How illuminate 11 children 400 Watt

[mstemmer]

Hello all,
I have to make one portret of a group of 11 children. I use to 400 W Linkstar probes. I also use a darkblue background of Falcon Eyes.
My plan is to line up the 2 lights to the left of my camera to get the most of the illumination. I learned: the more the the less complex you'll have to make the lighting situation.
I also have a Speedlite 550 which I can use in case I miss to much light. My plan was also to place the children more deep than wide.
What do you think. Will I be able to manage this with the material I use?

Matt

[Curtis N]

My plan was also to place the children more deep than wide.I would go the other way, with no more than two rows, five or six wide. Adding depth to the subject creates two issues: First, you'll need a smaller aperture (higher f/ number) to get enough depth-of-field to keep everyone sharp. Smaller apertures require more light. Second, it's near impossible to evenly light different subjects of varying distances. If the front row is 10 feet from the light and the back row is 14 feet, the front row will be a full stop brighter than the back.

If the 400W lights you mention are continuous lights (not strobes), I would not bother with them. They don't have enough power to light children at acceptable shutter speeds. Use your flash unit, and bounce it if you can.

[mstemmer]

Hi,
Thanks for you reaction.
Okay. So you suggest to use a larger aperture-value. I get this so far. I use only strobes (with/without softbox or umbrella). What I don't understand is why the illumination will be better if I use my Speedlite bounced off. Can't I do anything with my Linkstar flashes such as bouncing off the light by using a white screen for example? (and fire them by using my Speedlite).Or do I need more powerfull flash-units?
It sounds really stupid but I made this appointment before, otherwise I would cancel it.

[Curtis N]

I'm not familiar with the Linkstar products. If they're 400 watt-second strobes (not 400 watt continuous lights as I presumed earlier), then you should have plenty of light and can use an aperture in the f/8 to f/11 range for good depth-of-field.

However you choose to arrange the lights, take care to pose the children so that they don't block the light from each other. Be mindful of the light falloff issue that I mentioned and do what you can to light the group evenly.