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Re: [OM] Event Photography Advise -Please! [Reprise]

Subject: Re: [OM] Event Photography Advise -Please! [Reprise]
From: "John A. Lind" <jlind@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 21:26:40 -0500
At 18:15 4/18/02, you wrote:
C'mon Y'all,

I'm hurt... nobody's even said boo to my last post, and it was total OM
content.

OK Bill, I give my tuppence worth:

As an addendum, I'll probably be able to rent some strobes and umbrellas,
and a strobe meter...

Keep it simple . . . the KISS principle. If you've never worked with strobes and umbrellas before, the event itself is not the time to begin. You could get lucky, but the risks are high something can go wrong. If you can practice with the strobes in a *similar* venue and burn a few rolls of film to ensure you've got a reasonable setup down, then you might be able to get away with it with two very important caveats: (1) You *must* have enough time at the event itself to set up the strobes and tear them down without impinging on all the other shooting you will have to do. (2) You *must* have a clear location where you can set them up in advance, run the trigger cord to your camera, and power cord(s) to the AC mains without danger of anyone tripping over them. I *don't* recommend optical slaves for monolights at these occasions!! Too many others will be there with their pocket P&S's and set them off if they're pure optical slaves. You either want IR or radio slaves that nobody else can set off, or you want a PC cord. No wedding photog I know uses optical slaves for this very reason. Often a pair of lights will be able to slave from one to the other using a method nobody else's flash can trigger and a PC cord need only go to one of the monolights. Have a very *long* cord for it!

Best fail-safe setup I've seen for a pair of lights under these conditions is about 10-15 feet on your left and right, just slightly behind where you will stand, elevated to at least several feet above the subjects' heads and umbrellas aimed toward about the center of your subject area using the modeling lights. This is the standard setup I've seen used with two lights for the post-wedding ceremony formal shots done in the church sanctuary. Someone else may have an alternative they've successfully used or seen used.

I'm thinking of getting Porta160NC to use at this thing with some 4800=BA floods (~250W) for the podium stuff (I can set that part up and it'll be locked in - there's a place set aside for that) I'll be shooting verticals of 4 people at a time Olympics-style and have ~20 feet by 30 feet to work with.

I don't recommend "hot" lights (tungsten floods). If you throw enough light with them whoever is on the podium "for the duration" could easily be drenched with sweat, not to mention blind, afterward. The tungsten balanced lighting could also cause printing problems using daylight film. It can be corrected, but it requires the printer to know what they're doing to balance it, and IMO it's never quite as good as using tungsten film.

Now for the PJ stuff...I'll need to get some distance for the Master's demo part as they can take up a whole gymnasium (the event is at the gym at UMSL - St. Louis) and move pretty fast, but I've competed here before and - -kinda- know where the action will peak so can pre-focus/frame (hopefully) These shots probably won't get blown to 8X10's, so can tolerate a little less sharpness....Porta400NC? Using T32 on BG2?

Portra 160NC is greate stuff for things like this, and wide enough latitude to be decently forgiving of exposlure errors. I am concernted about the combination of working distance, the amount of light you'll be able to "throw" and film speed. If 8x10 is max print size you should consider Portra 400NC. You *might* be able to get away with ISO 160, but your flash recharge time will be longer and you'll run through batteries faster.

Now for the second part of the PJ stuff - the graduates... they'll all come to a central point to receive the diploma, look back and smile, and once all of them have been graduated, BIG group shot...first part is fairly easy, but the group shot of 30 to 50 people might be too much for the equipment I have flash-wise...

OM-4 (main body)

Good!  I've had excellent luck using an OM-4 with "T" flashes in TTL/OTF mode.

OM-10 (back-up only because I'm gonna use flash)
OM-1* (my baby, will bring just to do candids if I have the chance)

Take all your gear as backup.

I would try to *not* use anything wider than the 50mm, certainly no wider than the 35mm even with the large group shot. It is far too easy to end up with a distorted looking head along an edge and especially in a corner with the 24mm. Ensure you have the longer lenses; either the 90mm or the 100mm (both are not required) plus the 135mm. You may need them for the demo; try to use the 90mm for this if at all possible. Doing sports action with the 135mm requires more care with steady hold and aiming if you haven't done it before; found the 135mm requires a little practice because of its magnification. As an f/3.5 lens it will give a 2/3 stop dimmer viewfinder and make it harder to focus; the f/2.8 lenses will be easier to focus, and either of the 50mm lenses much easier.


BG2
T-20 (and softbox)
T-32 (and softbox)

Winder1 (as a handle only)
Winder2 (as a winder <g>)

Forget about the softbox. You don't have enough flash power with a T-32 alone to use it. If you have all the necessary cords, put the Winder 2 onto the OM-4 and BG2 on that with the T-32 in it, with the flash head to the right. Use the trigger button on the BG2. I *don't* recommend T-32 in BG2 and T-20 in the hot shoe (or vice versa). If you make a vertical shot, the T-20 will leave a shadow directly to the right of the subject. Even though the T-32 may fill at least part of the top portion of it, the shadow will still be there.

I've found a wrist strap on the BG-2 helps when holding it for very long periods. The entire assembly will want to sag to the right from all the battery weight if you let it hang from a neck strap. If you don't remove the neck strap put it around your neck anyway, even if you don't let it support the camera weight. This will keep it from getting in front of the lens. If you have lens hood(s), use them. I will also sometimes put a larger flat tripod QR plate onto the bottom of the BG2 1/4-20 thread. Depending on your tripod and its QR plates, some have a sunken screw and will sit flat. If the plate is large enough, you can set the camera down upright on a solid, flat surface instead of laying it down on its back.

Enthusiasm but no experience in this sort of thing...

Not to worry, you will need that enthusiasm to carry you through the night! You'll be one tired dude by the time you get home.

-- John


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