Studio lights problem

[Melvid]

Hi Brian,

1st off apologies if I'm posting in the wrong place. I recently acquired studio lights and tried 1 out today with my dog. In all rhe pictures her eyes are blue instead of black. This hasn't happenes in the past when I've used a speedlight. Do you know of a fix for this?

[Brian]

Scientifically speaking, you don't. More info.

Photography speaking, change the angle of your lights.

PS: Thank You for posting in the correct group.

[Melvid]

I feel rather silly now. Thank you 🙂

[Melvid]

17 hours ago, Brian said:

Scientifically speaking, you don't. More info.

Photography speaking, change the angle of your lights.

PS: Thank You for posting in the correct group.

So I changed the angle, position and power of the studio light several times and every time I gave my dog eyes like Frank Sinatra. Gave up with the studio light (with softbox) and went back to a speedlight (with softbox) and didn't have any issues with her eyes. 

Am starting to get a complex. 

[Brian]

It’s probably the flash duration. Speedlights are BAM!! and then turn off. Lights with a longer durations are more of a Phoomph!! and the light hangs around. So what’s happening is the light being produced by your new lights is hanging around and the light is bouncing around inside the Dog’s Eyes and causing your issue; it’s just like a person with Red Eye in photos. If you are shooting Animals on a normal basis, you might need to ditch these lights and get better/more expensive ones that have a quicker duration.

What lights are you shooting with? Alien Bees?

[Melvid]

Ah, that makes sense. The studio light is an interfit Venus 150.

[Brian]

Umm…yeah. That’s like an Alien Bee. There is a difference between a light that is a few hundred (or less) and one that is $2000. 

Here is what I would do: Rent some better lights. Figure out which ones work for you. Granted, you may find out you need a fancy $2000 Profoto Light or can get away with a Einstein 640. There are so many different lights on the market and it’s hard to recommend one. The two that I mentioned are good starting points. Another thought is to invest in Continuous Lights.

In either case, you have proven the problem is coming from your new lights and I don’t think there is a way to fix it…it-is-what-it-is. 

[Melvid]

Thank you 🙂. The lights were free as my brother gave them to me as he no longer has use of them so hey ho speedlight  it is for now.

[Brian]

You may find the lights work fine for other subjects. This is one of the things about Photography, "Know your gear..." I know it's not as fun as buying something to "Take you to the NEXT LEVEL!!" but knowledge is knowledge and it's FREE. So these lights don't work for pets. Try something else.