roadsideron Loc: Apache Junction, AZ

Affinity Photo.

It looks like the speed lights didn't sync with the shutter.

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John Sh Loc: Toronto, Australia

I've had similar effects on my D500 where the shadows are grainy but not the highlights. It came down to the shutter speed. At 1/50 the camera will generate a lot of noise whereas a higherr ISO and a corresponding higher shutter speed reduces the time to generate noise and so the grain. The attached shots were taken within seconds of each other

ISO 6400 f/5 1/3200. minimal noise.


ISO 6400 f/14 1/320 massive noise

John Sh Loc: Toronto, Australia

I agree with this. HSS is only required if your shutter speed is above the normal sync speed. Anything lower, 1/50, does not require HSS. If the flash didn't fire then HSS or not is a moot point.

Don, the 2nd son Loc: Crowded Florida

I had splotchy patterns before turned out I had cleaned the lens with a wet wipe on a humid morning and the moisture pattern remained on the surface.

Capn_Dave

It's because they looked to much like Democrats. Sorry I couldn't resist

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Now that I have seen the jpeg, this is clearly a case of severe underexposure and attempts to recover deeply underexposed shadow and dark areas. This is not noise.

TSHDGTL

Canon doesn't do well with shadow recovery. Expose to the right is considered the best option. This article gives example images. http://www.fredmiranda.com/5DIII-D800/index_controlled-tests.html

Linary Loc: UK

Your image was seriously under exposed due to no flash fired - as others have said.

The scruffy colours are a result of sledgehammer post processing to get a decent photo.

My effort to get a reasonable image is below, working the raw file would give a better image.

In Lightroom I started by using the Auto (this gives an indication of what can be done)
Increased exposure 2.3 stops, reduced highlights, lightened the shadows 40%
Increased clarity by 50%
Increased vibrance by 20%

Colour Noise reduction 100%
Luminance noise reduction 65%

In Photoshop I sharpened using the High Pass filter.

With a raw file you should be able to do better.

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billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Learn your equipment before you go out and shoot. I always take test photo's before leaving the house with the equipment I will be using exactly the way I plan to shoot it on site.
And, I always take back up.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

If that were a print,, I would say your ink was blocking really badly and your print head needed a major cleaning. Given what you posted, it looks like underexposure combined with noise. You probably got a false meter reading due to all the black. It really pays to balance a shot like this using a grey card or color checker and get the exposure correct before taking the shot. Look at your histogram and add/delete exposure as needed. Any scene with massive areas of black, combined (or not) with massive areas of white will require careful exposure. While current day metering systems are fantastic, they cam be fooled. Best of luck.

Marilyng Loc: Lorain,Oh.

Good Morning,
Have you heard of Topaz filters?They are great for moments like these. If you would like you can send me the raw photo & I can try Topaz Studio & filters on it.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

Because they are well dressed? Because they are indoors?
What else could be in that picture that would make you think you can determine their politics?

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

The JPEG confirms why the image developed from raw did not work. With that much apparent underexposure you can't expect to fix it by moving the Exposure slider.

The histogram or the camera's JPEG should have warned you to open the aperture a couple of stops.

But raising the ISO would not have helped since your camera does not have the luxury of ISO invariance (an overrated feature of some other cameras).

It's not clear why it was so underexposed unless there simply was not enough light on the subject.

If it were a faulty sensor, lens aperture or shutter you would probably be seeing this issue more often.

Tronjo Loc: Canada, BC

The jpg exif shows that the flash did not fire:
Date Time Original: 2019:10:15 19:01:40
Exposure Time: 1/50
F Number: f / 9
Exposure Program: Manual
ISO Speed Ratings: 1250
Metering Mode: Pattern
Flash: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
Focal Length: 28mm
White Balance: Auto white balance
Make: Canon
Model: Canon EOS 6D
LensInfo: 24/1 105/1 0/0 0/0
LensModel: EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM
LensSerialNumber: 0000414f88
Lens: EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM

Jim-Pops Loc: Granbury, Texas

Here are my thoughts on this Brent.
When using speedlights the duration of the flash is short, much shorter than the 1/50 sec the camera was set at. I think the flash did work because I see shadows created from them both left and right. I think you probably were at max light output for the speedlights. I also think the flashes weren't strong enough for the F/9 setting. If you had it set at 5.6 it should have worked better. I know when I have taken studio shots with studio lights changing my speed from 1/100 or 1/180 isn't much difference for outcome because the ISO, aperture and the flash are setting the amount of light. Aperture is so important when you can't adjust the speedlight output any higher. F/9 just is not letting enough light in with your ISO at 1250. I know you'r probably concerned that at F/5.6 won't give you enough DOF. That is something that only you can determine by looking at back of camera and blowing up the faces. If DOF is off then you will need to increase ISO and move to F/8.

I worked on your picture. If I had full size or raw I could have done better and got rid of all the blotchiness. I have a program that lets me choose darks, midtones and lights. I used it to select lights and midtones and created a curve layer to adjust each of these areas. I use Noisless Pro to remove some noise. The use the spot healing brush to fix some imperfection on the walls.

If you like what I did send me a PM with link for higher resolution and I will make the changes for you.
Jim

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