Lighting questions - please help :-))

jeniveeev

jeniveeev

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I have posted a few examples of my first attempts with a home lighting kit and a new background. They are in the portrait section if you wanted to have a look (wasnt sure if i could put them in here and i cant work out how to link the thread to this one!! sorry)

I have two stands, one as a softbox and the other as a flash (inside the tent). the background has a train but when i shoot the train is grey. it looks like it needs extra lighting or something? can i use my sb600? i tried it but then it deactivated the flash stand ! mmmh. im really confused now!

also, ive set my d300 WB to flash....is this correct or should i be setting it to something else?. i used a white card, then a grey card but my pics came out orange so i changed it back to flash!

also, ive noticed when i look at my meter (in camera) it doesnt seem to be accurate with this lighting setup. if i trusted the meter everything would be incredibly over exposed! so im just going with my eye which probably isnt ideal. Again, am i doing something wrong!??

many thanks in advance
jen
 
I've had a look at your pics. I think you should do some more but start with ONE light. More lights = more complications! You also need some way of metering the flash - you need a flash meter - failing that you have to do test shots - trial and error till you get the correct exposure.

Your D300 WB should be fine on flash - or auto. Are your modeling lights going out during the exposure? Try moving your subjects further away from the background - and turn DOWN the power on the lights - you are shooting at around f/16 - might be better wider open - with less light (they'll recycle faster too). The pics are taken with a manual WB - and they look quite red.
 
awp said:
I've had a look at your pics. I think you should do some more but start with ONE light. More lights = more complications! You also need some way of metering the flash - you need a flash meter - failing that you have to do test shots - trial and error till you get the correct exposure.

Your D300 WB should be fine on flash - or auto. Are your modeling lights going out during the exposure? Try moving your subjects further away from the background - and turn DOWN the power on the lights - you are shooting at around f/16 - might be better wider open - with less light (they'll recycle faster too). The pics are taken with a manual WB - and they look quite red.
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thanks awp, i was setting it up as per the dvd, where he used two lights so i just went with that! il try it with one at a time. i asked in jessops about a flash meter and he said that the in camera meter was good enough and not to waste the money (i was prepared to pay)! the white balance used was flash (not sure why its reading manual on exif!!) and there was some distance with the subjects and background.
 
The meter in the camera won't read flash exposure - unless your using Nikon CLS (SB-800 or SB-600 or SB-900. I assumed you were using 'studio' flashes?

Good clean subjects with nice white b/gs are not easy to do - start with something less demanding to build your confidence.
 
Link to pics is here http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=162972

Comments - they look pretty good to me :) There is an orange cast which I guess is from the modelling light. What's your shutter speed - longish? It should be 1/250sec I think with a D300. That should kill the modelling light but if not, turn it down (without reducing the flash, if that is possible) or turn it off and focus etc by normal room light. Colour balance set on flash is correct.

You should be able to work a Speedlite in there. I'm not too familiar with Nikon functionality but you have to disable the iTTL by switching the flash to manual. I'm guessing that the iTTL pre flash is what is tripping the studio light, if I understand you correctly.

Your camera will not meter for studio flash so disregard what the camera is telling you. It only controls flash exposure via Nikon iTTL compatible. Best to set all camera controls on manual - shutter 1/250sec, ISO lowest for best quality, and use the lens aperture - start at f/5.6 - and adjust flash output to balance the exposure. You can use any combination of f/number and flash output that gives you the result you want.

You can set the exposure okay without a flash meter, by trial and error checking the LCD image and histogram. Do one light at a time, starting with the main light. Get that right before introducing another one, and then balance that to the main light.
 
awp said:
The meter in the camera won't read flash exposure - unless your using Nikon CLS (SB-800 or SB-600 or SB-900. I assumed you were using 'studio' flashes?

Good clean subjects with nice white b/gs are not easy to do - start with something less demanding to build your confidence.
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I'm confused now :thinking: What exactly are the lights and background you are using?
 
HoppyUK said:
I'm confused now :thinking: What exactly are the lights and background you are using?
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sorry guys, ive confused myself with this lighting kit!! ok, what i have is an Interfit EX150 MKII and a hilite background. i have one light poking into the tent and a softbox at the front of the subject. i have my D300 set to manual, ISO 200, 1/200 ss, and f14 with WB set at flash. I am using the light in the tent as the flash so its not continually lit and flashes when i shoot.
 
Your camera will NOT meter these flash units - you need a flash meter - or just trial and error.
 
Have a look at Sekonic meters. I use the L-758RD but there are good cheaper alternatives. They all measure incident light.
 
have a look at the sekonic l-308s light meter a great little meter that does both flash and ambient light.
 
jeniveeev said:
sorry guys, ive confused myself with this lighting kit!! ok, what i have is an Interfit EX150 MKII and a hilite background. i have one light poking into the tent and a softbox at the front of the subject. i have my D300 set to manual, ISO 200, 1/200 ss, and f14 with WB set at flash. I am using the light in the tent as the flash so its not continually lit and flashes when i shoot.
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I kind of guessed that from the other thread so :thumbs:

I don't think you necessarily need a flash meter - they are handy for getting different balance ratios when setting up, but I always set final exposure by checking the histogram anyway. It's more accurate.

And TBH I think fiddling about with a flash meter and incident readings will just confuse things. Your exposure is okay, it's certainly not the main problem from what you've shown.

If you want a clean white background, all you need is a white surface (a wall, or even the empty hilite) and point one of your lights on to it. When the light on the background is just fractionally brighter than the foreground light, it will blow to pure white.

Not sure why you actually need the hilite... :thinking:
 
HoppyUK said:
I kind of guessed that from the other thread so :thumbs:

I don't think you necessarily need a flash meter - they are handy for getting different balance ratios when setting up, but I always set final exposure by checking the histogram anyway. It's more accurate.

And TBH I think fiddling about with a flash meter and incident readings will just confuse things. Your exposure is okay, it's certainly not the main problem from what you've shown.

If you want a clean white background, all you need is a white surface (a wall, or even the empty hilite) and point one of your lights on to it. When the light on the background is just fractionally brighter than the foreground light, it will blow to pure white.

Not sure why you actually need the hilite... :thinking:
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thanks hoppy, i do more natural light photography and i sometimes meter in camerea but a lot of the time i use my eye so im quite used to it. my better half bought me the hilite and lights, i have been asked to photograph kids for various different play/toddler groups so i need to take this with me. its portable albeit a bit heavy and il get lots of use out of it between now and christmas for the kids. i must admit i really like using it already!
 
1. Set your camera to manual
2. Set the shutter speed to 1/125th (it may work at a faster speed but 1/125th is a safe speed and it doesn't need to be any faster anyway.
3. Set the aperture to f/11 as a starting point, adjust aperture and/or flash power as necessary. Don't adjust the shutter speed, it won't help.
4. Set the white balance to flash, don't set it to auto because auto will adjust the camera to suit the ambient (continuous) light, which is very different to the colour of the flash.
5. The meter built into your camera can't read studio flash. Don't ask technical questions at Jessops:)
 
Your background needs to meter 2 stops brighter than your main subject to come out pure white.....probably!
 
Garry Edwards said:
1. Set your camera to manual
2. Set the shutter speed to 1/125th (it may work at a faster speed but 1/125th is a safe speed and it doesn't need to be any faster anyway.
3. Set the aperture to f/11 as a starting point, adjust aperture and/or flash power as necessary. Don't adjust the shutter speed, it won't help.
4. Set the white balance to flash, don't set it to auto because auto will adjust the camera to suit the ambient (continuous) light, which is very different to the colour of the flash.
5. The meter built into your camera can't read studio flash. Don't ask technical questions at Jessops:)
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garry - thanks for these steps. i wasnt too far off but i did have my s/s at 200 and aperture at f16!
yeah i realise now being more clueless than me is off no use (i.e. jessops)!!
im going to try again when the smurfs are in bed! :-))
 
awp said:
Your background needs to meter 2 stops brighter than your main subject to come out pure white.....probably!
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Not 2 stops, half a stop is a good target to aim for - clean white is clean white. If you nuke it with two stops over, the background will bleach around the edges of the subject and look bad. Lens flare might also reduce contrast.
 
HoppyUK said:
Not 2 stops, half a stop is a good target to aim for - clean white is clean white. If you nuke it with two stops over, the background will bleach around the edges of the subject and look bad. Lens flare might also reduce contrast.
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:thumbs:
People always say that 2 stops is a good idea - it is if there is a massive distance between subject and background (something like 6 metres) but otherwise it should be the minimum possible amount of overexposure
 
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