Shadows...Shadows..Shadows...HELP!!!

[New2TheGame]

I am shooting w/the Nikon D80 w/the 18-135mm lense that came w/the kit. I also have invested in the SB800. I have noticed that 100% of the time when I shoot a subject in the "vertical" position, I always get a shadow on the right side of my subject. This NEVER happens when I am shooting in the "horizontal" position....what is going on and most importantly, how do I fix/solve this shadow issue????? Please HELP!!!!!

By the way, my light source is 2-soft light umburalls positioned at 45 degrees oppsosite of each other and my shooting distance for the most part is about 5'-7' from my subject as well as the lights. I am shooting againt a white backdrop.

[CJ Swartz]

Originally Posted by New2TheGame

...when I shoot a subject in the "vertical" position, I always get a shadow on the right side of my subject. This NEVER happens when I am shooting in the "horizontal" position....what is going on and most importantly, how do I fix/solve this shadow issue????

By the way, my light source is 2-soft light umburalls positioned at 45 degrees opposite of each other and my shooting distance for the most part is about 5'-7' from my subject as well as the lights. I am shooting againt a white backdrop.

Where are you aiming the SB800 -- are you aiming it towards your subject or bouncing it off the ceiling or ? The flash will throw a shadow to the side when shot vertical. When you are shooting horizontally, the shadow is being thrown backwards and your white backdrop and other lights are probably diffusing the shadow so that it is less/not visible. I haven't done much studio lighting photography, and most of what I did was in a photography class some years ago -- here are some tips from a pro who set up a website to help the rest of us -- there are various topics on a number of pages (listed at the bottom of the first webpage) http://super.nova.org/DPR/ You may find some useful info on this page http://super.nova.org/DPR/HotShoePrimer/ , and here http://super.nova.org/DPR/Design/ -- look at "Diffusion cap or bracket", but also look at his explanation about Contrast. Look thru some of the others to see if there's something helpful there. Putting your SB800 on an extender bracket where you can position it differently may help you control where the shadows fall, and diffusing the light will reduce the shadows.

The DPreview.com website has photography forums, including one on Lighting -- you may want to take a look there also. Lighting is the essence of photography, and it takes a bit of learning and then practice to get the essentials down to where you don't always have to "think hard" about it. I never reached that level but someday I'm planning on practicing enough to get comfortable with it...