Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Hi! Just wondering what I should order. I have a group of 55 kids that will be on bleachers in the gym. Thinking about either order the 30 x 60 softbox with alien bee 800 or 2 beauty dishes. My thought was to flat light them with the softbox but didn't know if the beauty dishes would work best. Any thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated as to what would work best for a group this size. Will also be using this outside for groups as well. Thanks!

The PLM is the answer, not a single softbox, certainly not the BD's, which are way too small for the crowd you'll be shooting.

I suggest you give this piece by Rob Galbraith a very close read. He discusses shooting sports teams with a trio of PLMs. Very, uh, wait for it -- enlightening. You'll want the PLMs positioned far away from the group to minimize light fall-off from front row to rear. Inverse square law says moving the lights closer causes greater fall-off, and you must avoid this.

http://www.robgalbraith.com/multi_pagebb9d.html?cid=7-10046-10396

Keep in mind that the article dates from December 2009. The PLM product line-up has evolved and matured since then, and he shot these with Alien Bees, not Einsteins. Nevertheless, it's precisely on point to your situation. Good luck.

Thank you, Dick! Very interesting read!

Do you know of any photo apps that help position your lights with the inverse square law in mind?

Thank you!
susie

I would concur with Dick, in that PLM's are the way to go. I would do 64" soft silver 8mm shaft. Buying the white diffusors for them is not a bad idea since you will be making an order, but I would not use them for this particular shoot.

I don't know of any apps that account for ISL, however, if you expound on what you want the app to do, we may be of more help.