help on lighting for the time the sun is actually above the church and not coming in the windows. Also, the sun coming directly through the windows could pose problems in itself...

I am going this Sunday, or the next, to do a 'practice' shoot with the two girls, so we can use those photos on the flyer. I need some cheap ideas on lighting options? Should we block the windows and just use lights, or should we take advantage of the sun light in the morning/evening and use filler lights when the sun is high? We have some utility lights available, but I don't have anything to diffuse them with, but could rig up some sort of thing out of a bed sheet haha.

This won't be till end of October, so I've got some time to come up with options...

[NathanFranke]

There are a lot of tutorials on diyphotography.net about ghetto lighting. If you've got some utility lights, I'd say use those, practice with those, don't buy new equipment. It's a fundraiser, not an excuse to buy new toys

I'm thinking I would probably block off the windows and go with 100% artificial light. That way you have control all day, and don't need to worry about changing settings as the sun moves across the sky. The sun coming in through the window can create some dramatic or flattering light, but it can still be reproduced with good studio set up if that's something you want to pursue. You've got a couple of weeks to practice it, at any rate.

What you don't want to do is be messing around with changing light setups with a passel of young'uns and their exasperated, picture-day-stressed-out parents in tow.