First post (need serious guidance re: lighting)

[jenwilliamsphoto]

Hi everyone
I've lurked on here a couple times and now I'm feeling the need to post.

I am brand new to photography, and in order to skill-build I have offered up free sessions to friends and friends-of-friends. So far I have 4, possibly 5 boudoir marathons scheduled, the first one on November first. I have an xti, no flash/lighting, and I'm freaking out.

The first shoot has been the most popular, with 15 interested girls, and for some reason I thought it was ok to book 8 people on the same day with daylight only until 4pm (it's dark early here in Canada). I need to have my head examined.

ANYWAY I am looking for words of wisdom, advice, suggestions, etc

What works best for you? What kind of lighting setup should I look into renting or buying?

Thanks in advance, I look forward to chatting with everyone a lot more. I am very passionate about this type of photography as I find it to be so expressive and beautiful. I'm very excited to get started but scared sh!tless!

~Jen

[Mark_Cohran]

Well, you're certainly jumping in feet first. :)

First of all, what have you committed to providing to the people who have signed up for your marathons? Is there any chance you can scale back and start more slowly?

It's really hard to give you advice when your knowledge of basic photographic principles are an unknown. Do you understand the basics of exposure, composition and depth of field? How were you planning on lighting your set? Where are you shooting? What is the lighting like there?

The best way to learn isn't to shoot in marathon sessions, but to shoot one session at a time, analyze the images, and then learn from your mistakes. Doing it the way you're planning may, in fact, reinforce your mistakes rather than correct them.

Anyway, with more details about the shoot, you can get more specific advice, but the best advice I can give you right now, is to reconsider your marathon plans and rebook with the ladies at a more reasonable pace.

[lens pirate]

How did you attract this responce from models? bw!