Halogen light Question

I am shooting a 'Debut Ball' in about 10 days. It is a small town event with 7 girls dressed in white gowns and their partners in black suits. I am used to shooting weddings and am quite comfortable using bounced flash.

The room I will be using for portrait shots is about 10 x 7 mts. Please see attachment. I will be doing mostly full length, half height body shots of the couples, against a muslin backdrop.

My only concern is I will have to do 3 or 4 large group shots. 14- 16 people.
I have in the past done large groups at weddings but they were more candid photos . These will be more studio type.

I have absolutely no experience with lighting other than my 580ex11 and my backup Phoenix Flash.
I would prefer to use continuous lighting as I dont have time to practice using strobes .....I know they are not the best and become hot but this is a one off event that needs to be done very cheaply.

My question is can I set up a couple of halogen lights in the corners of this room. Then still use bounced flash if I have too.? I know I might have WB problems but hopefully this can be fixed in PP .I shoot in raw.

Any help or advice would be very gratefully accepted. Thanks Val

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The difference in colour temps will be HUGE, and very difficult to fix in PP. In your shoes, if you're comfortable with using flash, I would just stick with that. If you want to get a bit of ambient into the photo, just tell everyone to stay still and drag the shutter a little (and use 2nd curtain sync).

A lee or rosco gel could sort the colour balance issue but, what will the hotlights be doing? If you are just looking to raise the ambient as you wander about taking candids then sure, could do the trick.

Mixing with flash though i'm not sure how neccesary it is. The flash will be much more powerful and using 2 flashes bounced should provide an even (safe) light for your groups.

You can do it but you'll want to gel your flash(es) to match the hot light color temp (usually tungsten). Hot lights aren't very powerful relative to their size and heat output though, especially compared to what a single flash can do.

Gels would take care of the white balance differences, but... a couple of halogen lights to light up that room with enough light to use a small enough aperture for group shots would have to be HUUUGE, and really really hot, too! I agree that a couple of extra flashes just bounced around the room are a better idea.

How do you light your wedding shots? That should give you an idea of where to start...

I agree with Rudi. You can do a lot more and irritate a lot fewer people with a couple small Vivitar 285s or similar in the corners. It's not rocket science to use flashes on stands as room light.

cdifoto, I love your "title"!

A large group can be covered with two hotshoe flashes and two shoot-through umbrellas. You're not looking for "drama" shots with tons of contrast, if I'm reading right. Halogens are essentially point-lights, even though there's a reflector on most. Remember, distance makes the lights smaller, so you're going to get harsh light from them unless they're very close to the group.

I'd steer clear of the halogens.

Thank you all for your prompt replies and your expertise....I have taken all advice on board and will reconsider my options.
Thanks again Val

cdifoto wrote in post #7903485
I agree with Rudi. You can do a lot more and irritate a lot fewer people with a couple small Vivitar 285s or similar in the corners. It's not rocket science to use flashes on stands as room light.

+1

Is it too late to give this one a vote?

Not too late....I just may have a bit of a problem with any equipment I need. The joys of living in a very small town.

Valjoy wrote in post #7909642
Not too late....I just may have a bit of a problem with any equipment I need. The joys of living in a very small town.

Where are you, Valjoy?

Valjoy wrote in post #7909642
Not too late....I just may have a bit of a problem with any equipment I need. The joys of living in a very small town.

Rudi wrote in post #7909699
Where are you, Valjoy?

yeah please let us know where you are... i may be able to help if you're on the good side (West Coast )...

Just an update...I ended up just using bounced flash for all the photos taken against a blue backdrop....it worked well and I was very comfortable using this method.
If I were to do more of this type of photography, I would definately invest in some good lighting .

Fivegallon.....sorry I am on the east side.

Rudi.....I am actually not that far from you. My son went to Wollongong University and I have a Wedding in January at MT Keira lookout.