Will this work in a studio environment?

Could I turn my shutter speed up super high to eliminate all natural light creating only blackness where I don't have light? Can I do this behind a black background? Is this more or less how low-key images are created?

SunnyOctopus wrote in post #12316810
Could I turn my shutter speed up super high to eliminate all natural light creating only blackness where I don't have light? Can I do this behind a black background? Is this more or less how low-key images are created?

The easiest way to remove natural light in a studio, is simply to turn off the room lights and just shoot with the lights you are using for the set, the modelling lights on studio strobes are plenty for seeing what you are doing and focusing..

What sort of lighting are you using?

If using continuous lighting, then you will affect all the light, so darken everything. You need to ensure that the light you want is much brighter than the natural ambient if you want to have that much differentiation. Studio lighting is all about controlling how, and where, the light falls. You need to block off the light from hitting the areas you want dark.

If using strobes, then you can only increase your shutter speed to the synch speed, so "super high" isn't possible (unless using a speedlite with HSS).

You need to concentrate on setting up the lighting, along with some boards to block it from areas you want dark, to get the feel that you want.

In my living room studio, with the blinds drawn, I shoot my strobes at 1/160th. Even with daylight streaming into the adjoining room, the ambient light does not register at that shutter speed. As mentioned above, continuous lights would probably be a different story.

SunnyOctopus wrote in post #12316810
Could I turn my shutter speed up super high to eliminate all natural light creating only blackness where I don't have light? Can I do this behind a black background? Is this more or less how low-key images are created?

This will work in any environment.. try shooting most anything at 1/8000 and see what happens.

BrandonSi wrote in post #12316988
This will work in any environment.. try shooting most anything at 1/8000 and see what happens.

I know, but I should have been clearer, I meant to ask if the studio lights will show.

SunnyOctopus wrote in post #12316810
Could I turn my shutter speed up super high to eliminate all natural light creating only blackness where I don't have light? Can I do this behind a black background? Is this more or less how low-key images are created?

If you are using flash lighting, you cannot use a shutter speed faster than the "maximum sync speed" of your particular camera. If you do try, you will cut off part of the image with the trailing shutter being in the way of the exposure.

If you are using incandescent or natural light your shutter speed is limited by the available film speed or ISO setting and the lens aperture you wish to use (considering depth of field).

It seems your goal is an unlit black background, is that correct?

Ambient will not be your problem, controlling spill will be.

Shoot at max sync speed and position your subject as far from the background as possible. Then position your lights (or use grids) to control the amount of spill that reaches the background. Shooting at a smaller aperture will also reduce the amount of light that reaches the background.

I shoot in the studio at either 1/125 or 1/250 most of the time...and at f8 - f11. No ambient light gets into the photos, and that includes the light from the modeling lamps from up to 5 strobes. You are con tolling all the lighting with your strobes.

If you shoot at 125th-250th second and at f11-f16 very little if any available light will be registered.