Hey Steve

[MJS]

I'm probably asked this last year, but can't remember the answer. We'll be shooting our concert band members with their instruments on a background. All repro will be done in black and white. Strobes are the Alien Bee 1600 with 48" umbrellas. Musicians will be wearing tuxes, and black dresses. We have an antique white muslin and a black savage background.

1. Do you think the antique white will work with the B/W repro? I'm worried about having enough contrast and "pop". Should we light the bg or the sitter?

2. Do you think a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio would work with the background.

I have 100 heads to shoot, so I want to nail the details and set up before the kids come in. We'll be working with a D70 and either the kit lens or my 28-70/ 2.8

Michael

[Asylum Steve]

Michael,

I don't have much experince with this type of subject, so it's kind of tough to tell you what will work best ahead of time...

If it were me, I think I'd try using the white bg (the black bg won't work with the black wardrobe), but keep it far enough away so your subject lights will only slightly illuminate it. Or you could angle the bg so it has a more graduated tonality to it.

Personally, I think "formal yet funky" portraits work best with a medium toned mottled bg, but if you can't get a hold of that, you have to make the best with what you have.

Don't be afraid to try the higher lighting ratio. Flat or even lighting can kill a creative portrait, and young faces can definitely stand (and look good with) more dramatic lighting schemes. Plus the textures of the instruments will really be brought out with more dramatic angular lighting.

Try you key fairly high and a bit to the side with your fill lower and more centered. Just be very aware of the shadows on your subjects' faces. You may have to move them around a bit to find the best shooting angles.

Hope that helps...

I'm probably asked this last year, but can't remember the answer. We'll be shooting our concert band members with their instruments on a background. All repro will be done in black and white. Strobes are the Alien Bee 1600 with 48" umbrellas. Musicians will be wearing tuxes, and black dresses. We have an antique white muslin and a black savage background.

1. Do you think the antique white will work with the B/W repro? I'm worried about having enough contrast and "pop". Should we light the bg or the sitter?

2. Do you think a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio would work with the background.

I have 100 heads to shoot, so I want to nail the details and set up before the kids come in. We'll be working with a D70 and either the kit lens or my 28-70/ 2.8

Michael

[MJS]

Thanks, we just sent in a check request for the strobes. I'll post a few test shots when we give it a try.