Going to Throw it out the Window!!!!

[MBrewer]

Someone please help! Im new at this whole studio shooting thing and I would really like to get better but Ive hit my frustrations level! I have a light kit that consists of some sort of Strobe Lighting (soft box, umbrella, back light & overhead light) I dont know the brand as my husband bought it for me as a gift offline & NO information came with it....kinda odd...buts its brand new...
So I shoot in all differnt settings...and I cant get a fast enough shutter speed to get a clear shot without it being way to dark to even attempt to fix....all the strobes go off at once unless I cover the remote. I also diffuse my pop-up flash but it does not do much. I have terribly harsh shawdows and bad color!
Any options on what lights I should be using and how I should be using them?? I shoot with a 300D Rebel.
All comments Welcome!!

 

[j_mcquillen]

You'll need to make sure that:

1) Your shooting at your camera's flash sync speed or slower (not sure what this is for the 300D)
2) That you have the right aperture set on your camera to get a good exposure - this will vary according to the power of the flash, and it's distance from the subject.

Other than that, there's not a lot alot of help I can give other than suggesting you check the brand and see if you can get some documentation for it over the internet. Read up on that, and the docs for your 300D, and make sure everything is compatible and that you've got it set up right.

 

[DocFrankenstein]

The reason why you're not getting a picture is because you are trying to trigger the strobes with an on-camera flash. It fires a preflash before the main burst, and all your strobes react to that.

You need to connect your rebel to one of the flashes with a cord. I use a wein sync safety adapter and a PC cord. OR put a manual strobe on top of your rebel.

Go to M mode
Set your aperture to f/8 and shutter speed to 200

 

[Philip Weir]

Hi Mel, Doc Frankenstein is on the right track.
[1] When using strobes [studio flash] you will need either a flash meter or a least some sort of guide numbers to calculate the flash power [still very tricky with multiple heads]
[2] As the Doc says, the preflash on the camera is firing the strobes and they then go off a fraction later [too late]. You can ascertain this by checking if you result is the same lighting as you set up.
[3] Set camera on manual, overide the camera flash and synch cord to your strobes, then do some tests at different apertures, shutter speed not above 200. I don't know the Rebel 300D, so don't know what it synchs at. good luck. Philip

 

[MBrewer]

Thank you so very much for the info....What do you beleive is the best flash meter to use or would I be better off using Continuous Lighting??

 

[DocFrankenstein]

Thank you so very much for the info....What do you beleive is the best flash meter to use or would I be better off using Continuous Lighting??

The best one is:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...412&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation
and
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...276&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

I think they share the first place... unless you're a full time cinematographer.

 

[Digital Matt]

Keep in mind, after you get your light meter, that shutter speed has nothing to do with setting the exposure for flash lighting. Just set it to your X-Sync speed, which is 1/250. Your meter will accept the sync cord from one of the strobes, and when you meter, it will fire the strobe, and you will see what aperture to shoot at. Then you can adjust the output of the lighting as desired.