My photo mentor used that type of lighting frequently when shooting
bar/bat mitzvah family groups at a particular temple in Lexington, MA
and also when making "table shots" at receptions, business functions,
etc. The key ingredient was that he had me to help schlep the light
along which was mounted on a Redwing "Quick Stand" (you need one if you
don't have one) and was also sporting a 30" umbrella to soften the
light. Bigger would have been better but it was usually used in rather
cramped quarters. The two lights are arranged much as a two light
studio setup. The light on the stand is the main and is arranged such
that it's about 45 degrees from the center of the group and 45 degrees
up. Stay about 10 feet away to avoid serious exposure problems with
light fall off across the depth of a table. The camera light is the
fill light and set for about 1 stop less than the main.
Actually, using the "Quick Stand" you could do it without an assistant
but it would be a bit of a hassle especially doing "table shots". The
Quick Stand is unique in that it's a light stand that you can simply
pick up and carry away. The legs fold down automatically and when you
set it down the legs fold back out automatically. I could pick it up
and raise my carrying arm high which would raise the umbrella over the
crowds. The legs would fold up out of the way and make carrying it much
easier than a normal light stand if not actually easy.
Unfortunately, the real Redwing Quick Stand has been out of production
for ages, maybe 10 or 20 years. Fortunately, after years of searching,
I discovered a clone (what I own) called "Kwik-Stand" which is/was
manufactured by a small company in Texas called C&R Enterprises, Inc. I
was able to purchase one from Arlington Camera in Arlington, TX not much
more than a year ago which you see here:
<http://www.arlingtoncamera.com/shop/products/Kwik_Stand_8ft_Light_Stand-4608-245.html>
But the Arlington Camera page notes the item is out of stock and the
only thing I can find of C&R Enterprises is this
<http://www.shop.kwik-stand.com/product.sc?categoryId=1&productId=1>
There's a phone number listed but the web site listed on the shaft of my
stand <http//:www.kwik-stand.com> appears to be defunct. I hope they're
still there. Recommended. Quality was spotty though. I had to return
my first one due to a slightly misplaced rivet which caused binding on
one of the legs. They were obviously hand made without the benefit of a
jig. Maybe I should go into production. :-)
Dr. Flash
Ken Norton wrote:
>
> One type of lighting I've attempted but never got the hang of is second
> light where you use one flash on-camera and the other like 10 feet to one
> side. Some photographers have it working for them, but I get horrid, harsh
> shadows.
--
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