Preparation for photographing UOC’s production of RENT

A few months ago I used a studio with free standing lights (not attached to the ceiling by rafters). This was for a personal headshot session with a client rather than a whole production. I had never used this studio before and soon found that being unprepared costed me and the client time, as well as the production of below average photography. The mistake I made was placing the lights (with softboxes) too close to the subject, making the light too harsh, the client however was over the moon with the results, so I cannot count this experience as a complete loss.

I have been approached to take the headshots for 19 participants of UOC’s RENT. I am determined to use this same studio and use the space properly by having the lights much further back to soften the light. I also wish to have a much thinner depth of field, which is something I had used on a daylight shoot before and was very well received. To replicate this with lights I would have to have them placed far away from the subject and use a lens with a long focal length (more than 80mm). The lights will have softboxes on to replicate natural light but be more controllable.