Strobist: Parking Lot Ambush

Strobist shows a clever technique on lighting. Shot on a parking lot, a random-looking photojournalism-type shoot, it was in-fact marvelously choreographed to produce the effect (see photo in the link above). The idea is to use one camera amid a sea of cameras and flashes, but the other cameras act just as props - and light stands - for the wirelessly synchronized flashes.

If you are looking for a setup shot, you already have it. The photo is the setup shot. We used everyone's flash, synchronized to produce a photo that looks random but was in fact very choreographed.

We used six flashes for the shot - 3 SB-26's and 3-SB-800s. They were mounted on voice-activate[d] light stands, also known as photographers. There are several tricks to pulling this off. But once you have a roadmap, it is quite easy.

Very clever.