We had the opportunity to work with our friends at First Christian Church in Decatur, Illinois this past week. First Christian Decatur kicked off their “At The Movies” sermon series with a bang. They had a real 1981 Delorean DMC in the building on Saturday and Sunday for their church services. This Delorean wasn’t just any old production car, however. This Delorean had been made to the Back to the Future 2 specs and had even been signed by several cast members from the movie. This event gathered quite the community’s attention! We captured over 200 family photos over the two days we were there and had a blast getting to be the event photographers.
How We Photographed The Event
We tried to keep the photo setup pretty simple. It was a 3 light setup that we used for the scene. We used two big strobes to light the families and the car, and a third speedlight (Godox v860IIS) with a MagMod Sphere + Blue Gel Combo under the car to mimic the blue light on the underside of the car. Because we were using so much external light to light the people and the Delorean, some of the ambient light from the car was overpowered. We didn’t want to lose that cool look that the car gives! With the help of some modifiers, it came together very nicely.
We kept the two Godox Ad200 strobes on each side at about a 45ยบ angle to where people would be standing. The left light was at 1/16 power in a 36-inch softbox and the right was at 1/32 power in a 24-inch softbox. This helps add some dynamics to the lighting and helps keep it from looking flat. We knew we had two days of shooting and this was happening across varying times of the day. We didn’t want the lighting to look different from shot to shot, so using bigger lights like this helps to keep the scene more consistent day to day.
This was all photographed on a Sony A7III and Sigma 35mm F/1.4 Art Lens. The photos were all taken with an ISO of 1250, a shutter speed of 1/125, and an aperture of f/5.6.
Photos from First Christian Church, Decatur IL – “At the Movies” Event
We were so happy with the outcomes of these photos. Not many people can say they have had their photo taken with a Delorean, and definitely not one as cool as this. Check out the full gallery of photos from First Christian Church!
Are you located in the Decatur, Lincoln, Springfield, Illinois or beyond and looking for photography services for your next event? Contact us today! Also, if you like the blog and are interested in any of the equipment we use, consider purchasing from the Amazon links in this blog. We get a small commission at no extra cost to you.
