Suggestions for portable light setup for santa pictures

My work has me taking pictures outside in mid December to give kids free pictures and was wondering what do you think would be a good light system, the set they are making will be 8 by 8 and it will be around 7:00 at night and don't think my speed light will work that well and they told me to get whatever i needed. Any suggestions?

A speedlite in a hybrid umbrella ( link below) would be a simple solution. Keep it right above the camera. There are other options but seting up outside in the winter makes more elaborate setups vulnerable to wind and weather and a dependence on a power supply.
http://www.amazon.com …keywords=umbrel​la+softbox

Heya,

Really heavy stand, or even a tripod that you already have, with a fitting to take modifiers and hold either a softbox or an umbrella (but something that can take a little wind). Otherwise, a big diffuser or bounce shield on the flash in ETTL with it on-camera.

Very best,

Doemasters wrote in post #17256030
they told me to get whatever i needed. Any suggestions?

Getting anything less than a three light Pro Foto D1 set up would be a shame.

If that doesn't fit the budget, I'd pick up a few more speed lights. Put two of them in one of the umbrellas gonzo posted and two in another of the same. Just blast the whole scene. You'll want a bit of DOF, I would think, so more light is better. You'll also want the ability to fire fast so use the flashes at half power or less

First: What camera and lens?
Second: What is total area that has to be lit?
Third: What extraneous light is likely to be contaminating the scene?
Now, you're ready to make establish the parameters that the lighting kit has to satisfy.

Making a few assumptions, I'd be inclined to go with Cheetah Light 360s.
One for background, One for main, and One for fill.
Use Cheetah Pro E brackets to hold the lights, they give you greatest flexibility for modifiers.
10 ft stands with lots of sandbags (I use training weights because they are more compact and have velcro straps.

This is the kit I use for most club family portrait jobs and it should work for your Santa setup.

dmward wrote in post #17259346
Third: What extraneous light is likely to be contaminating the scene?

After making my first post ITT, this ^ thought went through my head too. It's maybe unlikely, but entirely possible, that the set will be lit so well by continuous light that a speedlight for a little fill would do the trick. You would want to gel the speedlight though.

If the continuous lights are being rented or supplied by a vendor who specializes in this type thing maybe you just have them bring out enough to really light the place up? Wouldn't' be the best case scenario, but either way you will have to deal with mixing with ambient or overpowering it.

Another consideration vis a vie continuous light are Christmas decorative lights that may contribute to the ambiance of the image.

This will also require some thought about gels or other method to get reasonable white balance.