For most of my dog show work, I've used two AB 400s with silver umbrellas set up to fill lighting both left and right. It's worked wonderfully for me and I've had no reason to change that setup. Until this weekend (pipe in the music from Jaws).
I arrived at the location to shoot two Sheltie Specialties only to find that my usual location had been usurped for grooming. The show superintendent looked at me sheepishly and pointed to a small area next to her table and asked "will this be big enough" smile, smile. The area was bordered on the right with the raffle table and to the left with the trophy table. Front to back was about 8 feet. There was enough width to set up the backdrop and a grooming table draped but not much more. Certainly not enough room for a two-light setup. So, having obviously had an adequate dosage of my mood-enhancing prescription drug, I smiled wanly and said "it'll be fine."
For this situation, I set up one AB400 with a 64" AB parabolic silver reflector directly in front of the grooming table. I put my chair right against it and wedged it against the trophy table. I then hoisted the light to about 8 foot height. I asked someone to provide a test dog and took a few shots and was pretty pleased with the lighting. So, that's how I shot the shows.
This is the "cute" shot of the Best In Sweepstakes puppy from today's show.
And here's the more traditional shot.
The key is to notice the lack of messy shadows behind both the dog and the people. I was actually pretty pleased with this lighting setup because it gives me an option when space is at a premium or when I want a stronger direct lighting look without the resulting harsh shadows. Sometimes situations create solutions that can be very helpful for future situations.
Jim
