When I began gearing up for studio type photo work, I knew that I needed lighting. I actually began (like many others, I presume) with inexpensive clamp-on utility light units coupled with daylight corrected fluorescent bulbs (purchased at any large discount mart) on the order of 75-100watts. These were initially used in conjuction with table top shots of still life objects. I also used translucent sheets of plexiglas as a screen to make the light less harsh and more diffused. In addition, I used hardware clamps to hold the sheets upright. The sheets were approximately 1×2′. I also experimented with the diffusers that cover commercial fluorescent fixtures as they are relatively inexpensive. The results were quite good as long as the background could be exposed properly. Sometimes several lights and several sheets of translucent plexiglas had to be employed. Here is an example of an alarm clock shot with this type of lighting:

However, this type of lighting is not very convenient at all. The plexiglas sheets have to be manipulated, the lights have to be clamped to something stable and a fair amount of time is taken to get things right. After putting aside some funds for lighting purchases, I decided to buy two Lowell Ego lights. They are not inexpensive by any means, but their advertisements caught my eye. Since I was still merely taking tabletop shots at the time, these seemed to be the next logical step for me to take. Here is one of the shots taken with the Lowell Ego lights which are daylight corrected fluorescent lights much like the homemade lights that I had previously used:

I wasn’t really disappointed with the Lowell Ego lights (other than the fact that they cost too much for what they were IMHO). Shortly after I began using them, I got a call from a model interested in a photo session where I took the photos and she got several prints as a result of the shoot (TFP: Trade For Prints). I was hoping for an outside session, but since I was going to have to travel a good distance to her location, I decided to take along the only “convenient”, studio lights that I had at the time, the two Lowell Ego units. Fortunately, the people at Lowell put a 1/4-20 screw thread hole at the bottom of each unit. This allows you to attach the light to a tripod. Fortunately, I kept my old, “Junk-Mart” tripods purchased some years back.  Sure enough, as Murphy’s Law states, it was raining when I arrived at her residence. So, not giving up and thinking fast on my feet, I setup the Lowell Ego lights atop the two inexpensive tripods, place the model against an off-white solid colored wall and began shooting. Here is one of the shots that I took:

Some PS post-processing has been applied to the image; however, the specular highlights in Krystal’s eyes and the overall lighting was achieved using the Lowell Ego lights. I shot the image in Nikon RAW and adjusted the white balance when processing the image. Even though the fluorescent lights are daylight corrected, there is still a bit of a bluish-green tint to them. Each Lowell Ego unit contains two 27 watt daylight corrected fluorescent bulbs. This is not a great deal of light. Two of them produce just a little more than 100 watts which is what I was using in one single clamp light.

However, the images worked out well and the model was pleased with the results. You can find Lowell Ego Lights offered here.

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First the obvious things:

• Scout your location ahead of time and make sure you’ll have enough room for the group in your setting
• Make sure you’ll have enough light. An outdoor shot slower that a 60th of a second will most likely have people moving in it and that will ruin your shot. Have a backup plan for indoors and plenty of lighting.
• Place the tall people in back moving to the front with shorter and shorter heights. Be ready to place some chairs on the front row. A row of more than 15 people will be hard to contain in your framing unless you are shooting from a roof or ladder (which in some instances is not a bad idea).
• Make sure you leave crop space on the side(s) of your image when you frame it in camera for 8×10s, 5×7s, etc. Since your prints most probably be larger than an 8×10″ (or remotely an 11×14″), you’ll have plenty of resolution for your final image. Today’s cameras give plenty of latitude for enlargement.

Other tips:

• Tell everyone they “LOOK GREAT!” or “YOU SURE LOOK WONDERFUL!” - “smile” or “say cheese” won’t usually do the trick. Make each individual feel good about themselves. Remember, most of them are self-conscious even though they have done an excellent job in masking it.
• Smile the whole time to make people feel comfortable
• Use a tripod unless you are shooting with strobes (and even then it is advisable)
• Shoot in continuous mode - someone is always going to have their eyes close, are blinking or some other unwanted action. This will increase your chances of a great shot with everyone looking at the camera with their eyes open.
• If you are planning on shooting some couples or small group shots in addition to the large group shot, make sure you let everyone know as they arrive and fill them in on the group shot as well. Do this in a very gracious and friendly manner. Don’t make the mistake of sitting at a table with a sign and expecting everyone to stroll on over to you - approach them first whenever you can.
• Make sure every face is in the photo - bringing someone to assist you is not a bad idea at all if you can arrange it
• If the event is serving food and the photo session is BEFORE the meal, you may want to offer the couples and small group shots after the meal. Hungry people are not easy to entice.

On the business end:

• When you have forms on hand to fill out, make sure you have a receipt for the order if they have paid. A receipt makes the person feel like they have proof they have paid. A generic sales form with a carbon slip will work fine if you are not doing this as a full time job. If you can afford it, have some carbonless forms printed out with blaks areas you fill in for the specific event.
• Keep plenty of business cards handy for those who are purchasing photos - you may be amazed at how many people will ask if you do this or that type of photography - hand them your card and ask them to contact you in the future.
• Make sure that everyone who wants their prints shipped to them has a full address and it is legible. Contact information is vital. Also remember that there will be some handling on your part if you are planning of packaging and shipping the prints yourself. Of course, you may decide it is worth the extra expense to have the prints drop shipped directly from your photo processing outfit.

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Once an area of an image is selected, you can easily copy another images and do a “paste into selection”. Selecting more than one area is easily done when you click on the add to selection icon at the top of the screen. Some of the images were flipped horizontally.

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