I recently had my first paying photography job at some assisted living facilities for a Veterans Day honor ceremony. All I had with me was my Canon 50D, my speedlite flash, and me. I am now being requested by one of the facilities to do some family Christmas portraits for the seniors and their visiting family members. I have no studio setup currently, and am just looking for any advice on helpful items I should have to do the shoot. I am doing my research, and am looking into studio kits, but I thought some of you may have some input that would help. Thank you in advance. ~Lacey
I normally do my family shoots outside so as to utilize the natural lighting so I don't need additional lighting of my own, but I don't know what the weather/temperature would be like where you are, especially taking into consideration it will be with seniors. Are they going to have a holiday set-up for you? The pictures you took for the Veterans Day honor ceremony were very well done, especially with regards to the lighting (which I find to be the tricky part for indoor photography), so you probably wouldn't be too bad off with what you have, especially if you don't want to spend a ton of money. But if you are looking for lighting equipment, I would check out alienbees.com. They have some fairly affordable packages, including starter packages.
can you take your speed light off camera? That helps alot... and I enjoy a tri-pod and remote so you don't need to stand right behind the camera... which can help make them more comfortable...
I second Cristina... look into getting an AlienBee. You can always use your speedlight remotely as a back/fill light, too, so only needing one actual studio light (this is what I do a lot lately).
@icywarm@hmgphotos thank you; good info. jordan, do you mean a slave unit type of thing? because i don't know what that means yet, and will have to look it up, but if it requires another flash, then i can't do that. yet, anyway. i do have a tripod, though, thank goodness. but, no remote.
heidi, i did look at the packages they offer, and am thinking about the background bee..it is the cheapest, but seems to offer what i could get use out of. do you find these easy to take on location? oh, so much to learn...
does you camera have on on-board flash? You should be able to set it to trigger the slave (ie the flash that goes off when the main flash(on-board) flash goes off) flash
great discussion thread lacey! i've also been wondering about these things, but not because anyone has asked me to do indoor portraits...mostly because i just want to really learn how to take photos indoors (especially with winter approaching!) i pretty much refuse to use my camera's flash. let me know what you learn beyond what is posted on here (or point me to resources you find).
I like a two-light setup for on-location studio, but a single light definitely works well and is easier to manage! I can't add much to what's already posted, but for a resource I suggest checking out Zack Arias and his One Light stuff. His DVD is legendary. http://www.onelightworkshop.com/
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heidi, i did look at the packages they offer, and am thinking about the background bee..it is the cheapest, but seems to offer what i could get use out of. do you find these easy to take on location? oh, so much to learn...
thank you thank you thank you, people!