A little help/guidance please

amumonamission

amumonamission

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Sarah
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Hello,

I've been so busy that I have only just had the chance to try out my new lighting set up!

Just after a little guidance/advice please.

I set it up with a white background, I know this seems to be going out of fashion but I like it. So if I am looking at the background I had my light to the left about 4ft high pointing slightly downward toward the middle of the backdrop. To the right of me I hung a silver reflector on my stand that was set to about 3ft high. I played with the setting loads and I either had over exposed images or had a dark shadow at the bottom.

I am going to invest in a light meter anyway but can someone shed some light on what I'm doing wrong? I was advised to start with one light, learn to use that and then add to the set up from there. So want to get this right before I move on to other set ups.

Thanks in advance :)
 
The advice for one light is to light your subject. get that right then think about lighting the background. I've just re-rread and there's no mention of a subject?

Anyway, the general gist is that a decent white background shot requires 3 lights, one on the subject and 2 on the background.
 
Phil V said:
The advice for one light is to light your subject. get that right then think about lighting the background. I've just re-rread and there's no mention of a subject?

Anyway, the general gist is that a decent white background shot requires 3 lights, one on the subject and 2 on the background.
Click to expand...

Oh yes sorry! Subject was my rather uncooperative children!

Ok would it be easier to start with black then do you think? I only have black and white at the moment!

Why was I getting a shadow along the bottom of the image? on the portrait ones the shadow is there too but on the long side if that makes sense :bonk: lol!
 
The pure white background look is difficult. You need both knowldge and experience, and three lights as Phil says.

Start with just one light. You can do a great deal with that, with say white and silver and shoot-through umbrellas, and a reflector to lift the shadow side. When you've tried a few options and found a style you like, add one background light (any colour or tone you like) and after that add a hair light too. When you're fully on top of all that, in control and confident, have a go at a pure white background.

Meanwhile, there are loads of threads on white backgrounds and the various problems people have, including one from just yesterday.

The black band sounds like you're shooting at too high shutter speed. Max x-sync is 1/200sec on your 550D, but depending on your trigger, may be lower. It makes no odds for studio flash though, so suggest 1/125sec to be safe.
 
amumonamission said:
Oh yes sorry! Subject was my rather uncooperative children!

Ok would it be easier to start with black then do you think? I only have black and white at the moment!

Why was I getting a shadow along the bottom of the image? on the portrait ones the shadow is there too but on the long side if that makes sense :bonk: lol!
Click to expand...

The shadow sounds like a shutter speed issue? What SS were you using?
 
HoppyUK said:
The pure white background look is difficult. You need both knowldge and experience, and three lights as Phil says.

Start with just one light. You can do a great deal with that, with say white and silver and shoot-through umbrellas, and a reflector to lift the shadow side. When you've tried a few options and found a style you like, add one background light (any colour or tone you like) and after that add a hair light too. When you're fully on top of all that, in control and confident, have a go at a pure white background.

Meanwhile, there are loads of threads on white backgrounds and the various problems people have, including one from just yesterday.

The black band sounds like you're shooting at too high shutter speed. Max x-sync is 1/200sec on your 550D, but depending on your trigger, may be lower. It makes no odds for studio flash though, so suggest 1/125sec to be safe.
Click to expand...


Thanks, looks like I was running before I could walk a bit there then for a first attempt.

If only I found this as easy as I do when I light Newborns (natural light all the way when possible and when not I just bounce my flash off the ceiling!) not practical for studio shots though is it!

I should have said that I had a softbox over my light, I wasn't using the light on its own. Shall I continue with that or would you recommend the umbrellas more to start with?

I probably did have the shutter set too high, I had it on 1/200 or 1/160 I think.

I really need that light meter to help me out here don't I!

Thanks, you've been a great help :)
 
amumonamission said:
Thanks, looks like I was running before I could walk a bit there then for a first attempt.

If only I found this as easy as I do when I light Newborns (natural light all the way when possible and when not I just bounce my flash off the ceiling!) not practical for studio shots though is it!

I should have said that I had a softbox over my light, I wasn't using the light on its own. Shall I continue with that or would you recommend the umbrellas more to start with?

I probably did have the shutter set too high, I had it on 1/200 or 1/160 I think.

I really need that light meter to help me out here don't I!

Thanks, you've been a great help :)
Click to expand...

Yes, you're perhaps trying too much too soon. From a technical standpoint, the key to studio work is understanding how light works so you can control it and shape it the way you want. Softbox is fine, though there are dozens of different kinds of softbox. I only suggest umbrellas because they're cheap and easy, give good results, and white/silver/shoot-through options give a good range of effects to experiment with.

If you're only using one light, you don't need a flash meter - use the LCD, check the histogram, and have blinkies enabled. A meter is handy for setting up multiple lights though.
 
HoppyUK said:
Yes, you're perhaps trying too much too soon. From a technical standpoint, the key to studio work is understanding how light works so you can control it and shape it the way you want. Softbox is fine, though there are dozens of different kinds of softbox. I only suggest umbrellas because they're cheap and easy, give good results, and white/silver/shoot-through options give a good range of effects to experiment with.

If you're only using one light, you don't need a flash meter - use the LCD, check the histogram, and have blinkies enabled. A meter is handy for setting up multiple lights though.
Click to expand...

Blinkies?? Sorry you lost me :bonk:
 
amumonamission said:
Blinkies?? Sorry you lost me :bonk:
Click to expand...

Highlight over-exposure warning, flashes black/white on over-exposed areas. Wonderful invention - Canon calls it Highlight Alert, see handbook.
 
amumonamission said:
Thanks, looks like I was running before I could walk a bit there then for a first attempt.

If only I found this as easy as I do when I light Newborns (natural light all the way when possible and when not I just bounce my flash off the ceiling!) not practical for studio shots though is it!

I should have said that I had a softbox over my light, I wasn't using the light on its own. Shall I continue with that or would you recommend the umbrellas more to start with?

I probably did have the shutter set too high, I had it on 1/200 or 1/160 I think.

I really need that light meter to help me out here don't I!

Thanks, you've been a great help :)
Click to expand...
Take a breath. Iff you're lighting good stuff naturally, your biggest issue is believing that 'studio' is different. Youcan read the light and shadows with your studio flash exactly the same as windowlight.
We get tied up in f stops and ratio's, but we aim for the same results and the process to achieve them is similar enough (once you've accounted for the firing of the flash).
 
Phil V said:
Take a breath. Iff you're lighting good stuff naturally, your biggest issue is believing that 'studio' is different. Youcan read the light and shadows with your studio flash exactly the same as windowlight.
We get tied up in f stops and ratio's, but we aim for the same results and the process to achieve them is similar enough (once you've accounted for the firing of the flash).
Click to expand...


Cool, thanks, you have given me an idea to try ;)
 
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