A family friend teaches ballet at a local community center. After seeing some of my recent work, she asked if I would shoot portraits of her students as part of their spring recital activities. Of course I agreed - especially since it seemed like a perfect excuse and opportunity to acquire some new gear.
I wanted more power, faster recycle times, and a larger light surface than I could get with my little speedlight flashes. So for this event I invested in a Paul C. Buff Alien Bee AB800 flash head, their 47" Octabox, which is an 8-sided octagonal shaped softbox, and a nice, neutral gray tie-dyed backdrop and stand.
The setup used four lights. The big AB800/Octabox combination was 45 degrees to camera left for the key light. Front fill was provided by a Canon 430EX II speedlight fired into a 4x6 foot white styrofoam panel just out of view to camera right. Another Canon flash fired into a silver reflective umbrella from the rear right provided the edge/rim illumination. And finally, a 3rd speedlight with a Honl speed grid lit the backdrop.
I shot the first group of 20 students on one evening, and the second group of 20 a couple nights later. They ranged from age 3 all the way up to the late teens.
The first night was a real lesson in humility and learning to shoot under any circumstances. We were shooting in the community center basketball gym. But I arrived at 2:30 in the afternoon on a very hot day to a facility with no air conditioning. The temperature inside was easily in the mid-90s. By the time I spent an hour getting all set up, I was a soaking, sopping mess. I had sweat running down my head and face in buckets and my clothes looked as if I'd been doused with a fire hose.
It wasn't a very professional image to present to the moms and kids when they came in but we had to press ahead and get the shots. Next time I'll think ahead to such circumstances and be sure to at least have a towel and fresh shirt handy to change into before the client sees me.
Blessedly, the second night's shooting was done in a nice, air conditioned ball room.
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