I'll be filming a Yoga instructional video in a city park here in Phoenix, AZ. The backdrop is a beautiful mountain range so the direction we can actually shoot is limited to pointing NNE. The sun will be travelling from camera right to camera left throughout the day (pretty much directly overhead) There will be 5 people doing the yoga, and we need to make sure that there is enough "front" light so that we can get good exposure on everything.

Now that you know the situation, here is the question: What is the best way to provide a soft front fill for 5 people? Assuming they are not too spread out. I was planning on a 12'x12' frame with a checkerboard (gold/silver) rag to bounce sunlight onto them... but I think it might be too "hard". What kind of rag can I put on the frame (or what can I rig in addition to the frame) to get a nice soft fill light? We are in the middle of nowhere so HMI lights are not an option.

Any ideas? Thanks!

Hi Webb,

I'm not sure how wildlife oriented Yoga gets in Phoenix but this may be the wrong board to post on. I would recommend Photon management. However, seeing as you are here now there are a couple of things I could point to.
I would agree that the checkerboard will probably not give you the soft light you are after, also if the wind gets behind the 12'x12' you will get light flicking all over the place. You may be as well with a series of polyboards (foamcore) pulled back a little, if you need to come in tighter then you can shift a slice in closer for the shot.

Good luck,

James