Shooting band in front of night skyline - tips/tricks?

[Nachtnebel]

A rock band has asked me to shoot a picture for the cover of their upcoming album. They would like a picture of themselves (4 musicians) in front of the city skyline of Oslo (Norway) by night. I might get the allowance to use the roof on one of the highest buildings in Oslo. So far so good.

But I would like to prepare myself for a shoot like that. Especially when it comes to lighting and exposure. Since they want some kind of detail from the skyline, I can't use the biggest aperture. But then again the band needs some light on them, but without them being blown out, and without them having to freeze their postures for a couple seconds for each click. Any tips out there?

I'm not a studio photographer, at 95% of my photos I use natural light, or the venue spot lights when it comes to concerts. But I do have two 580EX flashes and two reflecting umbrellas that could be used for lighting up the band.

So do you think it would it be possible to get a good result? Or would it be better to take two photos, one from the background and one of the band and merge them together in PS?
Appreciate any comments or tips on this one!

For those interested: some concert + band photos on my Flickr site
Flickr

[ImCBParker]

Meter the skyline to determine your exposure settings. Then light the artist, preferably with a boom if you have one. Keep the settings that you used for the skyline and start shooting. I recently had to shoot a forty piece band skyline shot under similar circumstances, but I used more than a two light set up, however the principal factors were the same.

[Nachtnebel]

Thanks a lot for the tips ImCBParker! I don't have a boom, just tripods for the flashes.

[ImCBParker]

Shoot through white umbrellas should do the trick.

[gonzogolf]

You'll need your camera on a tripod to take long exposures to get the skyline ambient where you want it to be. Then adjust the flash power to fit the aperture you are using. Shutter speed doesnt really affect the flash exposure as its all delivered in a short burst.

[bjyoder]

Manual flash settings will be your friend. If you can set up quickly and use a friend, it's not too bad of a process to find the right flash power. Plus, after you're close on the flash exposure, adjusting is as easy (and quick) as moving the light toward/away from your subject.

You might also consider metering for the ambient skyline, and underexpose it by a stop or two; this would bring the attention to the band members, but keep detail in the background.

Remember, this isn't film, so get your settings where you think they should be, and take a quick photo or two to see where you actually are with your exposures.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

[groovehouse]

As previously stated, "experiment before you shoot the band" especially if you are unsure of yourself. Another thing is to offer other suggestions, maybe a sunset shot, golden hour light or dusk.

[Nachtnebel]

Thanks guys for all the good advice! I feel more confident about the whole shoot now. I've been up there to take a look at the location + did some test shots without any flash. Just long exposures on a tripod. Will let you know how it all went, the shoot is in two weeks. Will spend some time playing around with my flashes and umbrellas until then. I will also be at the location early and set everything up before the band arrives. It's cold up there so I think we have to move pretty quick. Also hoping for a nice and clear sky, that would be perfect.

[stsva]

Originally Posted by Nachtnebel

Thanks guys for all the good advice! I feel more confident about the whole shoot now. I've been up there to take a look at the location + did some test shots without any flash. Just long exposures on a tripod. Will let you know how it all went, the shoot is in two weeks. Will spend some time playing around with my flashes and umbrellas until then. I will also be at the location early and set everything up before the band arrives. It's cold up there so I think we have to move pretty quick. Also hoping for a nice and clear sky, that would be perfect.

If it's not too late for you to check out, here's some great info. on "dragging the shutter" with flash to balance ambient and flash:
http://neilvn.com/tangents/flash-pho...g-the-shutter/

[ImCBParker]

Originally Posted by stsva

If it's not too late for you to check out, here's some great info. on "dragging the shutter" with flash to balance ambient and flash:
http://neilvn.com/tangents/flash-pho...g-the-shutter/

At first I thought it was going to be another example of bad uses for dragging the shutter (IE most club shots), which is completely overdone in my view, but this was a great article to share about properly using the technique. Nice share.

[Nachtnebel]

So, time to sum this shoot up. First of all the location got changed from the top of the highest building in Oslo, to a hill with view over downtown Oslo. Actually a better choice. Weather was nice that actual evening, no clouds, but quiet cold. Band even arrived at time, and I had everything set up and was ready. Band positioned themselves, I started metering, and when ready yelled: ok, lets shoot! Click - no flash. Click again - no flash.
Went over everything again, nope, no flash. After about 10 minutes I sent the band back into their cars, they were freezing their asses off. It was about 0°C, or 32°F and windy...
15 minutes later I had tried every single possibility, but still no flash (the flashes were on stands about 10 feet/3 m ahead of me). The speedlite transmitter just failed for some reason, even tried a new battery, but no. So I ended up doing some shots of the band with a 580EX II mounted on my camera and did some new exposures of the city without the band. Not exactly what I had planned...

Don't know what happened to my ST-E2. It worked earlier the same day, and worked again the next morning. Could it be the cold? Anyways, did a studio shoot with the band the following day which was really successful, and the band will use one of the photos from the city as a background. So, at the end everybody is happy, and I have learned not to trust the ST-E2 out in the cold.

And another thing: the band didn't get their cool rock band look they were after out in the cold either. Hair blowing everywhere and stiff funny postures, so I doubt that we would have nailed it even if the equipment had worked as it should. Next time I'm asked to do a shoot like this I'll require to do it somewhere warmer Pictures will follow when we're finished working on them.