so many questions i could Burst

[juju]

hi,

i have a few NOOB questions that hopefully you wonderful folks can help me with.

1. Whats the difference between a Canon Rebel xti and the 400D ?

2. we currently hire our village hall for our studio shoots and so far have had some great results. problem is there are windows all the way around the hall and even though we can draw all the curtains to cut out some light there is still a small amount that gets through. this poses a problem as with when clouds cover the sun or it gets later in the day we are constantly changing settings and cant get a good rythym going. would we be better off just leaving the curtains open and using our flash heads to fill in the shadows or maybe another solution ?

3. (finally yay) we use a budget setup for our studio which consists of a white backdrop, 2 x Interfit Stellar 150 flashheads. Canon Eos 350 and 400D. on the Heads we have one with a defuser umbrella and the other with a reflector umbrella. both heads are situated next to the photographer. would anyone recommend a different setup for these, we do intend on investing in new equipment as soon as the funds allow but this is what we have for now. Also does anyone know if it is possible to turn off the flash on the Interfit Stellar 150 heads and just use the lighting instead ?

you can see some of the results of our studio stuff at the site below starting from the pregnant girl and husband down to the dark haired girl

 

[Andreal]

Ok, well you seem to be much more adept in photography than me but I will throw some ansers out there that I have learned just from browsing these here forums all the time

#1. Nothing, they are just different labeling for different countries.

#2. I have never done studio photography but from what I hear mixing the sunlight with the light from your flash could cause issues with white balancing. The suggestions I have seen before is to use something white (or silver, or anything reflective really I think) to reflect some of the sunlight back onto the subjects as fill light.

#3. Sorry I have never done studio photography and am still new to it all myself so I cant help you there

Hope I made myself of some use .

 

[Digital Matt]

When shooting indoors with strobes, there is no need for natural light. You should be shooting at your sync speed anyway (1/250) so this light won't matter, but you can drape the windows if you wish.

The placement of your lights is going to leave you with a very bland photo. Here's what I would do.

Get yourself a reflector, and a light stand to mount it to. Use 1 strobe (either type of umbrella) at camera right, at about 45 degrees. Place the reflector on the stand next to the subject at camera left, just out of the frame. Place the other strobe behind the subject, so it is hidden by the subject. Point this at the background. Give the background light significantly more power, so that it reads at least 2 stops higher then the "key" light, which is the light at the 45 degree angle to the subject. Now you'll have a nice bright white background, and some nice modeling on the face of the subject. Varying the distance of the reflector to the subject will determine your ratio, and control how much shadow you have on the face.

No shadows = very flat portrait. Shadows enhance the 3d effect and give the portrait depth.