{"id":2046,"date":"2012-02-12T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-02-12T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.wordpress\/?p=2046"},"modified":"2015-06-19T15:15:04","modified_gmt":"2015-06-19T15:15:04","slug":"rocking-out-using-lighting-equipment-to-freeze-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adorama.com\/alc\/rocking-out-using-lighting-equipment-to-freeze-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Rocking Out – Using Lighting Equipment to Freeze Action"},"content":{"rendered":"

To make a visually stunning rock band image, Kevin Kubota was ready with a plan, a location, and the right gear.<\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/p>\n

Guest author: Kevin Kubota<\/p>\n

\nWorking with the band Lyible, from Bend, Oregon, I set up the shoot on a loading dock that was open on two sides to the street. This six-man band was spread out over a huge area, so I employed the use of nine lights. Each member of the band was lit separately with a flash that could freeze the movement.<\/p>\n

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\nJust yelling, \u201cACTION!\u201d wasn\u2019t enough to make an exciting shot. I had to work with each band member on specific moves that would look good with the other subjects. This lesson reveals the challenges and solutions that produced a great final image.<\/p>\n

Behind-The-Scenes Video:<\/p>\n

PhotoflexLightingSchool- Kevin Kubota Shoots a Band<\/a> from Photoflex<\/a> on Vimeo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Selecting Location
\nHow do you capture the energy of a hot young alternative rock band? Let them play loud music and scream! My assistant Ben and I set up this fun shot of Lyible, an up-and-coming band in Bend, OR. We found a loading dock location that was open on two sides to the street, which would be perfect for the image I had in mind and which would give us easy access to the location.<\/p>\n

While Ben and I unloaded the lighting equipment (which was rather extensive), Lyible set up in the background.<\/p>\n

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Lighting the Scene
\nThe lighting arrangement for this shoot was relatively complex. In order to get the right exposure, I needed to play around with the set and figure out the best way to light each member.<\/p>\n

The small OctoDome<\/a>\u00ae was the perfect light modifier for the lead singer. We wanted the light source to be directional, with enough falloff from head to toe to create emphasis on the face and gradual darkening towards the feet. We also didn’t want the light to spill wildly all over the set, as it would with an umbrella or larger soft box. The shape of the OctoDome\u00ae is more like a spotlight, maintaining the drama and direction of light, while still affording some softness to the shadows for beautiful chiaroscuro! We positioned the OctoDome\u00ae so that when the lead singer jumped in the air, his head would be level with the center of the light.<\/p>\n

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Coming in from the right side, we used another TritonFlash<\/a>\u2122. We initially tried it further back, shining through a wire grid to cast some shadows on to the background of the set, however, there was so much going on already in the background that this didn’t really add to the image.<\/p>\n

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\nSo, we removed the wire grid and brought the TritonFlash\u2122 in closer where we could focus the light on one band member instead. The attachable reflector provided just the right amount of coverage and light spread.<\/p>\n

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To cover the entire band over such a large area, I needed more lights. We used a combination of Photoflex\u00ae TritonFlash\u2122 battery strobes, StarFlash\u00ae 300watt<\/a> studio strobes, and Nikon speedlights<\/a> to achieve our goal. The StarFlash\u00ae units are very easy to use and adjust. We plugged them in to portable A\/C battery packs and simply taped our existing grid spot modifiers to the front of them for more focused beams of light. Each band member got their own moment in the spotlight, so to speak.<\/p>\n

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\nWe used the Photoflex wireless FlashFire<\/a>\u2122 triggers to get all the lights to fire in sync. They are easy to use, basic units, with very little to worry about figuring out.<\/p>\n

The bass player got ambitious and climbed up on a beam. In the final image, it looks like he is jumping off, but he is actually quite safely “strapped” in by the metal cross-rods.<\/p>\n

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\nIn order to make this complex shot work, we had to dial in each light for an equal exposure on each band member. We didn’t want much of the light to spill onto the background, so we used grid spot adapters<\/a> and other modifiers to focus the lights just on the players and some on the amplifiers. The ambient light took care of the fill, which was one of the benefits to the location opening up to the street on two sides.<\/p>\n

One key to making setups like this easier is to be prepared with lots of Gaffer tape<\/a>, clamps<\/a>, step ladders, straps, and other grip equipment. We had to clamp a Speedlight up high on a beam as we didn’t have a light stand tall enough. We used gaffers tape to attach various accessory modifiers to the lights, and climbed up and down to get lights in unusual places. Be prepared, just like a scout, and things will run much smoother!<\/p>\n

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\nPosing and Camera Placement
\nWhen all the lights were in place and Ben and I were satisfied with the exposure, it was time for the fun part\u2014posing! The key to this image was in the timing and expressions of the band members. Fortunately, they were full of enthusiasm and understood what we were going for.<\/p>\n

To get my desired shot, I chose a low angle about three meters away from the lead singer.<\/p>\n

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\nMy angle would accentuate the height and drama of the shot. To get everyone in frame, I chose my Nikon 24mm f\/1.4<\/a> lens and had my camera set to the following:\n<\/p>\n