leave room lights on?

Should I leave the lights in my studio room on or turn them off when shooting? I have dimming lights in the room, but when I dim them it makes it very hard to focus accurately, and if I turn them off all the way then I cannot focus at all. What should I do?

Dave,

If you shooting at a high shutter speed IE 1/250th the abient light should have little effect on the images.

One more thing how are you focusing? I've found that by using the multi color to select the best single focusing point for each shot and placing it on a key area of the subject IE an eye that I can get excellent focus in a very dark room.

Mike

I have actually been focusing manually. I find that it is too dark, even with the light all the way on, for the auto focus to work accurately. Should I set up another lamp to get more light on the subject so I can use auto focus?

statenine wrote in post #2143311
I have actually been focusing manually. I find that it is too dark, even with the light all the way on, for the auto focus to work accurately. Should I set up another lamp to get more light on the subject so I can use auto focus?

That seems strange as I've found that most of the time the autofocus on my 20D is usually very reliable when used with a single focus point even in low light. Do you have the autofocus points set-up so the active point or points lights-up and stays active as long as the area its over is in focus?

For me the 20D 30D series of DSLR the view finder is just too dark to use for manual focus. Hell I have enough trouble manual focusing with the big view finder on my Bronica MF gear.

Mike

Two things I do when shooting with studio lighting- Use a speedlite and disable the flash (AF assist), and let the modeling light on the strobe do its thing. It's there for a reason. If the modeling light is too dim to focus, some guys will use a flashlight of sorts, or one guy I know has the remote control lights and will just light it up, focus, and then dim back to take the shot. There's a ton of solutions.

Mcary wrote in post #2143856
Do you have the autofocus points set-up so the active point or points lights-up and stays active as long as the area its over is in focus?

I dont think so...is this a custom function?

statenine wrote in post #2143918
I dont think so...is this a custom function?

I think 30D do have this function, even in 350D, I can set using which point to focus. I'm using the center point only.

Well...If you're using studio light, would there be any modeling light?? If so, just turn them on to help you focus.

What I meant was I dont know how to set the focus point to stay lit as long as the subject is in focus.

I almost always keep my overhead lights off in the studio unless I am doing a fire shot. (safety first) This way I can see where my shadows are going to fall, and I can clearly see my catchlight in the eyes.

Leave the lights on... there is no way a 60 watt or even 100 watt lightbulb will contribute any lighting to your scene when you are using the max shutter sync.

Try this experiment. Set your camera up as if you were going to be using your strobes. Set your aperature... and your shutter speed exactly as you normally would. Also your ISO setting. Turn on your room lights, and turn off the strobe. Now forgetting the camera's metering... it will (or should) read as if underexposed. Now take a shot. Is the frame pretty much black? It should be. I think this should prove beyond any shadow of doubt(pun not intended) that your room lights don't have any effect on your portrait scene if set up properly.

In studio, I shoot at 1/250(if hard wired)or 1/200 (if using the radio triggers). I use ISO 100 and F/5.6-8. If my strobes don't fire(sometimes it happens with the radio triggers) my frame is always BLACK. I have a single 60 watt incandecent bulb in the center of my studio. Also the modeling lights are on.. and even they don't contribute enough lighting to make the non-flash frame look exposed.

statenine wrote in post #2143918
I dont think so...is this a custom function?

On the 20D its CF-10 (Super Imposed Image display) On. When its activated all 9 point will light up when you press the AF point selection/Enlarge buttom.
The center point will activate when you press directly on the Multi controller rocking your finger on the controller will select the other points one at a time depending on how you move your finger. When your press the shutter release half way the active point will light up red.

Here what I do. Compose the shot in the view finder then determine which focus point is closes to a key area. active that focus point by using the muli controller make any small composition adjustments and take the shot.


Mike

statenine wrote in post #2144038
What I meant was I dont know how to set the focus point to stay lit as long as the subject is in focus.

Lightly taping your finger on the shutter will active the select focus point. if for any reason the camera/lens has lost focus lock it simple won't let you take the picture.

forkball wrote in post #2144093
Leave the lights on... there is no way a 60 watt or even 100 watt lightbulb will contribute any lighting to your scene when you are using the max shutter sync.

Agreed.

Be shure that you don't use TL lighting in your studio. It would give you WB problems.

Good luck.

It's not a matter of overhead lights effecting exposure or WB, the strobes will overpower ambient light if you have them properly metered and if you are not dragging the shutter. I never understood keeping the overhead lights on just because you lose the ability to see exactly what your lights are going to do.