D5100 vs D200 use with flash + soft box

[tissa]

Shutter speed controls ambient and aperture controls flash exposure. So if you did the same, you would get practically the same image.

Thank you! Now I know what the problem was. Next time I will play with shutter speed more to get better results!

 

[Vtec44]

So the settings were not the same??? lol

 

[Derrel]

Your description of your shooting companion's photos as having, "a nice brightened up background" makes me think perhaps he was shooting with a much slower shutter speed than you were. When using flash, the shutter speed controls how bright, or dark, the background is. if the shutter is firing at say, 1/250 second, backgrounds that are reasonably far behind the range of the flash will be DARK. With the shutter speed set to a slowish speed, like say 1/20 second, MUCH more non-flash light will be allowed into the camera from the areas that are BEHIND where the flash reaches, and so the backgrounds will be LIGHTER.

One of the best ways to ensure a bright-ish backdrop is to shoot flash (when indoors) at slow speeds, like 1/20 second or so.

So, your shooting partner shot at 1/15 second...huh...

 

[Mach0]

So, your shooting partner shot at 1/15 second...huh...

Steady hand lol.

 

[MTVision]

<img src="http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=8804"/><img src="http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=8805"/> #1 was D200 and #2 was D5100

That isn't "glare" in her eyes in #2. Those are catchlights and you want those. They are missing in #1 and see how dead her eyes look.
there are pinlights (center of pupil) in the #2 shot as well which is probably from your pop up. But regardless of the pinlights - the eyes look much better in #2

 

[tissa]

Your description of your shooting companion's photos as having, "a nice brightened up background" makes me think perhaps he was shooting with a much slower shutter speed than you were. When using flash, the shutter speed controls how bright, or dark, the background is. if the shutter is firing at say, 1/250 second, backgrounds that are reasonably far behind the range of the flash will be DARK. With the shutter speed set to a slowish speed, like say 1/20 second, MUCH more non-flash light will be allowed into the camera from the areas that are BEHIND where the flash reaches, and so the backgrounds will be LIGHTER.

One of the best ways to ensure a bright-ish backdrop is to shoot flash (when indoors) at slow speeds, like 1/20 second or so.

So, your shooting partner shot at 1/15 second...huh...

I asked him what his settings were and he told me his shutter too was 1/60. So do not blame me, I was going by what i was told