what did i do wrong

[SezzySue]

This is what happened to several of my photos, any idea why its happening?

I "think" my ****terspeed was set too fast but to me that doesn't make sense.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b249/SezzySue/Photography/IMG_6343.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b249/SezzySue/Photography/whathappened.jpg

[markubig]

what kind of camera and how old is it? shutter might going

[SimonG]

Were you using some sort of off-camera flash or strobe for these? If so, it looks like you have your shutter speed set higher than the sync speed.

[Mark_Cohran]

It could be the beginning of shutter failure, or more likely, you had the shutter speed set faster than the max synch speed for the flash. Looking at the EXIF data it appears that you shot at 1/500th - which is double the max synch speed for most flashes.

Mark

[SezzySue]

well its my canon 20d and i have only had it a year now.

when i lowered the shutter speed it goot less and less then went away so that why that was my guess but it was just a guess, not really sure

[Mark_Cohran]

Sarah, it seems like you could spend a bit of time reading the Sticky Threads at the top of the Small Flash and Studio Lighting Forum.

Mark

[poloman]

IMHO definitely your shutter speed exceeding sync speed according to your description.

[SezzySue]

i know that i need to read but i don't exactly have the time lately. i haven't had my lights long and am just trying to learn them is all.

[RSN]

What shutter speed are you using? You should be using 250 or below.

[Mark_Cohran]

We all get busy, Sarah, but it's usually best to learn and understand the principles while we put them into practice. You appear to be marketing yourself as a professional photographer,so I hope you're willing to put the time into learning the principle basics of the field. Of course, we're all here to help when you have problems.

Mark

[SezzySue]

i do put in the time, i work 60 hours a week (air force) and go to school 4 days a week.

I am trying to teach myself whenever possible and just wanted to ask the question was all. So much info gets overwhelming all at once, thats why i prefer to ask a question and go from there. Take it as i come across it rather then all at once and forget most of it.

as for ss, i was around 400 once i dropped to 320 i think it stopped doing that.

can you explain why it won't work at that high of a ss?

[TheSteveMadden]

can you explain why it won't work at that high of a ss?

Once you get over a certain shutter speed, there is no longer a point at which the shutter is fully open so strobes will work. At higher than Sync speeds, the second curtain of the shutter starts closing the shutter before the first curtain has fully opened, leading to a partially exposed shot as you found above. At very high shutter speeds, you'll only have a tiny slit open at any given time.

Curtis made a nice diagram in the middle of this (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=1905789&postcount=1) post

[Mark_Cohran]

i do put in the time, i work 60 hours a week (air force) and go to school 4 days a week.

I am trying to teach myself whenever possible and just wanted to ask the question was all. So much info gets overwhelming all at once, thats why i prefer to ask a question and go from there. Take it as i come across it rather then all at once and forget most of it.

as for ss, i was around 400 once i dropped to 320 i think it stopped doing that.

can you explain why it won't work at that high of a ss?

Sure - here's a paragraph from one of the guides I recommended that you read:

X-sync (flash sync) speed.

Timing is critical for flash photography. The burst of light from a flash unit is extremely brief (in milliseconds), and must occur when the shutter is fully open. If the flash burst occurs when the shutter is still opening or closing then the shutter itself may prevent the entire image area from being fully exposed.

Modern SLR camera shutters are equipped with a pair of moving curtains which wipe across the opening to the image area. They travel vertically because the travel distance is less than if they travelled horizontally, and there are two curtains to make fast shutter speeds possible. At high shutter speeds the opening is actually an open slit between the two curtains, travelling the height of the image area.

This presents a problem with flash photography. If you have only a slit exposed at the time the flash happens to go off then you won’t be able to illuminate the entire image area with the flash burst. An electronic flash burst is always much briefer than the fastest shutter speed motion that the shutter mechanism can achieve.

Different cameras have different shutter designs - some are faster than others. But each camera will have a maximum shutter speed at which a flash burst will expose the full image area of the film. This maximum flash-compatible shutter speed is called “X-sync speed.” X-sync and flash sync are the same thing on modern cameras, since they all use electronic flash.

Mark

[SezzySue]

wow that makes a lot of sense now. thanks for the help, means a lot.

[SimonG]

... as for ss, i was around 400 once i dropped to 320 i think it stopped doing that. ...
Just to add to the explanation provided by Steve and Mark, the X-sync speed on your camera is 1/250 s, though in some cases you may need to shoot even slower than this to avoid problems. You can use the X-sync as a starting point though, and see how things work out. Good luck with the lights, and remember to have fun while you're at it. :)

[SezzySue]

i think today was one of my favorite time taking pics. i am so pleased with how they turned out.

take a look in the still life/ experiments forum area.

[PacAce]

If you have an EX flash or an ETTL-compatible flash with the highspeed sync feature, set the flash to highspeed sync mode and you'll be able to use faster shutter speeds, like 1/400 or 1/500, if you prefer to use.

[Dermit]

If you have an EX flash or an ETTL-compatible flash with the highspeed sync feature, set the flash to highspeed sync mode and you'll be able to use faster shutter speeds, like 1/400 or 1/500, if you prefer to use.

Yes, true, but keep in mind that the way high speed sync is accomplished is by actually firing either longer duration or it might even be a bunch of short bursts, but at any rate to do this the overall power of the flash output is reduced so you can only use this mode if the subjects are fairly close, ISO is high, Aperture is big, or it's just being used for fill flash... basically any scenario that will not require a high power burst.

[Hellashot]

It really looks like mirror problem and not flash sync speed. If it were a flash problem there wouldn't be the obvious mirror not moving fast enough. The mirror/shutter might have a problem moving at faster speeds.

[Mark_Cohran]

It really looks like mirror problem and not flash sync speed. If it were a flash problem there wouldn't be the obvious mirror not moving fast enough. The mirror/shutter might have a problem moving at faster speeds.

My money is still on a flash synch mismatch, but an easy way to eliminate Hellashot's suggested problem is to shoot a series of photos at 1/500th and above without flash to see if you get similar problems.

Mark

[PacAce]

Yes, true, but keep in mind that the way high speed sync is accomplished is by actually firing either longer duration or it might even be a bunch of short bursts, but at any rate to do this the overall power of the flash output is reduced so you can only use this mode if the subjects are fairly close, ISO is high, Aperture is big, or it's just being used for fill flash... basically any scenario that will not require a high power burst.

At the speed the OP was talking about (1/400 and 1/500), there isn't a substantial amount of loss to worry about, especially for the subject she was photographing. ;)