Oh no, I need help

OK guys. I have been volunteered by my husband to take portraits at his company Christmas party . I'm pretty nervous since I have never taken pictures of anyone other than family and close friends. So I need some lighting help. I have a 580ex (with a lightsphere) and a AB800. I shoot with a 30d. I do have a off-camera cord for the 580ex that I bought to use for this. The pictures are going to be indoors at a banquet hall at night.

How would be the best way for me to set this up? I bought a DVD on how to use my flash so I am going watch that like 50 times before the party.

Got a flash bracket?
Got an umbrella for the B800?
Got a flash meter?

You say these are "portraits" so I presume you can setup in a nice spot and pose people?

Individuals? Couples? Families?

Give us as many details as possible, especially the venue - room size, ceiling hight & color, etc.

I don't have a flash bracket. I do have an umbrella. No flash meter.

They are mostly couples I think, maybe some single people. There is a nice spot that they picked out that has a gold curtain as a backdrop. The room is a large open room with about 12 foot white ceilings. We have plenty of room from subject to camera.

With your equipment, the best route for consistent exposure and soft shadows is the B800 with umbrella on a stand, behind and just above the camera. Keep the subjects several feet from the background. Put some tape on the floor to mark where subjects will stand. Meter by trial and error and checking your histogram. Absent a meter, bring a new white t-shirt, drape it over a victim, shoot and adjust until the white shirt just begins to blink on the camera LCD. Once you get it dialed in, you're good for the evening.

There are various other ways to go about this that may be better but are also more complicated, and I strongly advise a simple approach at this point.

The gold curtains may be a problem. Unless your lights are set up right, you might get unwanted reflections off the gold curtains that may ruin your pictures. You might want to check out the gold curtains and try some test shots before the actual day of the event. If they're just regular curtains that are just colored gold and not really very bright and reflective, then they may not be an issue.

Thanks so much. I will have to post some of the results!

So Curtis, I shouldn't even use the 580EX?

Marionne wrote in post #4461840
So Curtis, I shouldn't even use the 580EX?

Nope. You've got plenty of nice, soft light from the B800 and umbrella.

Keep it simple. When shooting time comes, you don't want to be worrying about light. You want to be able to interact with your subjects and pose them well. For most of us, this is the more challenging part of any portrait.

I have noticed that my portraits are looking blueish and sometimes the skin tone is redish..is there anyway in PP that I can bring back the correct skin tone?

Matt30D wrote in post #4464867
I have noticed that my portraits are looking blueish and sometimes the skin tone is redish..is there anyway in PP that I can bring back the correct skin tone?

If the entire image has the wrong color balance because of an incorrect white balance setting, these things can be corrected in post with minimal effort, with the right software. If this is the case, upload a sample in the "RAW, Post-processing and Printing" section and ask for advice.

If different parts of your image have different color casts, this is usually indicative of mixing light sources (tungsten and flash, for example). This is very difficult to fix in post so it's a good idea to match your light sources ahead of time.

Thanks Curtis...you are amazing with Flash...you have helped me so much..I am now NOT mixing light temps...the 1/64th power to match with my modeling lights was dead on..now I have to deal with blemishes in PP....also can I adda third light in my studio for hair highlights...to bring out the top of the head against a black background...or do i just bring the subject farther away from the backdrop?

Matt30D wrote in post #4468435
can I adda third light in my studio for hair highlights...to bring out the top of the head against a black background...

A hair light can add highlights to help separate the subject from the background. Typically a hair light is located above and slightly behind the subject.

Since the light is facing back toward the camera somewhat, you'll need to shield the light somehow to prevent lens flare.

You could add another light, similar to the strobes you have, or use an inexpensive battery-powered flash with an optical slave attachment.

Thanks Curtis....I will try that...I will put up a shield...cardboard??? I totally understand lens flare..and that should help! Thanks