30 ppl group shot with 2 speedlight question

[rich6429]

hi...i am planning on taking a group shot tomorrow that consist of about 30 ppl. composition will not be a problem, but looking what the best technique or approach when it comes to lighting the shot.

the setting is in a hotel reception room. so the ceilings are higher than normal, but not very high. lighting will most likely be warm and closer to tungsten.

i have 2 external speedlights (SB-600) to use...and will be using it via commander mode through the pop-up flash with my D90.

lens i plan to use will be either my 50mm 1.8 or 18-105mm 3.5-5.6. camera settings will be 1/30th (to pickup some ambient light) and possibly around f/5.6 for either lens and the ISO at around 400.

my speedlights will be positioned at both sides (left and right of camera) 45 degrees from the center and will be bouncing to the ceiling at 45 degrees and back down to the subjects at 45 degrees.

what do you think of this lighthing setup? or any suggestions?

as well, this is not a lighting question, but will the 50mm be a better lens to use in this situation?

[pittbug]

That might work depending on the angle of the strobes to ceiling and subjects. Hopefully you won't end up with the eyebrows throwing shadows over the eyes.

I did a 28 person group shot last month with two reflective umbrellas, positioned in a similar manner, about 7 ft high and pointed directly at the group. I had them stand in 3 rows (11 people wide on the back row) and shot it at 38mm, ISO800, F/9, 1/200s.

I shot it at f/9 and focussed on the middle row, I don't know if f/5.6 will do it for you, unless you know your distances.

50mm might be too long, depending on how you stack the group and how far back you can get in that space. If anyone is wearing glasses you may get some glare/reflection back from the popup flash.

Are you going to gel your SB600s to match the ambient? What about the popup? If not, depending on how much ambient light you pick up, you may end up with different colored casts across the group.

Make sure you get multiple shots, to account for people blinking and/or pulling weird faces.

[sk66]

Probably, forget the strobes and use the 50...
The strobes will likely only add to uneven lighting and will need gelled to color match existing lighting.
You could try to use them as fill (gelled) set to a wide zoom and not bounced.