Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Hi Folks - I have an assignment to take portraits of a high school orchestra. There will be 50-60 members, on a stage with black curtain in the rear. I plan on use two AB800 set approximately 1/3 in from the right and left edge and pointed towards the opposite rear. I will be shooting from a ladder. I have PLM soft silver with white diffusion panel. My question is what modifier would be best to provide a uniform lighting for the large group. It was suggested to not use the PLM as this would result in a bright spot with light falling off. The suggestion was to use a standard silver umbrella. So my questions are:

Standard umbrella vs parabolic

Standard umbrella with wide angle reflector

Using just the standard reflector only - no umbrella vs wide angle reflector only - no umbrella

Your input and suggestions will be greatly appreciated - Thanks -Bill

I will be eager to see the responses to your post as well. I have a similar conundrum only I have 3 Einstein 640's to light with and I'm lighting a 25x25 stage for a pageant. I want to try to cover as much of the stage as evenly as possible. My thought is the best solution will be to throw up some standard umbrellas on bounce, but I'm curious to see what the folks here recommend as far as will that give coverage. I had also kind of considered using the 8.5 inch high output reflectors with no umbrellas.

Bill-
I think the PLM's you have will be fine. The soft silver will not have such a sharp fall off to be unuseable. If you decide it is too soft, the diffusion fabric will only reduce (actually spread) the light by about 1.5f. Is there a reason you are setting the lights in from the edges? The farther the light, the more even the light across a given area.

By moving them out, you may reduce the intensity of the light falling on the subjects. But, given the fact you are inside, you can increase ISO to compensate.

CloverStorm- Similar to Bill, distance is your friend when it comes to evenness. The more you can back the lights up, the better. The specifics of what you can do or what would be best will be dictated by the environment you have to work in, i.e. where can you put light stands? How high is the ceiling? What color is it? You may consider bouncing off that.

Hi Tech Support - Thanks for your responses. My thought on moving the lights in from the outside edges is so each strobe will spread uniformly over the group. Would it be better to put the strobes on the outside ends? The total length of the orchestra is approximately 40-50 feet and about 20 feet deep. The strobes will be about 20 - 30 feet from the front row of the orchestra. So the distance to the back row will be 40-50 feet. I am assuming the strobes will be firing at full power or very close to reach the distance. I am thinking the diffusion fabric will not be practical. With the distances involved I was thinking the standard silver umbrella might be better - assuming it would bounce more light back than the soft silver PLM. My other thought was to use only reflectors with no umbrellas - my concern with this is if the light would spread enough to provide even coverage. Are my assumptions reasonable or am I off base? I am wanting to get access to the auditorium prior to the concert so I can try out lighting arrangements. Thanks again for your time and comments. Bill

If you already have the soft silver PLM, I think it will be fine, as there is a good bit of feathering from it. I would move them out past the edges. If you do not do this, then some people will have light from both sides, and some from just one side.

You can do the regular reflectors, too, but the same fall off rules will apply as with umbrellas. The feathering would be similar as well. I do not think size will play a big role, as the lights will be so far away.

Aim each light at or above and/or in front of the top back person on the opposite side. This will light them with feathered light, which will be more even. Set up early and meter carefully.

Thank you so much for your feedback and comments. You have been very helpful as I plan for this assignment. Thanks again - Bill