Urgent: Indoor light advice needed...

[yalemba]

I will be taking pictures of son's black-belt ceremony next weekend, and need some advice on how to light the karate studio. I am enclosing two sample shots I took this morning with one off-camera flash. The two front walls are completely covered with mirrors, and there are large windows at the entrance. Any pointers? Thanks.

[yalemba]

Here is the set up at the karate studio (the mirrors in the front and side are the key issues in this set up)...

[alwaysonephotography]

This thread could make for an excellent discussion, however we're going to need some more information.

What do you have for lighting? Will you be using candles? Maybe flashlights. How many candles and flashlights do you have? Will you be allowed to put your candles and flashlights on stands? Do you have any grip equipment like magic arms, A-Clamps, etc.?

Most importantly a better picture of the room would help a lot. How tall are the ceilings and of what color. Also, you said 2 walls were all mirrors. What are the other two walls (if they exist) and what color? Where will you be allowed to stand and not stand. Will you be allowed to set-up before hand.

But just off the top of my head, I would use two mono-lights on stands near each mirrored wall, angled up towards the ceiling with wireless triggers. I would adjust the power levels until I got a nice lift on the overall ambient in the center of the matt. Then I would probably shoot in a standard off camera/fill relationship with two speed lights in ETTL, maybe manual if the kids were wearing both white and black. But shooting in manual will limit where you can shoot. In ETTL the entire matt is fair game.

Good luck!

[yalemba]

This thread could make for an excellent discussion, however we're going to need some more information.

What do you have for lighting? Will you be using candles? Maybe flashlights. How many candles and flashlights do you have? Will you be allowed to put your candles and flashlights on stands? Do you have any grip equipment like magic arms, A-Clamps, etc.?

Most importantly a better picture of the room would help a lot. How tall are the ceilings and of what color. Also, you said 2 walls were all mirrors. What are the other two walls (if they exist) and what color? Where will you be allowed to stand and not stand. Will you be allowed to set-up before hand.

But just off the top of my head, I would use two mono-lights on stands near each mirrored wall, angled up towards the ceiling with wireless triggers. I would adjust the power levels until I got a nice lift on the overall ambient in the center of the matt. Then I would probably shoot in a standard off camera/fill relationship with two speed lights in ETTL, maybe manual if the kids were wearing both white and black. But shooting in manual will limit where you can shoot. In ETTL the entire matt is fair game.

Good luck!

I have posted this question on two boards, and have received a couple of good suggestions. I will use my 1Ds Mark 3 with 85L-II and 16-35L-II using 580EX-II and 550EX on miniTT5. The challenge is that the roof is black (can it still bounce enough light?), and there are large mirrors (as shown in the above picture) on two front walls. I am considering using the bare flash on right and left side of the room with the entrance light behind me. Also, I will set the camera at around ISO 800 to get high enough shutter speed.

Thanks for your help.