Studio portrait: Shutter Speed

[Darryl Roberts]

Hi,

I’ll soon shoot studio portraits with my Chamonix 45 H1. The lens is in a Copal 1 shutter, so its maximum shutter speed is 1/400. I’lm using FP4 plus film.

Can I shoot at that 1/400 so as to kill the studio’s ambient lighting and rely solely on the strobes?

Thank you.

 

[Pieter12]

Sure. I don’t see why not.

 

[Sanug]

The strobes should be much brighter than the ambient or pilot light. I would not hesitate to choose 1/125 or 1/60.

1/400 may already cut a powerful strobe. The duration of the strobe light can be up to 1/200, dependent on your strobe model and its power.

I did shoot in the studio with a Pentacon Six at 1/25 sec. No issues with the pilot light.

 

[koraks]

Can I shoot at that 1/400 so as to kill the studio’s ambient lighting and rely solely on the strobes?

Yeah, but very bright highlights (a touch of sunlight here and there) may still come through. Your best bet is to block out most of the extraneous light so that the strobes dominate the exposure anyway.
Personally I like to keep shutter speeds below 1/00 because of the "just in case" factor of old shutters perhaps not syncing perfectly anymore...

 

[xkaes]

You need to determine the brightness of the ambient light and the strobe light. Do you have a meter?

 

[Marcelo Paniagua]

on those conditions I use this meter:

I use the no cord mode, so I meter the total light available.

I dont think 1/400 would be an issue but depends on the flash power.

 

[Darryl Roberts]

Yes, I have a meter. The goal was to eliminate all of the ambient light and paint with my strobes.

 

[BrianShaw]

Measure your ambient light. Select a shutter speed that is faster than that of your ambient light, holding aperture constant.

 

[xkaes]

If your meter doesn't read flash light, you can always use the Guide Number to figure out the details. Good luck.

 

[Pieter12]

on those conditions I use this meter:
View attachment 375138
I use the no cord mode, so I meter the total light available.

I dont think 1/400 would be an issue but depends on the flash power.

That meter will measure all the light, corded or not corded. When you measure the ambient light in the studio, set up for your portraits and at the ISO for your film, what reading do you get?