Ballerinas at the barre...help with lighting setup.

I shoot dancers all the time, but I would really like some opinion on this setup...

I will be shooting 10 ballerina standing at the ballet barre against a wall. The barre is attached to the wall. The ceiling is about 10 feet. No way for back lighting.

I don't know if this link will work (it might be set private), but it is the exact wall, and the exact ballerinas i'll be shooting: https://www.facebook.c​om …8&set=vb.541809​387&type=3


My lighting: 3 Einsteins, 1 AB400.
Modifiers: 2 64" PLMs, 1 32x24 softbox, 1 22" beauty dish

Any thoughts on how to light 10 ballerina at the barre against a wall with no windows in the room?

Link didn't work.

What is the wall directly behind you? Can you bring in some white v-flats?

I would keep it simple. One light with a PLM at the wall, on the right or left depending on which way the dancer is facing, aimed at the dancer.

Maybe another PLM behind you for fill, depending on how much fill you get from room bounce.

Ah I was afraid that link wouldn't work.

If I was shooting them individually it would be no problem. But i'm shooting the entire line of 10 ballerinas on the barre.

The room is about 24' x 24' square with 10 to 12 foot ceiling. The opposite wall has a mirror running the entire length of the wall up to eight feet high. The wall opposite the mirror is the only wall with a barre, and the one i'll be shooting.

I'm thinking i'll be shooting mostly straight on at the entire line, although I will shoot some angles and various elevations.

Thanx for your thoughts and opinions!

Here's the barre with some of the ballerinas. Only difference is they will be wearing pink tights instead of what they are wearing in the picture here:

No thoughts or ideas on this?

Keep it simple. One light firing thru a large soft box, slightly off to one side of the camera is what I would use. If you feel like you need some fill light you could add a touch but I don't think you're going to need it.

Have you not considered using a make shift barre? a simple aluminium pole on stands (out of the picture) just for balance, placed where you like and then you can light it however you wish, seems a shame to restrict them to that wall. Looking at that brick wall on your flickr account would look good OOF.

There are two free-standing barres at the studio...but.
Even both of them together won't hold but maybe six dancers.
They also look fairly ugly.
The other issue is that the studio owner is not keen on interrupting "training" for pictures. So I will have to be in and out pretty fast, and will shoot them as they do their exercises on the barre.

Wish there was a better way, but i'm constrained to those parameters, sadly.

I was thinking two Einsteins from one direction so as to be more even across all dancers, and two for fill from the opposite site. If I try anything fancy i'm afraid I won't be able to apply even light to the entire line

Use your light meter to check ahead of time and make sure you're getting even light spread across where the girls will be. Do you have access to a comparable space where you can test and see what will work before you go? I'd imagine it can be done with 2 lights just fine. I'm curious though, if they want the photos, why put you in such a hard spot to get them?

I want the shot...well, the dancers do also.
I've known these girls for 10 years...it's my daughter's dance studio. She's 12 and not old enough for pointe yet (next year).

So it'a not a commissioned gig...it's a personal artistic venture.
I've been wanting to shoot the pointe class for years. Just got approval and have to make the best of what I have.

I know it sounds odd, but it is what it is

Key light on the left, fill on the right (for shadows that's going to be cast from one dancer to the other). Plain and simple. No need to complicate things.

Or, you could shoot all the dancers separately and add them in a composite. Then, the challenge is trying to make it look the lighting realistic.

HiepBuiPhotography wrote in post #16353333
Key light on the left, fill on the right (for shadows that's going to be cast from one dancer to the other). Plain and simple. No need to complicate things.

Or, you could shoot all the dancers separately and add them in a composite. Then, the challenge is trying to make it look the lighting realistic.

I'm crazy enough to try something like that!

I'd keep it simple like Hiep Bui said. Key on one side, fill on the other. Simple and effective.

Q

Personally I'd forget the lights. Shoot natural light with a couple reflectors where you can with that 5D3. It should be good for ISO 6400 at least and pour the noise ninja in PP.

This is one of my snaps recently at the end of a session:

DELETED; oops it was slideshow and does not show the image. Sorry folks.

No lights. Granted was with a 1DX but no shadows and took maybe 20 seconds?

Kechar wrote in post #16353293
I was thinking two Einsteins from one direction so as to be more even across all dancers, and two for fill from the opposite site.

Using two lights from the same direction is unlikely to make things more even. The 64" PLM is big enough you should be able to get it far enough away so as to have minimal falloff from one end of the line to the other. However, I would use a diffusion panel on the PLM so it acts more like a big softbox.

And keep your fill light (if any) behind and above the camera. Putting it on the opposite side as the main light just creates more shadows of its own.