Simple Studio

[OsmosisStudios]

With the terrible earthquake in Haiti, many different groups are coming together and raising money to help support those affected. My friends and I are no different. A good friend runs a nightclub in our city's downtown area and he, along with other clubs in the area, was offering a good portion of their proceeds from this past friday to the cause. I volunteered to set up a mini studio to help raise a few extra bucks.

I have to say, the club itself isn't exactly photo-friendly, especially when you consider that most of the people there are likely to be at least somewhat intoxicated. We managed to flesh out a small space in a corner that was still kinda in the main throughway.

As seen here:

Camera right is the VIP section, Camera left is my assistant (and model) as well as the stairs down to the main floor.

What you see here is the lighting setup.
Left is a Nikon SB-600 mounted on my tripod with an umbrella mount and a NIkon convertible umbrella being used as a bounce. The flash was set to 1/8 power and triggered using CLS
Right is a Nikon Sb-800 mounted on a Nikon lightstand with an umbrella mount and a Broncolor bounce umbrella (borrowed from a friend). The flash was set to 1/2 power and triggered using CLS.

The target area wasn't huge, but it was large enough for most groups, generally up to 4-5 people.

Here is the result of that setup, as tested before opening

And then with the manager (my good friend Ilon)

And finally with the patrons.

All images shot at 1/100s, f/5.6, 100iso. 24mm, 34mm, 40mm, respectively (not including the layout shot)

The setup was fairly simple and getting the lighting right wasnt too tough either. It did take some fiddling of position and settings to get what I wanted though. I had originally used CLS in the TTL mode but the system was doing too good of a job and I ended up with VERY flat and boring lighting. By moving the lights around (R is parallel to the image plane, L is perpendicular) and adjusting power with settings I was able to get some good contrast and definition while still not blowing out highlights or getting too dark shadows.

Hope you enjoyed.

[zona5101]

That looks like a lot of fun...and the pictures turned out great too. Thanks for sharing.

You should watch the Dean Collins DVD's.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by maxharvard

You should watch the Dean Collins DVD's.

Any particular reason?

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Any particular reason?

He's really good at teaching about lighting and how to use it.

[Digidave]

Hiccup.....Burp....I'll take 2 patrons on the rocks, please......Hiccup....

[PamEli]

I'm no pro, and I have the same set up,,, but I've never used it... My only comment is to move your subjects further away from the backdrop so it's not in focus....

just my thoughts