Church Photo Directory - Need some lighting suggestions

[mrbplus]

I have a church photo directory shoot in a couple of weeks. I will be set up in the church hall which has high and ceilings (think indoor basketball court). I have the following basic gear:

7D (with grip)
580ExII X 2
Wireless triggers X 2
Shoot through umbrellas X 2

I don't have any background muslins, but am open to getting something if needed.

Most of my photoraghy in the past has been "candid event", so this is outside my area of experience.

I am not sure what lighting set-up I should use. There will be a high volume of people coming through, which means little time to muck around. Some will be single portraits while others will be families, couples, etc.

Any suggestions on how I can maximize the use of the the 2 flashes, what type of background to use, etc would be appreciated.

[jacuff]

A muslin will usually work best, but you could also just go with a roll of seemless paper. A couple more lights wouldn't hurt. You could have a main and fill light with your current speedlites and then use the new ones for a background and rim lighting. You'll also probably want some pieces of furniture such as a posing stool and posing table.

Since it is for a church directory, one of the biggest keys is to be consistent.

[Digital_zen]

You can shoot decent portraits with one or two lights. Put one light up front just barely to camera right or left (usually opposite your dominate hand, just feels more natural) turn your subjects so that they are just barely off axis with the camera facing their shoulders and face toward the main light source. Use the 2nd flash powered WAY down for a rim or hair light, because of refraction the hair light will almost always go "nukular". As far as a background, it would be nice if you could shoot a beautiful part of the church's architecture etc., underexposed by about two stops. Otherwise you might as well be in a studio.

[mrbplus]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Having some furniture is a great idea. Especially for little kids to sit on.

What modifier should I have on the rim/hair light? I will be changing between singles, couples and families all the time, so a 'one size fits all' solution would be ideal.

Would a a 430Ex II with an optical trigger be sufficient for the rim/hair light?

[JeffreyG]

Isn't a directory shoot going to be just headshots? I doubt you'd even need a background.

Two shoot throughs, ratio 1:2 as you do not really want super contrasty light for a directory. You get something like this:

[mrbplus]

Thanks GeoffreyG. That shot is pretty much wat they're looking for. However, they just have one photo per family. So I am expecting the lighting power settings/aperture settings to get complicated when shifting between a single head shot and a family of 6.

People will be getting their photos done as they arrive, so there will not be an option to just get all the same sized groups put through together.