I've been asked to shoot a 90th Birthday in a hall

[markubig]

Hi all -

My best friend's grandmother just turned 90 and they are throwing a rather large birthday party for her at a catering hall. They are going to have family/friends coming in from out of town, so it's going to be a pretty big affair.

I've been asked to be the official photographer for the party. They want me to show up about 2 hrs early to do some formal family portraits with the grandmother. Additionally, they asked if I could take pictures of the grandmother and guests as they enter, so they can use the pictures for the "Thank You" cards.

The banquet room is your typical wedding/party hall with high ceilings, bright walls on 3 sides . . . the 4th side opens to an atrium where they usually serve the cocktail hour and then eventually the dinner buffet. I'll start the family formals around 3pm and guests are scheduled to start arriving around 5:30ish. Thus I will have about 2.5 hrs of "sunset" light coming into the atrium (the atrium faces west).

Here's the equipment I have:

Digital Rebel w/ grip
Stroboframe VH2000 (Stroboflip)
550ex
420ex
tamron 28-75/2.8
18-55 kit lens
50/1.8
2GB & 1GB CF card
Velbon ULTRA-MAXi S w/ p243 ballhead
I just ordered the RS-60E3 remote switch
I bought the Velbon tripod a little while ago for a mini vacation. I've used it with my Drebel+grip+flash and it seemed to hold fine/sturdy. I also hacked my 300d, which gives me MLU, so I don't think I will need to buy another tripod. What do you guys think?

So I was thinking of using multiple flashes (550 master, 420ex slave) for the family portraits. I can mount the 420 on a cheap tripod or even on a table (Is it ok if someone handholds it for me?) Just got the 550, so i've never done multiple wireless strobes before, so I got a couple of questions about that:

There was a link in the flash sticky that I should use the master as fill flash and slave as main flash. Where should the slave flash be positioned to get the most effective lighting?
Should the flashes be pointed directly at the subjects, or can I bounce light (I've been using the index card bouncing method)? I have Stofen Omnibounces for both flashes . . . does that help me in this environment?
Are the flashes going to fire at the same time? Do I need them to fire at different times?
If I shoot P mode, will ETTL take the 2 flashes into account? How about M mode?
What do I do if they want me to shoot pictures with the atrium as the background? I'll have the problem of them being backlit (from the sun), plus the flashes will most likely reflect off the glass.
Once guests started arriving, I was going to handhold the camera w/ the Stroboflip to take the "Thank You" card pictures. I figured that way would be easy for me to switch to the vertical shooting position. They'll sit the grandmother at a chair by the door, and as the guests arrive, I'll just have them pose and take a shot. Should I also use the 420 as a slave flash for this situation as well? If so, should I place the slave flash in a similar position as the family portraits?

Thank you, in advance, for your assitance, and my sincerest apologies for such a long question post.

[Marvinspu36]

If you can, take a couple of willing friends as models to the hall on a day sometime before the event, and try some experimenting. Go at the same time as you would be for the actual event so the lighting conditions will be similar.

[Avalonthas]

bring a laptop and review ur work, experiemtn with different lighting orientations.

[PhotosGuy]

1. There was a link in the flash sticky that I should use the master as fill flash and slave as main flash. Where should the slave flash be positioned to get the most effective lighting?
It doesn't need to be too far away. Try 3' higher than the cam & maybe 3' to the right or left. Modify this depending on your shooting distance & group size. Experiment beforhand so you have an idea of what the results will be.
I'm attaching a pic of a simple set-up - one flash on the cam & one at 90 degrees. Not what you should be using here. Try for 30-45 degrees, again depending on the situation.

2. Should the flashes be pointed directly at the subjects, or can I bounce light (I've been using the index card bouncing method)? I have Stofen Omnibounces for both flashes . . . does that help me in this environment?
Bounce if you have enough light. Direct if you need more.

3. Are the flashes going to fire at the same time?
Same time!
Do I need them to fire at different times?
NO! That would be a bit hard to do at 1/200 sec, wouldn't it?

4. If I shoot P mode, will ETTL take the 2 flashes into account? How about M mode?
I'd use M. Experiment. Get to know your equipment.

5. What do I do if they want me to shoot pictures with the atrium as the background?
Punt? See Marvinspu36's post above.
I'll have the problem of them being backlit (from the sun),...
Doesn't have to be bad. A natural hairlight? Do you KNOW that the sun will be out, or will it be overcast, or raining, or...
... plus the flashes will most likely reflect off the glass.
Shoot at an angle to the glass & it will reflect elsewhere.

I repeat... Experiment. Get to know your equipment. Only you can see the environment & make the necessary adjustments to work with it. ;)

[markubig]

FrankC . . . thanks for answering my questions. that was very helpful. yes, i started playing around with my multiple flash setup . . . hopefully i'll be comfortable with it by then.

Marvin. . . yes, i was going to try to go there to experiment, but it's hard to get there at that time with work and all . . . but i will try. Hopefully the facility will let me to play around in the room. Do most places allow amateurs to experiment?

Avalon . . . good call!! i can install the canon software to view my pictures on the laptop while i'm there. my laptop is pretty crappy though, but i guess it's good enough just to view . . . thanks for the suggestion.