Why are my pictures showing a dark band on one edge?

Question

enter image description here

I run an online shop and I have been using Nikon 3100 for many years. Recently I started to notice that in all the pictures the right side slowly gets dark and there is a dark slit almost look like a vignette on the edge. I knew there were something not right but I could still use photoshop to solve that problem.

But all of sudden all the pictures are looking like that since yesterday. I use two strobe lights and manual mode to take studio pictures, strange thing is the shadow only appears in that circumstances. The pictures are absolutely normal when I use the other modes. My shutter speed is 1/250.

Can anyone tell me what’s wrong with my camera? Is it the shutter?

I used wireless flash triggers. One on the camera and one on the strobes each — Susan, Apr 19 '19 at 16:29
Related: https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/65001/can-i-use-auto-exposure-with-studio-lights — OnBreak., Apr 19 '19 at 18:58
Why did you include a photograph of the image on your screen instead of just including the image itself? — David Richerby, Apr 19 '19 at 23:05
Related: Why is the lower part of the picture black when using a Canon flash on a Nikon D700? and Underexposed image with Canon 5D III and flash — Michael C, Apr 19 '19 at 23:41
Also note that some studio flashes have longer duration or slower "trigger lag" than a camera's flash sync speed, in which case a slower shutter time would be needed to get the full benefit of the slower flash. — Michael C, Apr 19 '19 at 23:42
Seconding @DavidRicherby's question above. But if you really wanted to show it in context for some reason, take a screenshot (every OS has a means of doing that, in most cases it's the key with the actual name Print Screen [PrtSc]), rather than literally taking a photograph of your screen. — T.J. Crowder, Apr 20 '19 at 08:44

score 18 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 19 '19 at 18:50

The shutter speed now is 250

From what I can tell from the Google, the Nikon D3100 has a flash sync speed of 1/200. So, you're setting your shutter speed too fast and the curtain is already starting to close when the strobes pop.

Your maximum should be 1/200. But, honestly, there's no reason to even flirt with the edge that much. You can go down to 1/125 or even 1/60 and still get the same exposure - assuming your ambient light is turned down low. This way, you ensure the shutter is fully open when the strobes pop.

Why are my pictures showing a dark band on one edge?

1 Answers1