Studio Lights and Aperature

[Mikkimak]

I am very new to studio lights. I am still learning how to set it all up correctly. I have 2 lights that have flash tubes. One with a translucent umbrella and one with a reflective umbrella. So here are my questions. I am shooting with a Nikon D40.

1. I am getting a bright shine off of noses (like you would in bright sun). How do I get a more soft light?

2. I really like having a short depth of field for portraits. Is there any way to adjust things so that I can set my aperture at 1.8?

Thanks for your help!

[zona5101]

Need to know more about your lights...can you "dial" them down? To get to f1.8 you will need a one or more of the following - faster shutter speed, a lower iso and less light output from the lights. You are limited in how fast a shutter you can use to 1/200 of a second.(check your manual but I think that is your top flash sync speed). ISO is either 100 or 200 for lowest; which leaves the lights... if you can not turn them down, (or can't turn them down far enough, you can move them farther away. Note however that realllly good chance you will not have adaquate depth of field at close distances at f1.8.

As far as the shine...if it is a reflection move your light more to the side so the reflection doesn't bounce back into the camera. You may also find a makeup application to reduce the shine.

[candleman]

As above, dial the power of your lights down, use the fatest shuterspeed your camera will allow (1/200th) the lowest iso and then adjust aperture from there.

If you really want f/1.8 or f/2.2 etc etc then you could also put an ND filter on the front to drop your stops even further.

[Mikkimak]

I have 2 of the Interfit 300i. Even when I have them dialed down all the way and my shutter speed up, I still have to have a pretty small aperture.

I will try moving the lights farther away and to the sides (for the shine). Thanks for the input. Any other advice is welcome.

[candleman]

Originally Posted by Mikkimak

I will try moving the lights farther away and to the sides (for the shine). Thanks for the input. Any other advice is welcome.

as i said, you can use an ND filter to cut out eve more light

[Mikkimak]

Thanks I'll look into one

[zona5101]

...or you could use a ND filter

teehehehe.