Ann-alog, a Pixel Remix, where Ann Torrence blogs about photographing for a book on U.S. Highway 89, the greatest road trip route in America. Photography tips, locations, trip reports, and real life.

The models. And some interloping photowalker who couldn't stay out of the picture (Rich!). They were everywhere

The Photowalking Utah group had a very successful studio lighting event in lieu of an outdoor walkabout in the January cold. We had 75 attendees, at least half of whom had never worked with studio lighting. Several wrap-ups (Annie, Jeremy (a new ring light fan), John, Rich) and tons of photos are on-line already. Rather than repeat, I will post some data and a few thoughts that might be of use to other Photowalking groups and camera clubs that undertake a studio lighting workshop.

Leadership and direction - minimal. Our largest previous Photowalking event had been only 15 people, so some of the original members made a point of greeting people. Our members volunteered their set-ups and helped everyone have a positive experience, but we had no "official experts".

Space - the church had an elevated stage taking up about 1/5 of the 6,000' square feet in the main sanctuary. We managed to squeeze in eight set-ups. If we had had more space, we had gear for at least one or two more. Better yet, we could have put more breathing room in between each set-up. People were nearly on top of one another moving between them. We had an empty central zone where people could socialize and relax out of the fray.

Timing - the first group of volunteers arrived at 9:30 to stack the church's chairs around the edge of the sanctuary. By 10:30, most of the back-drops were up. We were ready when everyone started arriving at 11:00. We had some introductions and announcements, and then started making photos. After 2.5 hours, the models were fading, and by 2:00 we were packing up. More volunteers stayed for an hour to arrange the church for Sunday services.

Lighting gear - we wanted as much variety as possible. The Strobist-style Nikon/Pocket Wizard set-up was as revelatory to some folks as the 6' octagonal softbox. We encouraged everyone to treat the day as a window shopping trip to the great NYC camera stores, and ask lots of questions. People want to know how much things cost, cheaper stuff was deemed highly interesting. Sadly, we never got the hot lights going--I'm sure many people would have wanted to see them. Afterwards, we created a Flickr discussion to describe the different set-ups. (The on-line light diagramming tool made this really easy.)

Cautionary thoughts about triggering multiple strobes in the same room:

1. Optical slaves won't work unless you can isolate them.
2. Pocket wizards are great - we had them, but maxed out all four channels.
3. It was a surprise to some of our more experienced and heavily equipped photographers that sync cables don't plug into consumer grade DSLRs. Someone brought a "hot shoe to PC sync" gizmo that saved the day for some of our photographers. We needed more.

Extra cameras - a few of us brought extra bodies. People who only had point and shoot cameras were invited to attend and bring their own CF cards. Canon made at least one future sale from our event. I also saw some lenses being passed around for test-drives.

Setting up - all but one of our set-ups were ready at the starting time. In retrospect, we shouldn't have been in such a rush. There's a lot to learn by doing, and it gives some time for an orientation as things go together. If I were in charge, I'd assign the locations and deploy the backdrops, but wait for more people to arrive to put it all together.

Models - Rich organized amateur models from a pool of his tween-age daughters, friends, and people he has photographed in the past. We asked everyone to contribute $5 to a tip pool. The 10-14 year olds were delighted with their winnings.

Confronted with a studio set-up for the first time, some photographers can get highly focused on the technical aspects of working with the strobes. Many of our first-timers had never formally photographed a stranger, and were shy about giving the models directions. Brief the models to "ham it up" and not to expect too much interaction.

House lights - we dropped them down, then had to bring them up. Remember that the entry-level lenses need more light to focus.

Microphone - Rich had the microphone, and used it several times to broadcast a question: "will someone who knows how to set a Nikon D80 to xxx please lend a hand?" and a first-timer got one step closer to success.

Security - our event was well-publicized, we knew many first-timers were attending, and we considered the possibility that someone would come with evil intent to steal gear while folks were distracted. We forced everyone to use only one door, posted with an entry table, but our greeters were also our models, so it wasn't much of a barrier. Folks were advised to use common sense for their own stuff. One burly male volunteered to act as a look-out. We had no missing gear; in fact we ended up with a spare pair of mirrored sunglasses*, but we are in the heart of Utah where nothing bad ever happens.

Props - This was a "bring yer own" affair. Scarves, masks, sunglasses and hats were fun and helped keep our young models entertained.

Modeling stools - we improvised with the church's band stools, etc.

Tables - the church had a few that we positioned at the entry for our greeters and in the middle to spread out gear and to demarcate the social area.

Ladder - We had one out for deploying a homemade backdrop, and it turned into a totally fun perspective for documenting the event. Harley also brought his telescoping monopod/paint-pole device, which was used by many.

Last minute shopping list - name tags (we asked people to add their Flickr names to their name tags so we could associate real names with on-line personalities), heavy marker pens, heavy duty extension cords, spare AA batteries, scotch tape and paper to make signs, labeling tape (for gear).

Snacks - someone made coffee, someone else brought brownies (thanks!) The church didn't have any restrictions on food, but another venue might.

The door prizes were fun. Thanks Pictureline!

Future enhancements -

We might suggest people leave their tripods at home. I saw lots under folks' arms, none in use, some in the way.

With a little more planning, we could offer more variety by asking each set-up leader to arrange gear for a different situation: head-shot, full-length portrait, couples shot, etc.

We could have someone give a thirty minute "intro to studio light" talk before the official starting time, covering basic concepts like "what’s a softbox for?", how to set white balance for flash, controlling exposure with strobes, etc.

Most important!

Attitude prevails over all. We couldn't say it often enough in our pre-event announcements--everyone is welcome, no experience necessary, this will be fun. And it was, a tremendous amount of fun.

*(I have them, send email if they are yours).