I like the "covered in paint" phot very much - it's got quite a bit of character. The other not so much (even without the added pasties).


There may well be people here to give you better information on sync speed, but here's my take.


The actual flash time is very short, around a thousandth of a second. Synch speed refers to the time the shutter needs to be open in order to be sure of catching that precise moment. More than that, that is about the highest speed at which the whole shutter is open at once. At higher speeds the second curtain begins to come down before the first curtain has fully opened - the effect is a letterbox "slit" moving in front of the sensor. This is fine in constant light but no good with a short duration flash - only part of the image will be properly exposed.


Canon Speedlite's have a "high speed" synch option that keeps the flash on long enough for the "slit" to pass right down the sensor, but I don't think this option is available with the lights you are using.


The trick then is to either use constant light rather than flash/strobe or to have the room dimly lit so that the very short duration flash is the dominant light source. (This effectively freezes the action if it is almost the only illumination source).


Just a couple of other points. I think it is good to limit the amount of make-up. Because the face is made up and the body not so the difference (IMHO) can look odd. Try to have the face and body look consistent. (Eye make-up, mascara, hair treatments etc don't count). Also watch for light reflections on the skin. Skin tone is the most important single aspect to making body photographs look "right."





Cheers,





MOF