Working With Light - It's all about lighting!

In relation to our current campaign for the Queensland Government, I think it is important that the lighting needed to be used on the day of the shoot be discussed. As there is a high chance that most if not some of the images will be taken outside we need to consider the lighting.
Will flash lighting on camera or off camera be needed? Will we preffer to use continuous instead of flash?
Is the natural light enough?
Will we need reflectors?
Will ambient/staging light give problems?
Will their be electricity near by if we do need studio lighting? and if so where can we hire a generator or alternative from?
Will solar power or battery powered technology need to be used?

All these things and more need to be considered without even touching on the elements. What if it rains. . etc etc.
On top of all that, depending on how much equipment we need, how are we going to transport it? Hiring of vehicle etc etc.

So will all that food for thought, I have endeavoured to find some answers the best I could. If anyone has anything else to add or further suggestions,please do so.

Studio Lighting:

As we all know there are many different brands and strenghts of studio lighting available. Some reasonably cheap and some higher quality,yet more expensive lighting. As we are aiming for a high end result the use of better quality photographic equipment would seem appropriate. Bowens photographic equipment currently have a good repore within our industry and offer alot of great equipment and are seemingly improving technology all the time. As I was researching I went onto their uk website - www.bowens.co.uk - and on their front page they actually have featured an outdoor shoot! It would seem they have planned this just for me to find, as they have listed the equipment they have used for the shoot.


Lighting Explorer 1500 ( Generator )
Gemini 500 ( 500w flash head)
Quad Head ( Flash head )
Pulsar Radio Trigger
Softbox 140
60° Reflector
Barn Doors

As this list of equipment compiles of a generator to create power, it means that we are able to shoot on location and still acheive the results possible with a flash.

Below is some further information on the generator if would like to read on.

The Bowens Explorer 1500 represents the state of the art in portable battery generator technology. Measuring just 27cm(L) x 18cm(W) x 28cm(H) and weighing just 10kg, the unit offers an unbeatable power to size ratio while providing the photographer with the flexibility of two independently digitally controlled 0.1 f-stop incremented channels.

The unique LCD interface is both intuitive and informative, making it quick and simple to setup and start shooting accurately anywhere. The unit comes with an interchangeable 12Ah battery unit which provides up to 150 shots at the full 1500Ws, recycling in 3.8 seconds or 180 shots at 1200Ws in 3 seconds.

In addition, the Explorer also features two 'Gemini' sockets which allows connection of two Esprit Gemini Monolights.
So, by Connecting two QUAD Heads and two Esprit Gemini 750 Units you can acheive a total of 3000Ws from this remarkably compact power pack.

They have pages and pages of equipment available should we need alternative equipment or if we had the use of electricity near by.

This could be a good start for our campaign, depending on the size of the shoot. Their are some limitations to the amount of shots being taken and of course the battery life. This would need to be taking into account if shooting something on Multiple Framers per second, working with children etc.

Of course the use of reflectors, tripods, light meters etc will most likely come into the scenerio, however I would hope most of use have these by now.


Please add comments and/or suggestions should you have any.

Thanks

Amanda