[D4rknezz]

Hi

Let me begin by saying i am very discouraged and encouraged at the same time >_<

Discouraged that I am having problems. Encouraged because it is a challenge, and if its easy anyone could be doing it, and if i get over the problem, i will be one of you few who actually can do it
I am right now playing around with my lights, trying to emulate studio works. I am getting pretttttty crappy results here. To start, I have available to me :

- Umbrella (can act as diffuser)
- Reflector (can act as diffuser)
- 2 strobes 250watt guide number 48
My problems are typically very dark shadows with overexposed highlights.

To begin with, I need help with my shooting conditions....is my makeshift room/living room/pretend studio too dark?
I have a pretty dark room, and shooting with natural light, i need to be at maximum aperture (1.7) , 1/15 or less shutter speed, and more than ISO 400 to have any hopes of seeing a shadow of the subject.
Is this too dark? What are the general lighting condition of your studio? With natural light, whats your camera setting?

I also am not sure about shutter speed. I am using a couple wireless triggers to work the strobes, but sometimes i get pitch black pictures.
Am i shooting faster, or slower than the strobes? I am shooting at 1/30 or 1/45. How do i know how fast i should be shooting? Anyone have any experience with Cactus wireless triggers? Sometimes they dont trigger the strobes. Any ideas?

With inconsistent works, i can not seem to see the difference in result between :
- Shooting through the umbrella
- Shooting at the umbrella facing away from the subject
- Shooting at the subject directly.
Any suggestion on setups that i should employ so that i can see the real result of doing any of these?


I always thought that ISO dictates noise in result.
As in, i always thought : darkness --> Higher ISO --> noise
But i was shooting at ISO 200, and areas that are in shadows have noise. Which seems to say : darkness --> noise.
Is this true? Can anyone explain this to me, and maybe what to do about it?

Thanks...I know its long, but take heart, its going to be longer, if my current lack of skill is any indication >_<

[davidreilly3207]

Try reading 'lighting101" at Strobist: Lighting 101

[Ben_Edict]

Hi To start, I have available to me :

- Umbrella (can act as diffuser)
- Reflector (can act as diffuser)
- 2 strobes 250watt guide number 48
My problems are typically very dark shadows with overexposed highlights.

Then your contrast is too high. You need fill-in for the shadows and bring down the highlights. Without knowing HOW you use your equipment, it is near impossible to point at the problem. Nevertheless one typical source for that problem is a too short distance between flash and subject or too much output from the flash. 250Ws is already pretty much for a small studio, unless you use a softbox.

Try to use 1 flash, shooting into the umbrella as a reflector. Make test shots, until the brightest part of the subject are fine (check histogram). Then ADD a reflector on the opposit side of the subject (opposite the flash/umbrella). Angle the reflector so, that it receives light from your flash/umbrella and reflects it into the shadow area of your subject. Make another test and see, whether your shadows get brighter. Move that reflector further away from the subject, if the shadows get too grey or nearer to the subject, if it isn't effective.

To begin with, I need help with my shooting conditions....is my makeshift room/living room/pretend studio too dark?
I have a pretty dark room, and shooting with natural light, i need to be at maximum aperture (1.7) , 1/15 or less shutter speed, and more than ISO 400 to have any hopes of seeing a shadow of the subject.
Is this too dark? What are the general lighting condition of your studio? With natural light, whats your camera setting?

I personally prefer studio flash and will avoid all additional lighting apart from the modelling lights. But that is ofcourse my individual choice.

I also am not sure about shutter speed. I am using a couple wireless triggers to work the strobes, but sometimes i get pitch black pictures.
Am i shooting faster, or slower than the strobes? I am shooting at 1/30 or 1/45. How do i know how fast i should be shooting? Anyone have any experience with Cactus wireless triggers? Sometimes they dont trigger the strobes. Any ideas?

I have similar experiences with cheap radio triggers. No general solution. Sometimes they work at 1/100s, sometimes at 1/60 or not at all. I prefer a sync cable to one of my flash heads and that triggers the other optically. I guess, one must invest in better triggers to get consistently reliable results.

With inconsistent works, i can not seem to see the difference in result between :
- Shooting through the umbrella
- Shooting at the umbrella facing away from the subject
- Shooting at the subject directly.
Any suggestion on setups that i should employ so that i can see the real result of doing any of these?

If your highlights are blown, your lights are too bright (Being too near to the subjact or having too much output). Obviously overexpsoed highlights will make any difference in lighting invisible.

I always thought that ISO dictates noise in result.
As in, i always thought : darkness --> Higher ISO --> noise
But i was shooting at ISO 200, and areas that are in shadows have noise. Which seems to say : darkness --> noise.
Is this true? Can anyone explain this to me, and maybe what to do about it?

Your assumptions are ALL correct. The higher the ISO, the higher the noise level. Noise is visible mostly in shadow areas and that can be seen even at low ISO settings sometimes.

Ben

[D4rknezz]

Thanks guys. I have read a bunch of stuff when i started several months ago, but I didnt understand much at the time. Now that i have a better base knowledge they may make more sense!

And thanks for the explanation on the setups. I did have the reflector trying to reflect back the strobe that was shot at the umbrella, but nothing but very slight light was reflected back, to the point i thought that setup was not possible and i just made that up. Now that you confirm to me its doable, i just have to figure out what i did wrong. Cheers!

[tlwyse]

A few things:

1) You make no mention of a flash meter. Get one...now. I've been using a Sekonic L-308 for some time. It's very inexpensive and it's accurate. Having a flash meter is the only way to accurately set lighting ratios in my opinion....and setting lighting ratios is fundamental to working with strobes.
If you don't have a flash meter, you could temporarily use the cameras clipping preview on the LCD. I've found that if I open the aperture to the clipping point (blinking red spots on the preview) and then close it about 2/3 stop from that, it's about right. I use the white patch on the MacBeth Color Checker for this to set a consistent exposure.

2) Blown highlights/plugged shadows...
Try lowering your lighting ratio. I would start out with not more than about 1 stop difference between your main and fill light. It might be a bit flat but you can always increase contrast in post-processing. It's WAY easier to fix too-flat lighting in PP than the other way 'round.

3) Darkness/ambient light level of your "studio" is almost irelevant. The only concern about ambient light is if it's too bright and it's mixed lighting (different color temps will give you fits). Also, daylight streaming in from a window would be a problem. If your strobes don't have modeling lights, you only want/need enough ambient light to be able to focus accurately.

4) Shutter speed....
Depends on your camera but you can safely go as high as 1/125th and probably 1/180th of a second. If you've got an "X" setting on your shutter/control dial, set it there. You really want to used the FASTEST shutter speed that will still synch with your flash. Lower shutter speeds are a bad thing in the studio, especially with relatively high ambient light, as ambient light could start becoming part of the overall exposure. You don't want that.

5) ISO/noise...
Higher ISO=more noise for sure....but that's not likely your problem. With 250 watt/second strobes, you shouldn't have any problem shooting at ISO 100/200. I shoot at ISO 100 ALWAYS with strobes not much more powerful than yours (375 w/s) AND in a softbox....and I still have to crank the power down on the strobes to keep my aperture at around f/8, my preferred shooting aperture for portraits.

My advice would be to invest in an inexpensive light meter, watch your lighting ratios (avoid the temptation to set light ratios VISUALLY as it will likely be too contrasty for the DSLR sensor) read the info on the Strobist web site.

Regards,
Terry

[D4rknezz]

Thanks

Yeah, I am glad you suggested it, because i was going back and forth here https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/camera-studio-accessories/98117-light-met...ood-today.html as to whether I need one.

Thanks for your reinforcement to ben's response regarding my ambient lighting situation, it allows me to stop chasing red herrings and focus on the real problem, I am not actually setting up my lights correctly.

Cheers!