Pointers please on couples lighting.

I've been asked to do head and shoulders shots of couples that are staff members of our church for their websight.

I plan on using a portable black/white backdrop that I have and 2 lights. I have 1 octobox and a softlighter II and a very large softbox 3'X5' and an assortment of umbrellas I could use.
I could also use a 3rd light for background if needed. Everyone is supposed to wear darker clothing but like all best laid plans I'm sure not everyone will heed my request.

I was planning on using my softlighter II as main and another octobox as fill or and umbrella as fill. I know what setting and placement works well with a single portrait subject but I've never done a couple. Should I move the main light a little closer to the camera to avoid one person " shadowing" the other or is the standard position say 45 deg to one side and about 30 deg up going to work for 2 people.

Any advise will be appreciated.

Your planned set-up sounds good. You might consider the third light positioned as an edge light behind the right or left shoulders of your subjects.

Make sure that the light flatters her. Nobody cares what he looks like!

BillMarks wrote in post #6052492
Your planned set-up sounds good. You might consider the third light positioned as an edge light behind the right or left shoulders of your subjects.

Yep I can do that. I even thought about using gels on the background to match colors of clothing but I've never used them and don't really want to experiment too much since everyone will be in a hurry as usual to go home after church Sunday morning.

PhotosGuy wrote in post #6054699
Make sure that the light flatters her. Nobody cares what he looks like!

Boy that's a given. I know which side of the bread the butter goes on.

One trick I have learned is to place the male closer to the light than the female since he (usually) has darker skin. Placing the female closer to the light can result in her skin being too light or even blown out and his being too dark.

chtgrubbs wrote in post #6058640
One trick I have learned is to place the male closer to the light than the female since he (usually) has darker skin. Placing the female closer to the light can result in her skin being too light or even blown out and his being too dark.

Now that's a great one to remember. One more bit of information to add to the puzzle for better shots. Thanks much!