Re: dark shadows on pictures?

SharonM · Dec 19, 2011

Good evening alll am a beginner and new to this website.I have a question about my studio set up and if this would be the cause to my picture errors? I am mainly taking pictures of my 10 month old son and family.I have set up in our garage that my husband also uses for martial arts training. He has it all kitted out with padded floor, floor length mirrors on one wall and a wooden dummy on the other wall. He has spot lights on ceiling. He has now giving me 'permission' to share his space.!!! I have a canon 60d and recently purchased the starter set Lencarta light set (one with umbrella and other Softbox). the garage isn't that big but I have tried to place them either side facing the subject as should do.I have got a roll of seamless white paper on the back wall for my backdrop with the floor length mirrors to the right and behind the roll of paper and the wooden dummy to the left.My photos however are coming out with a dark shade to the left of the picture when I take a portrait picture and at the bottom when I take a landscape picture. It's ruining all my pictures!!,I am wondering if this is because of the studio set up and if the mirrors/wood would cause this or another problem.If so should I cover them with sheets (white or black?).Or is it my error?Any assistance would be great as its frustrating!!!,Thank you again

Rephargotohp · Dec 19, 2011

You are shooting with a shutter speed faster than the Flash Sync speed of your camera, Most times it is 1/200 or 1/250 but it depends on your camera, but you can't use a shutter speed faster than that with flash or strobes oryou get black lines at the bottom of a landscapeframe

tirediron · Dec 19, 2011

It sounds like a simple positioning issue. Can you post a diagram of the studio space indicating where your lights, the mirrors, camera, etc are placed and 1-2 example images? Refer to the pinned thread at the top of this section if you're not familiar with how to post pictures.

Big Mike · Dec 19, 2011

Welcome to the forum.

What you are seeing, is the area of the photo that the shutter is blocking, at the exact moment that the flash is firing.
The way the shutter works, is that one curtain open to start the exposure, and a second curtain follows, to end the exposure. Above a certain shutter speed, the second curtain must start traveling before the first curtain is all the way open. So at higher shutter speeds, the sensor is never fully exposed to light at one time....which is a problem when you're using flash.

This is why cameras have a 'maximum flash sync speed'. That is the fastest shutter speed that will still have the sensor fully open for the flash to fire.

I believe that on the 60D, it's 1/250. So keep your shutter speed below that, and you shouldn't have this problem any more. *if you are using 'cheap' radio triggers, there may be an delay, so it would be safe to use an even slower shutter speed. 1/200, 1/160, 1/125 etc.

Rephargotohp · Dec 19, 2011

tirediron said:
It sounds like a simple positioning issue. Can you post a diagram of the studio space indicating where your lights, the mirrors, camera, etc are placed and 1-2 example images? Refer to the pinned thread at the top of this section if you're not familiar with how to post pictures.

I at first though that too,but since the position of the black line changes with camera orientation, I think it is sync speed

as an aside, Mirrors on the side of your shooting area is a very bad thing, cover them up when shooting

SharonM · Dec 19, 2011

Yes the 60d is 1/250. I have been using 1/250 and 1/200 shutter speed so you think I should go below that? I will have a look at how to post diagram tomorrow if this doesn't sort out my issue.Thank you all so much for your prompt replies.

tirediron · Dec 19, 2011

If you are using cheap radio triggers, than you may need to go as low as 1/180. Do a quick test shot. With the camera on a tripod, shoot at 1/250, 1/200, and 1/180. If the shadow is the same in all, it's not a sync issue; if gets smaller with lower shutter speeds, it is a sync issue.

Big Mike · Dec 19, 2011

Yes the 60d is 1/250. I have been using 1/250 and 1/200 shutter speed so you think I should go below that?

Sure, why not?

The shutter speed doesn't actually have an affect on the exposure from a flash/strobe (besides the sync issue). The only reason to use a fast shutter speed when using flash, is to cut down on the ambient light...and since you are basically in a studio, you should be able to turn down/off the ambient lighting, if it's affecting your photos.