Originally posted by reivax That's a pretty cool photo. I went out and did some test shots. The pictures look fine without flash, but I know that extra light would make a big difference. Thanks for the links, I'll keep looking. A Metz 58 is a little out of my price range right now. All of the recommendations everyone was making did lead me into one of those 10 hour internet scavenger hunts that led me to one of these:
Amazon.com: LumiQuest ProMax System LQ-105: Camera & Photo. I'm not sure if it will help me for this particular assignment, but it seems like it could be very useful in other situations. I plan on trying it and will report back with the results.
I own the Lumiquest Big Bounce and it's fantastic in the right situation. Now it does eat up about 3 stops of light, and that's a lot, but used up close the light is wonderfully soft. I put it on my Metz 45CL-4 or "The Roman Candle" as I like to call it. For my Metz 58, I like to use the Lumiquest LTp Softbox which only costs me a stop and a half.
If you're in a big gym though, and there is a white wall near you, they're usually painted with a semi-gloss, and might make an efficient reflector. You can actually keep the flash on the hotshoe, just turn the reflector around so that you're firing it back over your head. Depending on how the room is arranged though, that may be too distracting to others.