Head shot shoot coming up.

Ok, as a favor to a friend of mine at work, I'm shooting a bunch of head shots for his public relations class at college. Ok, here's my question re: the setup. I have 2 AB800s and a 580EX II. I was going to set up 1 AB800 w/ shoot through umbrella at camera left about 5-6' from subject about 1' higher than the subject. I was going to position the second AB800 at camera right about 5-6' from subject and about 1' lower than the head of the subject. I was going to use my 580EX II as a hair light (thanks to Curtis' hairlight post) on a 9.5' light stand. Ok, now my second option. What about using the 2 AB800s on the same level about 5-6' from subject, 1' higher than subject. Then place my reflector in front of subject to add some fill under their chin. That would leave my Speedlite to use as a background light aiming at the backdrop. What are your thoughts on this. I don't want to screw this up. Muchas gracias.

For my last setup, I used a canon st-2 transmitter on my 40d...

I had a 430ex (reflected with an umbrella) set to group A to light up my subject (camera right)...
I had a 430ex (reflected with an umbrella) set to group B to provide a hair light/fill my subject from behind (camera right)
I used a 32 inch gold reflector to provide fill from the 2 speedlites (camera left)
I then had my 580ex (on the floor using the included stand and the wide angle pull-down) set to group c to light up the backround (this flash was set to manual to provide a constant light that I was happy with)

I like my setup because its very portable dont have to rely on on any power source other than my trusty rechargable AA batteries...

Since then however, I picked up another 430ex that I will use to fill my subjects (from camera left with an umbrella) in liew of a reflector that i would now place in front of my subject and lower to pick up the 3 430s and provide a low angle fill.

Another great thing about my setup is that the ST transmitter can controll the ratios of groups A&B directly, so i can adjust without having to move from behind my camera. Although there is no settings for group c on the transmitter, it will fire it (which is why i adjust the flash output manually beforehand).

I hope this helps!

Why do people always ask this stuff *after* they have committed to doing something they dont know how to do? How long do you have until you need to take the pictures? Your best bet would be some practice and a book or 2.

nadtz wrote in post #5480689
Why do people always ask this stuff *after* they have committed to doing something they dont know how to do? How long do you have until you need to take the pictures? Your best bet would be some practice and a book or 2.

First off, I know what I'm doing. I just want to confirm the way I would do it. I have seen several people do it several ways on here and asking wondering what they have been successful with. I was asking for advice. Much like everyone on here has done. The shoot is 5/27. I plan on practicing, btw. Now, if you have an intelligent tid bit of advice, please let me know.

DeCeccoNET wrote in post #5479576
For my last setup, I used a canon st-2 transmitter on my 40d...

I had a 430ex (reflected with an umbrella) set to group A to light up my subject (camera right)...
I had a 430ex (reflected with an umbrella) set to group B to provide a hair light/fill my subject from behind (camera right)
I used a 32 inch gold reflector to provide fill from the 2 speedlites (camera left)
I then had my 580ex (on the floor using the included stand and the wide angle pull-down) set to group c to light up the backround (this flash was set to manual to provide a constant light that I was happy with)

I like my setup because its very portable dont have to rely on on any power source other than my trusty rechargable AA batteries...

Since then however, I picked up another 430ex that I will use to fill my subjects (from camera left with an umbrella) in liew of a reflector that i would now place in front of my subject and lower to pick up the 3 430s and provide a low angle fill.

Another great thing about my setup is that the ST transmitter can controll the ratios of groups A&B directly, so i can adjust without having to move from behind my camera. Although there is no settings for group c on the transmitter, it will fire it (which is why i adjust the flash output manually beforehand).

I hope this helps!

Yep, that helps. My AB800s and gear is rather portable. I can make it all in one trip. Then again, I'm a pack mule. Thanks for the advice and example.

I just shot some headshots earlier this week. This is what the final product looked like:

Gatorboy wrote in post #5481229
I just shot some headshots earlier this week. This is what the final product looked like:

The setup was an Alien Bee 800 with large softbox camera right, with a reflector camera left for fill. I also place a foamcore board on table in front of subjects to help fill in light under the chin. I used a blue paper backdrop with an Alien Bee 400 and 40-degree grid to create the background light.

Very nice. Thanks for sharing. I'll probably use my 580EX II w/ floorstand w/ the wide angle diffuser against the backdrop.

Gatorboy wrote in post #5481229
I just shot some headshots earlier this week. This is what the final product looked like:

The setup was an Alien Bee 800 with large softbox camera right, with a reflector camera left for fill. I also place a foamcore board on table in front of subjects to help fill in light under the chin. I used a blue paper backdrop with an Alien Bee 400 and 40-degree grid to create the background light.

Very nice shot Dave.

Dave,

Thats a really great shot! If I may ask, which lens/focal length and f stop did you use? Its super-sharp and I like it a lot

DeCeccoNET wrote in post #5482180
If I may ask, which lens/focal length and f stop did you use? Its super-sharp and I like it a lot

This was shot with my 70-200 f/2.8L at about 120mm; f/10; ISO 100; 1/125

All: Please forgive my spelling as I am covertly responding from work....

Dave: Wow! I just picked up the 85 1.8 for portraits, but I may have to experiment with my 70-200 as well...

Kevin: I just wanted reassure you that I have had good sucess using the 580 to light up a 6x4 backdrop, but it will take a little trial and error to get the settings right... I find that placing it on the floor just behind the subject, and angled about 45 degrees up twords your backdrop works best depending on how much working distance you have.

If you are doing wireless, I have run into situations, where my subject actually blocked the transmission to the flash causing it not to fire. Another position that helps in thease situations is lying the flash on its back (with the infer-red reciever facing the cieling) and angling the flash as needed from that position.

But remember... Manual exposure on the flash! Any of the auto/ttl settings will cause it to compensate and light the backround differently every time. Also, auto settings will attempt to "properly" expose the backround in a way that will not work with the rest of the picture. It took me a few tries to get it right, but once you figure out what works best for you, you should be able to reproduce the same light as needed.

Also while I havent tried it yet, your suggestion second option about putting the bounve fill in front of the subject is exactly what I intend to do the next time i go out, because without it, there will be some shadows that you will have to readjust lighting to compensate for.

Finally (sorry this was so long)... I find that you do want to seperate your subject from the backround as much as you can allow. Otherwise, you may run into a situation where the backround's illumination could reflect back on your subject. A hairlight can help compensate for this as well.

I have never used studio lights for my jobs but I hear that the lights you have are supposed to work very well. As I mentioned, the only resion i went the all speedlight rout was to maximize portability, and not have to rely on finding available power at a shooting location.

DeCeccoNET wrote in post #5484266
All: Please forgive my spelling as I am covertly responding from work....

I'm telling.

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I'll be using my Skyports. I'll have one on my 580EX II as a background light and the other on one of my AB800s. My other AB800 will fire off the other. That's been tested in the past. I was going to place the subject about 6' from the backdrop, btw. Thanks for the info.