shooting indoors without flash

[nendyisreal]

in my studio equipped with proper lighting and umbrellas for correct diffusion
i take pictures with iso 200 f stop 8-11 and shutter speed 80-125 for some reason when i diffuse my flash i get almost all dark images
am i doing something wrong
also would a gary fong diffuser help me with my on camera flash for shadowy areas
or should i get an external flash and diffuser - will this get me better results
help me out here please

[ueb0258]

Are the flashing firing? If so try stopping down to 5.6 or 4 and see if it helps. If that helps you need to either turn up your flashes, move them closer to your subject, or up your ISO to keep shooting f8-11.

Edit: Your topic and body are confusing. Your topic is shooting indoors without flash but in the body of the subject it looks as if you are talking about using flash?

[nendyisreal]

the flashes on my lighting are flashing
and yes i did try to down it to 5 still didnt help
am i really not doing things right

[runninmann]

Any examples, with exposure and flash settings?

[Curtis N]

when i diffuse my flash i get almost all dark imagesWhat kind of flash? What kind of diffuser?
Are you using E-TTL mode?
Are you trying to use your camera's built-in flash to trigger your studio strobes?

We need details in order to help.

[tim]

Yeah, way more details needed.

[nendyisreal]

yes i am using my built in flash to trigger the strobes

[tim]

The ETTL preflash is triggering the strobes. You can't trigger studio strobes without more equipment. There are a few solutions:
- Use a sync cable (only on the 30D/40D/1D series, not the rebel/cheaper series)
- Use a speedlite (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/397664-USA/Canon_0298B002_430EX_TTL_Flash.html/?BI=2312&KBID=3114) in manual, low power like 1/64 bounced off the ceiling (enough to trigger the strobes but not contribute to the scene).
- Get a hotshoe to sync adaptor (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/89979-REG/Hama_HA_6951_Hot_Shoe_Adapter_1.html/?BI=2312&KBID=3114) and use a cable.
- Radio triggers (skyports (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/505381-REG/Elinchrom_EL_19360_EL_Skyport_Universal_Radio_Slav e.html/?BI=2312&KBID=3114) (work well and well priced), pocket wizards (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/441353-REG/Pocket_Wizard_801_125_Plus_II_Transceiver_Radio.ht ml/?BI=2312&KBID=3114) (best in the industry), gadget infinity triggers (http://www.gadgetinfinity.com/home.php) (cheap and nasty)).

[Curtis N]

Tim gave you a good list of options.

In case the issue isn't clear, here's what's happening. The E-TTL pre-flash is triggering your strobes just before the shutter opens. The camera uses this pre-flash for metering, and when it sees all that light, it calculates that very little flash power is needed for the shot. So when the shutter opens, you get no light from the stobes and almost none from the built-in flash, hence the dark images.

[DaveG]

in my studio equipped with proper lighting and umbrellas for correct diffusion
i take pictures with iso 200 f stop 8-11 and shutter speed 80-125 for some reason when i diffuse my flash i get almost all dark images
am i doing something wrong
also would a gary fong diffuser help me with my on camera flash for shadowy areas
or should i get an external flash and diffuser - will this get me better results
help me out here please

Forgive me if English isn't your native language, but if it is, how about trying to use it? I think we'd all interested in helping you if we could actually figure out what you've been asking.