[yeedub]

Hello, I'm gonna take a year end photo for our pharmacy class. Theres around 150 students and we're going to be inside a lecture hall with a capacity for that number of students. The ceiling is quite high up and lined with wood and isnt white, as are the walls. There is a wall at the front of the lecture hall with large white projection screens.

What settings do you think would work the best? So far I have 2 ideas in mind:

Lightsphere, pointed up; 16-20mm f3.5, 1/30s taken from the front of the lecture hall with students standing in the aisles and rows

Flash turned to shoot over my shoulder and off the white projection screens, 16-20mm f4, 1/30s

Equipment:

K10D, DA* 16-50mm, Sigma EF-530DG Super. Perhaps a tripod and IR remote as well.

Thank you for any advice

[Matjazz]

Go to the hall when empty at aproximately same day time as you'll be taking pictuers (same available light) and take a few test shots. That's it.

[WMBP]

Hello, I'm gonna take a year end photo for our pharmacy class. Theres around 150 students and we're going to be inside a lecture hall with a capacity for that number of students. The ceiling is quite high up and lined with wood and isnt white, as are the walls. There is a wall at the front of the lecture hall with large white projection screens.

OK, that's all pretty discouraging. ;-)

What settings do you think would work the best? So far I have 2 ideas in mind:

Lightsphere, pointed up; 16-20mm f3.5, 1/30s taken from the front of the lecture hall with students standing in the aisles and rows

Flash turned to shoot over my shoulder and off the white projection screens, 16-20mm f4, 1/30s

Equipment:

K10D, DA* 16-50mm, Sigma EF-530DG Super. Perhaps a tripod and IR remote as well.

I suspect you're not familiar with the "inverse square law." Basically, double the distance between flash to subject, and you end up not with half as much power in your flash but ONE QUARTER as much. Forget the math: what it boils down to is, you can't get very far away from your subject if you plan to light it with a normal hot-shoe flash unit. A single flash unit isn't designed to light an entire room with 150 people in it, even when you point the flash directly at the subject. If you BOUNCE the flash, you're cutting the power in the flash very dramatically. And even if you manage to light the folks in the front row well, you're going to have serious problems with the folks in the back row.

I'm assuming there are lights in the room. With any luck, they'll be bright lights. These lights will probably do more for you than the flash. And with your Pentax DA* 16-50, you can open up to f/2.8 and you might be able to take the photo without flash at all. Be sure to shoot raw so you have more latitude to adjust white balance later.

On the other hand, if you're going to use flash, I'd think you'd need more than one. I don't really know, but I my wild guess is, if I were going to try this, I'd use THREE flashes: I'd put my two Pentax 540 FGZ units on stands to the right and left of the camera. I'd point 'em right at the audience, with just a slight turn on each flash to help widen coverage. (In other words, the flash unit on the left would be pointed toward the center of the room, but then repointed a little bit to the left side. The right flash would, in the same way, be aimed at the middle-right of the room.) I'd use my camera's pop-up flash as a MASTER, with its output cranked up +1. I'd remember to take the lens hood off, so it doesn't block the light from the built-in flash. I'd probably try 1/60thsec as a shutter speed. Go much slower and you have to worry about people moving. If you were going to overpower the scene with the flash, then you could count on the flash to freeze the action. But here, you're going to be using flash to complement the available light. Hmm, 1/60th sec, f/2.8 and, well, whatever ISO you need to get the shot. I'm guessing 400 to 800 should do.

I would definitely use a tripod. I usually put the camera on a tripod for portraits, not so much because I could not take the photos by hand, but because I need to be able to look at the subjects and talk to them while I'm shooting - and I trip the shutter using the remote.

But I'm not in that room and don't know that light, so really, I'm babbling here. Matjazz's advice is the best: Go there ahead of time and do some testing. The problem with this is, photographing empty chairs isn't the same as photographing a room full of people. If you could get a couple of friends to help you out, place 'em spread out in the room, somebody in the back row, somebody in the front, somebody in the middle, a couple of folks on the sides.

Will

[benplaut]

Don't use the LS... it sucks way too much light for this sort of thing. Maybe just use it bare, bounced off of the screens for as much good diffusion as possible.

Sounds like a challenge

[flyer]

The place will be to large to use a lightsphere or to bounce the light. One more thing, the flash will give proper lighting for "one subject" only (meaning if it is adjusted to light up something at 20 ft., everything that is not at 20 ft. will be over- under exposed). Your best bet would likely be to crank the ISO as high as you dare go, depending upon the quality of the images you want, and use ambiant light if at all possible. Shouting wide open at f:2.8 should give you something acceptable. Whatever you do, good luck.

[barendvl]

Sorry to discourage you, but there's just no way a single hotshoe flash is going to light 150 people in a right way.

Better go rent a few profoto's or make those people stand still for a second and use natural light...

One option is to get more flashes and bounce off those white boards into the crowd (basicly they make huge softboxes) but I still think your flashes won't carry that much power. Light fall off just goes to quick to light multiple rows of people correctly when bounced either off the ceiling or the white boards.

Good luck anyway and sorry again to discourage you.

B.T.W., mind you I'm a strobist in the sense that I try to light everything with small strobes, but I've been lighting groups of 30 people MAX with small strobes (and that was flashed through some A0 paper which cut my power down so much I was still at 1/4th of a second exposure or so. Any more then 30 people is really downright impossible as far as my experience goes. I have an assignment where I have to light approx 70 ppl and a few small racecarts in a large hall and I will be using both my small lights (details) and profoto's+softboxes (key) for that...

[aegisphan]

Asking 150 people to standstill for 1 second is an impossible task. The best way is to rent a few more flashes and bounce them. Good luck and let us know your set up later so others with similar situation can check it out.

[imadethis]

I would agree with barendvl and get more lights for coverage. If you do try bouncing off the white projection screens, you will need to bump up the ISO. Also, watch out for your depth of field to make sure everyone is in focus.

Another suggestion would be on the day of the event, get a few people to line up and practice a few shots to see if you're getting good coverage, OR how about moving the students outside onto some steps and using natural light with flash?

Best of luck!

[yeedub]

Thanks a lot for the tips, I'll try ambient light then

[ranamar]

If he shoots at 2.8, wont his DOF be paper thin?

Also, Ambient light will not give you that crisp, flashy sharpness that I think you are looking for. I think renting/borrowing lights would be the best thing.
You could probally ask Kerrisdale Cameras, or another store if they do rentals. It would make the pic+life much easier.

-ranamar

[JrPentax]

just a thought - can you tae asome quick snaps of the location from different parts of the room.... then we can help perhaps and get a bit more of an idea... might be also good to have someone in each shot sowe can get better perspective... make the person small and the room big so we get a good idea

cheers

[flyer]

If he shoots at 2.8, wont his DOF be paper thin?

Also, Ambient light will not give you that crisp, flashy sharpness that I think you are looking for. I think renting/borrowing lights would be the best thing.
You could probally ask Kerrisdale Cameras, or another store if they do rentals. It would make the pic+life much easier.

-ranamar

At 2.8 with a wide angle lens and a group like that (giving some breathing space), depth of field shouldn't be too bad. Odds are most will be in decent focus if you focus 1/3 down the group.

[Mikhail]

Wow that sure isn't going to work with one little strobe. Depending on light levels you could get away with maybe an ISO 800 shot around 1/60 or faster, but im sure the lights in the room are reasonably bright... I mean it is a lecture room, you're suppose to be able to read and take notes of some sort!
If ambient is that low, get a couple more strobes (rent) for 2 or 3 days. 1 or 2 days to play with them and come up with your lighting plan, and 3rd day you shoot.

Good luck!
Thanks

[Entropy]

If he shoots at 2.8, wont his DOF be paper thin?

Also, Ambient light will not give you that crisp, flashy sharpness that I think you are looking for. I think renting/borrowing lights would be the best thing.
You could probally ask Kerrisdale Cameras, or another store if they do rentals. It would make the pic+life much easier.

-ranamar

His school might offer photography classes, in which case they probably have some studio strobes he might be able to borrow.

[RoxnDox]

His school might offer photography classes, in which case they probably have some studio strobes he might be able to borrow.

Very few medical/pharmacy schools have photography classes

Sorry, couldn't resist...

Jim