here's another theory. I've got 2 300ws strobes. I'm thinking 1 about 8ft up, silver umbrella, right behind the camera. The other, behind the group on the floor, powered waaaaaay down, bare bulb - light's the altar, creates some interest?

haven't tried this yet - just a concept. any thoughts? feedback?

flashmedic:
here's another theory. I've got 2 300ws strobes. I'm thinking 1 about 8ft up, silver umbrella, right behind the camera. The other, behind the group on the floor, powered waaaaaay down, bare bulb - light's the altar, creates some interest?

haven't tried this yet - just a concept. any thoughts? feedback?
This is a good idea, It's done all the time. It really shouldn't be any different than lighting a background in the studio. Just meter your lights. I assume you are shooting digital so you have an advantage over the when there was only film. I would suggest trying it out to get used to the settings and to get the look you are going for.

When you try to balance the exposure of the walls to look natural with the flash, be careful when you mix the ambient light with your flash. If the walls are lit by incandescent light or if the walls are colored, they will not match the daylight balance of your flash. It looks wierd to have a lovely warm glow on the background and a cold daylight balance on the people. I like to use a gold/copper tinted reflector on my Q-flash so the flash will match the background. I can then adjust the WB when I convert my raws and the two light sources will adjust in tandem. You can also use a gold or amber filter or gel over your flash for the same result.

flashmedic:
here's another theory. I've got 2 300ws strobes. I'm thinking 1 about 8ft up, silver umbrella, right behind the camera. The other, behind the group on the floor, powered waaaaaay down, bare bulb - light's the altar, creates some interest?

haven't tried this yet - just a concept. any thoughts? feedback?
I did it a couple of times and have learned it's tricky.
Things to watch out for - the flash sneaking out between people. That will give you streaks of light coming from behind and falling on the floor in front of the group!
As you drop down to just 1 to 3 people you run the risk of the flash itself being very visibly or at least it's light flash will be a hot spot.
You also run the risk of creating shadows in the BG from the altar or all the myriad things back there.

Perhas there is some simple secret to make this idea work, but so far I've had mixed results to the point that it creates more problems than the improvement it gives me. I set up with an assistant, but there is little time to adjust (play around with) the lighting, and when you notice an issue it's when you have 15 people all standing there and then you have to stop and adjust things - people are hard enough to keep focused without adding in gear fiddling.

And if you use 110v lights, you may have to PS the cord out of the BG of every shot, or at least the full length ones. Ask me how I know this