Any Ideas? (Shadows Cast by Hockey Helmets)

I am trying to resolve a rather unfortunate situation with fill flash. I need to eliminate the shadows cast on a face by the cage on a hockey helmet when there is overhead lighting.

My apologies for the weird experimental photos. I had no hockey player available, and the most accurate place to reproduce the issue appeared to be my dining room table.

The only way I can think of to do what you want is to use a ring flash (a flash unit that surrounds the lens) and set up the exposure so that only the light from the flash registers in the image.

An ordinary flash mounted atop the camera, even if set up so that it over-powers ambient light, will make similar shadows from the grille only in different places from what you're seeing.

I assume this is for formal portrait sessions? Is there and reason why they have to keep their helmet on? A portrait with team sweater, stick and gloves works well without a helmet. Team baseball caps work if players want to cover up helmet hair. It will make your life a lot easier. Portraits generally look nicer without the helmet. I don't think you'll find a solution to eliminate those shadows. Not an easily workable one anyway.

The goal you need to reach is the most defused lighting possible. No shadows is probably an impossible goal and "almost" no shadows during an actual game is probably as well.

Two seven foot umbrellas with strobes would probably work. One on both sides of you the shooter. May be possible to set that up at a practice but I can't imagine them allowing that in a game. Short of that, if you have the whole corner to work with, attach 4 x 8 foot foam boards to the walls and bounce two flashes off of them. Play with it until you get the best results.

Thanks for the feedback, folks.

This isn't for the league photos. Those have already been done.

A manager asked about doing this for some specific deliverables. Now, I did try this two years ago, and the results were pretty abysmal due to the shadows. No one asked me to do it last year (thankfully). But, I thought I'd try it again this year as I'd been asked about it.

I think I'll just suggest to her that I do helmet-less headshots for the deliverables.

I'd love to pick up a ring light . . . one has been on my list for a few years now. But, with the way the Canadian dollar has tanked and prices have shot up, I think I'll have to wait: especially since the price of oil has also tanked, and I was laid off from the job that actually pays my bills (this gives me lots of time to fart around with photographic techniques, but no money to buy gear . . . Lol. Catch 22).

I will give this one more shot tomorrow with two seven foot umbrellas and speed lights. I don't have any strobes right now, and that purchase will have to wait for the same reason the ring light will have to wait.

Nogo wrote in post #17863369
The goal you need to reach is the most defused lighting possible. No shadows is probably an impossible goal and "almost" no shadows during an actual game is probably as well.

Two seven foot umbrellas with strobes would probably work. One on both sides of you the shooter. May be possible to set that up at a practice but I can't imagine them allowing that in a game. Short of that, if you have the whole corner to work with, attach 4 x 8 foot foam boards to the walls and bounce two flashes off of them. Play with it until you get the best results.

This

set up where you can get as big a bounce of a white wall or something.