On-Site guerilla portraiture on a dime question...

[Jersey Vic]

I have just been tagged to shoot some 'in office' headshots and 'documentary style' candids (all B&W) for a soon to go live cable tv channel. I have a 35mm camera, a Rollei TLR, a Vivitar 283 (and the variable power device) and I'm thinking of buying a stroboframe-like device and some sort of light diffuser. Good idea? Any ideas or personal experiences on what would work or has worked for you would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Victor

 

[df cardwell]

Hey Vic

I think the choice is whether you want to place the subjects in their environment, or impress a context upon them. The first being available light, with possibly some fill. The second of course is shooting the flash.

The advantages of flash, for me, would be the abilityto manage the ambient light with normal film and development. Dialing up enough flash ( not much ) to overcome the overhead lights, and hold some tone in the background and windows and stuff...

I'd use whatever magic brew you used for the pictures on your website, and add just a little bit of flash.

They are a little unwieldy, but Chimera makes a couple small softboxes (http://www.chimeralighting.com/products/specs_lightbanks.cfm?product=mm) that are really handy for this sort of thing. The smaller one ( 12 x 16 ), with part of it over the lens, is not an unpleasant way to work.

Or you could just expose for a pleasant environment and add some flash to pick out the folks. But I wouldn't go far from the look of your New York pictures.

.

 

[bobfowler]

A Sto-Fen Omni-bounce on a 283 (either in manual or automatic mode) is a beautiful thing. The Omni-bounce gives a real nice bare-bulb effect for about $16.00. Get it off your camera and onto a light stand, add one of those fold-up reflectors, and you can do a lot more. A big plus is a meter that can measure both flash and continuous light. An even bigger plus would be to be able to shoot a Polaroid...

When do you have to shoot this?

 

[Dave Wooten]

Vic there is a frame for the 283 and a white card fits in it it provides really nice bounce 45 degree of the 283...the flash is rotated totally up...the frame just snaps on both sides of the flash a grey scale card, white side toward the light fits perfectly...it is a 283 accessory

 

[Jersey Vic]

I've already started shooting this and everyone was happy with the results of the 1st assignment but you know how WE are...2nd shoot is Tuesday.
This is all very helpul. Thanks for the compliment DF and ideas, and thanks to you too Bob and and Dave. I think I'm going to go with a multi faceted approach-some fill flash, some bounced and/or diffused flash and some diafine souped flashless triX.
APUG ROCKS!

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I like DF Cardwell's approach. My usual setup in that situation is a 12x16" softbox on a Stroboframe Pro-RL at maximum height, angled slightly downward--very smooth light for a handheld setup, for subjects 6 feet or closer.

 

[df cardwell]

I like DF Cardwell's approach. ..

Hi David. You KNOW I stole it as soon as I saw it !

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Yeah, but you waited long enough for Chimera to come out with a softbox in that size. Mine's a Photoflex, which isn't as nice as a Chimera, but it was the only one available at the time.

 

[Jersey Vic]

Yeah, but you waited long enough for Chimera to come out with a softbox in that size. Mine's a Photoflex, which isn't as nice as a Chimera, but it was the only one available at the time.

DF, David:

This it?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...ls&Q=&sku=13258&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

Is it me or does that thing look huge? And the price looks very fair. Good deal!

 

[df cardwell]

Yep, that's it. I think it's a product of Gary Regester's fertile imagination, c 1985.

Like all lightbanks, being close to the subject makes all the difference !

.