# Studio Lighting...Help



## kozment (Jun 15, 2017)

Ok, I just got in my home studio lighting and I am having some issues. It seems that the shadows of all my pics are really grainy, if I zoom in with my Photoshop program they look like sand paper, I can fix it in Photoshop, but it takes a lot of work, anyone have any suggestions....Thanks


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## photo1x1.com (Jun 15, 2017)

What are your specs? Do you have an example for us? Studio shots should't be grainy.


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## tirediron (Jun 15, 2017)

Please post sample images and exposure details.  A shot of the whole setup wouldn't hurt either.


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## Braineack (Jun 15, 2017)

shoot at 100 iso.


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## kozment (Jun 15, 2017)

I've already fixed this on but maybe it will give you some idea


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## kozment (Jun 15, 2017)

Nikon D3400
f/5.6
1/100 sec
iso 4500
focal length 55mm


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## Braineack (Jun 15, 2017)

kozment said:


> Nikon D3400
> f/5.6
> 1/100 sec
> iso 4500
> focal length 55mm



by studio lights did you mean a few small lightbulbs?



kozment said:


> I've already fixed this on but maybe it will give you some idea



subjective.  it looks like you wrapped her in saran wrap...


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## tirediron (Jun 15, 2017)

kozment said:


> *Nikon D3400*
> f/5.6
> 1/100 sec
> *iso 4500*
> focal length 55mm


That'll be your problem right there.  WHY are you at 4500ISO????


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## Designer (Jun 15, 2017)

kozment said:


> Nikon D3400
> f/5.6
> 1/100 sec
> iso 4500
> focal length 55mm


Apparently your camera doesn't do ISO 4500 very well.  Go down the scale quite a bit.


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## Designer (Jun 15, 2017)

kozment said:


> .. I just got in my home studio lighting ..


Please be specific.  What lighting, exactly?


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## kozment (Jun 15, 2017)

Well, to be honest, I don't know. I was using the aperture setting on the camera and that's where is set the iso. I guess I should have mentioned, this was the first time using this camera also. I'm learning, so what should the iso be for studio lighting?


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## kozment (Jun 15, 2017)

I am a true beginner, so be patient..lol


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## tirediron (Jun 15, 2017)

The ISO for studio work should be <200.  First, are you actually using studio lighting (moonlight or pack & head strobes) or are you using some cheap 'Cowboy Studio' style MiC PoS continuous light source?


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## adamhiram (Jun 15, 2017)

tirediron said:


> That'll be your problem right there.  WHY are you at 4500ISO????


The D3400 can get perfectly usable images with minimal noise up to about ISO 1600, but as was previously mentioned you're much better off keeping your ISO around 100-400 if you're in a controlled studio environment.  It sounds like you're probably using a continuous lighting setup that just isn't bright enough - even with the cheapest speed lights, there's no reason you shouldn't be able to shoot at ISO 100 at f/5.6.  Your best bet might be to look into some inexpensive speed lights, such as Yongnuo YN-560 or similar.


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## ronlane (Jun 15, 2017)

kozment said:


> Well, to be honest, I don't know. I was using the aperture setting on the camera and that's where is set the iso. I guess I should have mentioned, this was the first time using this camera also. I'm learning, so what should the iso be for studio lighting?



So are you saying that you were using aperture priority and letting the camera do the rest? While I agree that you do want to be able to choose the aperture, but you also want to be able to keep the shutter speed up, which leaves the ISO as the variable but using off camera lighting, you should be able to keep that under ISO1000 as long as you have enough lighting.

To be able to have this kind of control, working in manual mode typically works best.


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## Braineack (Jun 15, 2017)

the key in all these posts is: not enough light.


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## kozment (Jun 15, 2017)

Thanks, I took some random photos after your comments, and I found a few issues with the setup, one to little light. I added two more lights and found I could keep the iso around 100 with a shutter speed of about 1/120, so as soon as I can get my subject, (my wife) to take a few more, I'm going to see how this works


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## Derrel (Jun 15, 2017)

You should get much,much better images with the ISO in ther 400,320,250,200 range; if the studio lights are not very bright and are continuously on lights (like LED bulbs or incadnescent light bulbs or fluorescent light bulb types), then slower shutter speeds, in the 1/30 to 1/8 second range, will likely be needed with ,"Studio f/stops" like f/5.6 or f/6.3 or f/7.1 or in that mid-sized aperture zone.

For flash photos, the shutter speed is not much of a factor, since the bright "Flash!" of the light is much shorter a duration than the shuitter speed, so the lens aperture number (f/8 or whatever) is important, but a range of shutter speeds can be used with fairly equal results.


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## benhasajeep (Jul 3, 2017)

What the other's have said.  If the lights are not bright enough to get a decent shutter speed, with your selected aperture.  Move them closer.

Also what are your light modifiers.  Silver umbrellas, soft boxes, white umbrellas, silver umbrellas??  Or straight on hot lights?


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