Upcoming Clothing Line Shoot at The Zoo... Lighting Advice?

A small boutique in town has contacted me about shooting their new summer line of products at the local zoo. They've already made the necessary arrangements with the zoo staff, so basically, all I'll have to do is show up and do my thing.

I had a meeting with both parties today and this is what they're looking for: Really the only requests from the zoo are, 1.That they want to be portrayed as professionally as possible, and, 2. That we include some "featured" animals in the shots (not interacting with the models, but in the background). There will be keepers on standby to handle the smaller animals and / or "position" the larger animals to my specifications for the most aesthetically pleasing composition and whatnot.

The boutique is wanting two sets. 1: Basically product shots of each garment on the models, front, back, detail, etc... with different areas of the zoo as the backdrop (which will be very minimal). 2: They're also asking for a set of posed photos for use as part of their upcoming marketing campaign on their website. This also satisfies the zoo's request for some of their "featured" animals to be included in our shoots.

I'm not worried about the product shoot, that should be a breeze. My main concern is how to properly light the modeling set for outdoors, mid-day, in and out of patchy sunlight, and with a variety of different zoo related backgrounds. I have a pair of YN-560III speedlites, stands, reflector umbrellas, shoot thru umbrellas, and a reflector. At this point, my plan is to focus on correctly lighting the models and letting the backgrounds do what they will. I don't feel I have the tools necessary to light such varied and complex backgrounds (hand rails, trees, bushes, the animals, and their habitats).

Any thoughts, questions or advice? Thanks in advance!

-side note- The boutique's style and branding is very similar to Kate Spade.

flash and mid day sun??? You need more power

Might look at renting some strobes, and asking the zoo if there are power outlets in key spots close to where you are going to shoot. Otherwise, you need a battery pack or 2. You might get away with a tall scrim that can be set up over your model, but you'll need something fairly tall.

There's lots of ways to do this. I just saw another thread in part relating to mid-day sun.

edit: this thread might help, if you are in fact shooting at noon or with bright sun. Killing the sun

hawk911 wrote in post #15941754
flash and mid day sun??? You need more power

Yeah, I was afraid of that I'll check out that thread asap.

Thanks for the help!

You've picked probably one of the most challenging lighting scenarios out there if your going to include full sun. Killing the sun is going to kill the animals in the BG. I'd be looking at trying to shoot in open shade with ambient at 2/3 to 1 stop under and use flash as main.

in a zoo, they usually don't have much shade if you are close to an enclosure. Scout your location carefully and discuss the animals with zoo staff. they may also have feed schedules and whatnot to stay on track

I agree. I feel like this is rapidly approaching a followup meeting explaining the realities of what's feasible with the requests they've made. The zoo is big enough to offer a variety of situations. I'll just have to be hyper-conscious of the shadiest exhibits. I'm also visiting at least once before the shoot to walk around with my camera and notebook.

Thanks for the headsup, windpig!

hawk911 wrote in post #15942012
Scout your location carefully

this in spades.

use the sun.... don't rely on strobes.
use scrims and reflectors.