Elinchrom ONE Dual Kit for a Large Group Photo

Not too long ago, I bought the Elinchrom ONE dual kit and I finally had the use case where it they were the most appropriate tool for the job. A 7am Police Department Photo. I wasn't going to post about this assignment, but a photographer reached out to me: 

"This photo popped up in my Instagram feed this morning. I’m assuming the photo is yours  When you have time, can I trouble you for some basic behind the scenes info? I’m super curious about how you shot it as I try to learn and improve."



Lighting-  Strobes? One light on the right side and one light on the left side?  I assume you did not use a flash on your camera. 

Two Elinchrom ONE lights, one on either side, as high as they can be. If they are too low, the head of the person in front would cast an obvious shadow on the person behind them. Shooting RAW you can do a lot to bring up shadows, but nothing compares to real light. Technically this is "artificial" light, but you know what I mean.

Napa Police DepartmentNapa Police DepartmentOctober 12, 2023; Napa, California, USA; Napa Police Department at Napa Valley College; (Photo credit: Kelley L Cox/KLC fotos)

Is it a single image or are there any photoshop things like eye swaps to avoid somebody having their eyes closed?

I am not that advanced with my photoshop (I know there are automated tools that can do this, it's just not part of my workflow). I just take a lot and always end up with enough all-eyes-open options. I also often count "one-two-three" and that typically helps a) eyes be open b) people who want to adjust hair etc, know they can move when I'm not at the end of the count.

Aperture-  What aperture did you use to get all five rows of people in focus?

I was at f/6.3 for these. Though I was also a whole staircase away (on a ladder) so the difference between the front row and the back row was not as significant from a ratio perspective. My rule of thumb for any large group photo (and full body individual photos) is to get as far away as possible so you can "flatten" the image and not have any wide-angle distortion where the front row looks like giants and the back row looks like ants.

ISO/ Shutterspeed? 

ISO 3200. High, I know, but in today's world of ISO capabilities, that's not a problem. Shutter speed 1/250. Right in the flash range, I probably could have slowed it down to 1/200 but with a background in sports, I do NOT have steady hands, and there was enough ambient light coming through that I didn't want to have camera-shake-induced blurry photos.

How many pictures did it take to end up with “the shot”?

I think in total, we took 36 group photos, all in the matter of minutes, some smiles, some no smiles. In total, total, much more since I took a lot of set up photos to dial in my position and lighting and also move people around to make sure everyone was in the "window" of the person ahead of them. I like to give them a few options so they can choose "the shot" as opposed to me just delivering one shot (this is also why I don't do much PhotoShopping)

What is the location they selected to use difficult for you as a photographer to accommodate or easy?

Thankfully, this was a really collaborative process with a 2-month lead so we had time to discuss options. They knew their department meeting was going to be on the college campus, so it had to be somewhere near there. My goal was to find some kind of staircase to provide that elevation. The Sergeant worked with campus staff to secure the gymnasium. I was hoping to avoid the gym just because it would be obvious it was a gym, and I love environmental portraits. Though it was nice to have the gym as backup in case it was raining. These kind of department photos can't be rescheduled as easily as other portraits. I was able to use google maps to find a set of staircases and the Sergeant was kind enough to do some scouting for me so I didn't have to make the drive just to scout locations. The first staircase I "eyed" via google maps satellite, I didn't realize had a big sign that would have definitely been a problem. But the Sergeant found another staircase that worked perfectly. I also brought a small ladder that I placed on top of an elevated planter box (do what ya gotta do!) so that even though I was down a flight of stairs, my angle wasn't significantly lower than the group.

Napa Police DepartmentNapa Police DepartmentOctober 12, 2023; Napa, California, USA; Napa Police Department at Napa Valley College; (Photo credit: Kelley L Cox/KLC fotos)

On a related note, I am extra glad these were my lights for this, because

a) We had some extra time after taking the department photo before the all-hands meeting was scheduled to start so I was able to use them for some fun smaller group photos. The light provided just enough "pop" and was easy to maneuver.

Napa Police Department: All-Hands Event 2023Napa Police Department: All-Hands Event 2023October 12, 2023; Napa, California, USA; Napa Police Department: All-Hands Event 2023 at Napa Valley College; (Photo credit: Kelley L Cox/KLC fotos) Napa Police Department: All-Hands Event 2023Napa Police Department: All-Hands Event 2023October 12, 2023; Napa, California, USA; Napa Police Department: All-Hands Event 2023 at Napa Valley College; (Photo credit: Kelley L Cox/KLC fotos)

b) Even though we had discussed me covering the all-hands event and they decided they didn't need coverage of it, when I arrived, they asked if I would cover it after all (Thankfully I was up front with my pricing and budget so we weren't negotiating or setting terms on site). This was indoor in a very dark auditorium. I had no on-camera flash and had brought no other modifier for the lights than the translucent dome that comes with the Elinchrom ONE. (I hadn't even brought another lens, so thankfully I had the 24-105mm f/4 which provided some focal range versatility)

Had I been using my ELB500, I would have only had the wide reflectors which would have felt too harsh for both the portraits and then event style photography.

A photo of a dark auditioriumSo dark!! Napa Police Department: All-Hands Event 2023Napa Police Department: All-Hands Event 2023October 12, 2023; Napa, California, USA; Napa Police Department: All-Hands Event 2023 at Napa Valley College; (Photo credit: Kelley L Cox/KLC fotos)

Also, this has nothing to do with the Elinchrom ONE but just wanted to share a fun hot air balloon that appeared during the morning. Reminds me of stumbling upon the Albuquerque Balloon Festival years ago.

Napa Police Department: All-Hands Event 2023Napa Police Department: All-Hands Event 2023October 12, 2023; Napa, California, USA; Napa Police Department: All-Hands Event 2023 at Napa Valley College; (Photo credit: Kelley L Cox/KLC fotos)


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Hello! I am a photographer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. I primarily photograph sports (action, events, and portraits) ... and my feet.

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