Youth group pictures - Suggestions?

I'll be doing some voluntary shooting (and learning) next weekend with the youth group at my church. We'll be shooting at a member's farm, all outside, some in direct sun, some in darker conditions provided by shade and barns. I'm pretty excited about having guinea pigs willing to have me shoot them for the first time ever.

I am, however, a little concerned about my lighting setup. I currently have an AB1600 with BD and 24x36 softbox, which I am pretty comfortable using, mounted on a flash stand that doesn't allow much flexibility in downward aiming (height is adjustable but the angle isn't). In direct sun applications, I have a SR Vari-n-Duo at my disposal. My other flash is a Nikon SB-910, which I am having some issues learning as it works perfect sometimes and not-so-perfect other times. Probably be around 1.5-2 hours shooting groups of teens being, well, teens.

I am thinking of picking up another AB 1600 and a spare VM battery to ensure that I have enough power and lighting for the session.

Any other suggestions on the lighting front? Suggestions on an adapter for more flexibility in changing the angle of the light?

arrange them neatly ..
short to tall ... tall in the middle then cascading in height both sides
2 rows (standing or kneeling down or sitting down...depends on how many)


back light them(sun at the back) then hit them with your AB1600 bare ... no light modifiers.

Use a light meter.

Not doing formal stuff. More of girls doing girl poses and the guys being guys. I more worried about power when there's 10 kids spread over 10 ft at different depths. Could one light hit them all?

My guess is that it could. But if they're not looking in the direction of the camera, you'll get some faces in shadow.

Alveric wrote in post #15926128
My guess is that it could. But if they're not looking in the direction of the camera, you'll get some faces in shadow.

So, in essence, yes, it will do it, but a second light would make things smoother and ensure more even coverage?

There's a lot of good info over in the sports section for T&I (Team and Individual) pics which may help. Very similar situation to yours. I tried to get all fancy with multiple speedlights and failed. Needed to keep it simpler. 10 kids over 10ft would probably be doable with just the speedlight. You should be golden with the AB1600. Received good feedback from my experiences here which may help:
https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1292259
https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1295782

Really depends on the size of your group. If it is 2 - 10 you may can get away with one AB1600 in direct sun. With 2 x AB1600 you can do a lot in the blazing sunshine.

Good luck with your shoot !

huntersdad wrote in post #15926703
So, in essence, yes, it will do it, but a second light would make things smoother and ensure more even coverage?

I'm thinking AB1600 means Alien Bees 1600. If so, my guess is that at 1600Ws you have enough power to position the light far away enough to provide even lighting across a 10-ft range. But I haven't worked with monolights, so I cannot tell for certain: I'm just making guesses based on the unit's advertised power. It's mostly placement that is key here, and also your expectations for exposure (whether you want an essentially shadowless picture or not).