Studio Lighting Question / Shadows??

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cledja

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Hi,

I am still quite new to all of this and have been building up my equipment and doing lots of test shots on friends kids to try to get the studio lighting right, mainly just from what I've read and guess work really, so please be gentle with me!

I still seem to be having a problem with shadows sometimes around the subjects on the background and I'm not sure where I'm going wrong so would like some advice please. I am gradually getting there with the getting the background to look white in the photos although still not managing that as perfectly as I would like.

I use a Lastolite Hilite white background and train, 2 x 500 watt lights pointing at the background, and two 300 watt lights on the subject, one with a softbox and one with a white umbrella. I have read up about the key light and fill light and background settings and try to use my light meter to what these are supposed to be. Although I'm not sure if all of the lights should be set to trigger their flash or just some, I have been using them all triggering and the camera flash too as that is what is triggering my studio lights.

Would add some examples but not sure how??

I hope you can give me some advice on what I should be doing to get decent white, shadowless backgrounds in my shots.

Thanks in advance,

Claire
 
Upload the images to a website (your own, Flikr or similar)
Then click on the image symbol (pic of mountain tops) and enter the full address, e.g. http://www.myspace.com/shadow_1.jpg in the box

Once you've added your examples it should be possible to answer your questions.

Meanwhile...
Yes, all of your lights should flash, but the usual way of making them flash is by using a radio trigger. In theory you CAN use your built in flash to trigger them, but if your built in flash is firing a preflash (and I bet it is) then the preflash will be setting your studio lights off BEFORE the shutter opens, which means that the studio lights will be doing nothing at all.
 
Right I'll have a go at adding the images to Flickr and adding them on here, the second one is the worst as far as the shadows are concerned. Both of these were resolved through editing however I want to avoid as much editing on future shoots.

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Hopefully they'll work!

Also I meant to say its my IR on my speedlite that triggers my flashes. Although not sure if that is also affecting the shadows as especially when I'm doing the portrait shots and turning the camera sideways as that is creating more light on one side of the subject. Sorry I know I probably sound stupid asking these questions but I just want to try to resolve it.
Thanks again,

Claire
 
Last edited:
I can only see small on my phone, but it's obvious your hilite isn't being lit at all. If the lights in your hilite are not being triggered for the reasons Gary mentioned you'll get those shadows.
 
cledja said:
Also I meant to say its my IR on my speedlite that triggers my flashes.
Click to expand...
Judging from your EXIF you are using ETTL and you have FEC set to +1. From that informatoin and the look of the hard shadows I'm pretty sure that the Speedlite is the only flash that's contributing to the exposure. The problem is that in ETTL mode the Speedlite fires a pre-flash from which to determine the power required for proper exposure. The pre-flash is triggering your strobes too early, while the shutter is still closed. Set the Speedlite to manual, dial it right down (try 1/128 power to begin with) and hopefully everything will begin to fall into place.

If that doesn't work then get yourself a radio trigger to replace the Speedlite altogether. I recommend the Yong Nuo RF-602 for a cheapish but very reliable solution.
 
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