• 09-11-2004, 12:14 PM
    kenna
    d70 studio portrait settings
    I am brand new, so please excuse my ignorance...I am not familiar with the terminology quite yet. I have a new d70 and a new baby - a wonderful combination. I've set up a small studio in my home with two lights, both with umbrellas. One light plugs into the top of the camera, the other flashes off the first light. I was told that the camera needed to be set to manual when using the flash, and I don't have a clue as to what camera settings are a good starting place for experimenting in the studio. I realize that there are a variety of settings available, but are there standards I should use as a starting place? My pictures thus far are less than stellar! A main issue I'm having is with color - my whites aren't appearing white, but I can find a solution for that in the archives.

    Thanks for being here! I've already spent hours reading the forums and have found the information to be extremely helpful, and not condescending as they were at my local store.

    Kenna
  • 09-11-2004, 04:35 PM
    Peter_AUS
    Hi Kenna,

    Welcome to the forums. A starting place with studio lights is to use a shutter speed of 1/125 and f/stop of around f8 and then check your histogram. The histogram should be covered from the left to right evenly with a peak in the centre, if it is to the left it is under exposed if to the right it is over exposed, by how much is dependant on the placement in the histogram.

    By moving the lights closer or further away, adjusts the amount of light hitting the subject.

    Post some images that you have taken, with some details about your settings, maybe a posting of the lighting setup as well and then information can be gathered from there and advice given.

    There is a Studio and Lighting forum further down the forums that is setup for this exact type of topic and already has information in that forum already that you might find helpful.
  • 09-13-2004, 08:24 PM
    christopher_platt
    Quote:

    A main issue I'm having is with color - my whites aren't appearing white, but I can find a solution for that in the archives.

    Thanks for being here! I've already spent hours reading the forums and have found the information to be extremely helpful, and not condescending as they were at my local store.

    Kenna
    Whenever I'm in a controlled lighting situation, I ALWAYS use the custom white balance. If you use a Macbeth one, you can set all the colors right in Photoshop.

    And congratulations on the new baby. I ended up getting a D70 because I couldn't afford film processing anymore when my daughter was born. She's gonna be a year on the 27th, and my wife is 10 weeks pregnant.

    Chip

    PS I'd love to see some of the pics. . .
  • 10-03-2004, 08:10 AM
    Rere15
    Re: d70 studio portrait settings
    Hi Kenna,
    I'm curious as to what kind of lights you are using in your studio with your D70? Are you using the Creative Lighting System that is outlined in the Nikon speedlight manuals? For photos of your baby, I would recommend this as it is TTL (through the lens). For posed photos I'm afraid that sometimes the Nikon speedlights are not powerful enough.
    I also use a D70 and bought 2 Nikon SB800 Speedlights ( I posted a thread 10/2/04 and also one a few days before that on the StudioLighting forum--so far nobody has responded). I'm thinking of buying some studio flashes and umbrellas, but can't get any info about what kind would be compatible with the D70. So I would really love to know what you are using.
    Take care
    Rere15 :)
  • 10-03-2004, 11:06 AM
    Lionheart
    Re: d70 studio portrait settings
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by kenna
    I am brand new, so please excuse my ignorance...I am not familiar with the terminology quite yet. I have a new d70 and a new baby - a wonderful combination. I've set up a small studio in my home with two lights, both with umbrellas. One light plugs into the top of the camera, the other flashes off the first light. I was told that the camera needed to be set to manual when using the flash, and I don't have a clue as to what camera settings are a good starting place for experimenting in the studio. I realize that there are a variety of settings available, but are there standards I should use as a starting place? My pictures thus far are less than stellar! A main issue I'm having is with color - my whites aren't appearing white, but I can find a solution for that in the archives.

    Thanks for being here! I've already spent hours reading the forums and have found the information to be extremely helpful, and not condescending as they were at my local store.

    Kenna

    Well I hope this helps you....
    Are you using a light meter to get your base exposure? We have a 3 light SP system in our studio, with a set up that is similar to yours. I'm an idiot when it comes to studio, but I usually set my light meter for the ISO and shutter speed I'm planning on using, use the light meter to trigger the strobes, and the meter gives me the f-stop to accomplish the exposure. If I needed a different aperture setting (say I really needed f8 not f4, then I can move the lights closer or bump up the output on the strobes). I wish my system had more control over the light output, but it is a cheap system that has capacitors that are not voltage regulated the way the good equipment is(like Norman systems). I have my cameras set to manual, and I just set the shutter speed to maximum flash sync or slower and match the aperture to the meter's reading. From there I check the exposures on my lcd display immediately for feedback and adjust the aperture accordingly or adjust the light output to change the required aperture. Hope that helps, but that's the primitive way I use my studio until I hopefully learn more, and get a better setup. Good luck.
  • 10-03-2004, 06:42 PM
    Peter_AUS
    Re: d70 studio portrait settings
    Just a heads up if you haven't noticed, this question was asked nearly a month ago, I answered and there was no further communication with the original poster, so I would call this issue redundant as well.
  • 10-03-2004, 09:16 PM
    Lionheart
    Thanks Peter :-)
    I didn't even notice the date...hehehe... :o