Lighting question from portrait newbie

I'm new to studio and portrait lighting/photography, having mainly focused

(pardon the pun) on landscape photography.

 

After spending just a couple of hours using setups similar to those outlined on

this page

(http://www.photoflexlightingschool.com/Equipment_Lessons/First_Studio/The_First_Studio_Portrait_Kit/index.html)

- and yet shooting with a couple as my test subjects - I have discovered one

unanticipated problem: I'm having to shoot with such low shutter speeds in order

to shoot at least f/6-f/8 that it's impossible to hand-hold the camera (1/8

shutter or slower).

 

I've got my strobes turned up to full power (150 watt), by the way.

 

Since most portrait photographers are not shooting with tripods-none that I know

of-can anyone give me some suggestions on this situation?

 

Thanks!!

 

Kevin

"I've got my strobes turned up to full power "... "I'm having to shoot with such low shutter speeds in order to shoot at least f/6-f/8 that it's impossible to hand-hold the camera" - where do you get your advice from ? - stop listenning there.

 

"Since most portrait photographers are not shooting with tripods-none that I know of-can anyone give me some suggestions on" -

 

I believe your level on photography understanding is perhaps too low for those photographers, and they do not take time to explain to you, as a lot of time would be needed. The same is true on this forum...

 

In Studio with strobes, you should not shoot at that slow shutter speed. Your "I've got my strobes turned up to full power (150 watt)," - strobe is a Flash type device I assume ?. If you are using incandescent continuous light 150 watts bulb ? - then yes you may need to use very slow shutter speed - but then do not talk about "strobes".

 

And in Studio, many photographers use tripod for portraits.

 

Search Lighting forum for variety of advice, but perhaps start with reading a good book on photography basics.

"""Since most portrait photographers are not shooting with tripods-none that I know of-can anyone give me some suggestions on this situation?"""

 

 

 

I'm curious who told you this? I've never been in a portrait studio that didn't use a tripod.

 

 

 

It also sounds like you bought tremendously underpowered strobes too.

 

 

 

The shutter speed of a flash picture is actually related to the "flash duration".

test

There are a great many factors involved in studio lighting issues. Are your lights strobes (short-duration flash device) or hot lights (continuous output)? How close are they to the subject? What kind of light modifiers are you using? Umbrellas? Softboxes? Reflectors? Are your lights a good, quality light, or are they a no-name brand eBay kit? With a better idea of what kind of lighting you're attempting to use, we can give you better advice as to how to solve your problems.