Hey there,

I'm looking for some tips for the lighting situation of a shoot I'm doing this weekend.  I was recently approved for a rather considerable loan from Sallie Mae that I'm going to be using for a new camera, lenses, and lighting equipment.  However, the money hasn't arrived yet and I have a shoot with a band this weekend.  The shoot is going to be at night and in a dark alley way, so I need to figure out what to do about the lighting situation.  Any tips and suggestions?

So far, I'm thinking I could use my car's headlights, maybe take a big piece of cardboard and cover it in tin foil to use as a reflector, flashlights...

Find a rental place and rent the lighting for the weekend!...If you have off camera flash, set it up on a stand with an humbrella..that should do the trick

if nothing else, go get a white plastic table cloth and find some way to hang it, or wrap it around something that might hold it up.  You can shine the light through it or reflect from it, but it will give you a smoother light source than a bare headlamp. 

Get a car windshield windowshade and wrap it with the table cloth, or tin foil,  or if you find one that is all white,  your good to go with a reflector!   You can get pretty imaginetive when you need to.  That's how most of these products got designed in the first place. 

Good luck, and congrats on your future equipment purchases!

what kind of band is it and how dark is the alley way?

sound to me like harsh lighting and grain would be just the ticket for this kind of thing.

car headlights would have a natural effect in the given setting.

Otherwise borrow or rent.

One off camera flash will do the job just fine, and I wouldn't diffuse it at all, though it would be good to get it above them if possible or bounce it off the wall in the narrow alley.

sounds like fun.

I agree with David on this one. A band in an alley way just sounds like it should have that gritty look to it. I might even fire an off camera flash hidden low and behind them somewhere bounced off one of the walls to get good depth of the alley. In this situation remember slow shutter speed and a tripod are your best friend!

Too much light and it won't be a dark alleyway anymore.  Headlights will work, and they'll look like headlights.  But headlights aren't going to point high enough unless you can get the car pointed up.

Consider using the light that's there and doing long exposure, fast film (or high ASA) pictures.  That way you'll show the dark alleyway that got your attention in the first place.

-Don

Use 3 cars, a huge white sheet on the road taped down of course, a tripod a must...have all be as still as possible and use the flash fill with a long exposure...shoot some as B&W for fun and then mix some movement by having the band move naturally as you shoot.  I did this once and it was a load of fun...very McGyver like.  Just be careful of the "noise" levels on the image and try to shoot at 64 or 100 iso.  The flashlight thing won't work unless you get in tight for the shot.  Also remember to get some closeups for the band as individual images.  Just have them move close in to the headlights.  Remember if outdoors it may be windy, so use a large umbrella to block the wind off your camera or just a sandbag.  You can make this happen...of course the best way would be to rent the lights, but you may also be creating a scene and without the proper permits to shoot on the street, the authorities have the right to take your eqipement away...always say it's for a school project at that point.  But I would make a go at it...you might discover something really cool here.  And as far as the gritty thing...there is so little light emulating from the cars that with 3 you might have better control...yes the highbeams should be on, but maybe only on one.  Just park the cars how you want to light it...one hell of a heavy stand, but if you display a good sense of direction as a photographer, you will gain the respect of the subjects and then you can do anything....it's all a dog and pony show anyway, so have fun.

Find someone that owns an SUV, use the headlights and driving lights.  If one SUV isn't enough, get two.  You can also get a couple of cheap "Spotlights" that plug into your cigarette lighter for like $10 each at Walmart.  Use one or two cars to backlight the alley.  You can use gels to color the scene or vary the lights according to traditional headlights or the new HID ones.  Shoot TMAX 3200 or E-6 1600.  It will look artsy, and very creative if you do it right...

I expect my comission fee for this consoltation when you get paid...

Good Luck!

as another idea...for mobile lighting rigs in alleys...etc.

I also bought an inverter that plugs into my cigarette lighter in my truck, it has high power output with the engine running...I bought 4 cheap floor spot lights and 4 clampable spot lights at the hardware store...and put purewhite eco halogen bulbs in them (the spirally bulbs) and when I go to shoot somewhere I can run a 50ft extension chord from my truck and plug all those lights in...the truck can also block the alley late at night to stop interruptions from unwanted guests and supply a changing room in the rear 4 door section for people.

I actually also own much of the Nikon CLS system which I love...YOu can do wonders with an SB800 and a pair of SB600s with a few cheap stands.

I also like to buy silvery and gold reflective shower curtains for around $15-$25 a piece and bounce headlights/spotlights off of them. 

Just have fun, light is a great tool and you can't break it!

you could use this trick. keep the shutter open whilst you and a couple of assistants run around manually firing  some small flash units.

I think Chip Simons did this shot