This is a good image, and it's almost there, but here's a couple things I might do to make it better. Dim the background more with higher shutter speed and boost the flash power. With Canon gear you can use high-speed-sync to have shutter speeds higher than 1/200" (if using a cable - the wireless slave may nix HSS). You could also try using a polarizing filter to reduce some of the background brightness. Some people have had success using ND filters for this but they make focusing and framing difficult because the viewfinder gets dim, and you still need flash power to get through the filter.
Actually, except for the too-bright background, I quite like this picture. I know, you can't always go back to the scene with the model and shoot it again - don't I wish!
Thanks, I was battling with the wind a bit so had one hand holding the softbox and other on camera while laying on my side in front of her... so it's not quite framed as I'd like and I was a bit too distracted to think of HSS at the time. Luckily she's my girlfriend and the beach is close to her house so there's always a chance for a re-shoot :)
Interesting that you yourself mentioned the framing, because it's what caught my eye immediately. I have a bias as an AD/CD, against people photos (especially) that crop along edges of the subject. If the glasses are a necessary prop, which in this case I believe they are, then you need a little more room around the arm at the bottom and the right side. Since you're using an FF camera with pixels to spare, you could also play around with cropping this picture in top/bottom and creating a very nice panorama/banner. Lucky you for a sweet GF and keep up the stellar work! :)
This is a good image, and it's almost there, but here's a couple things I might do to make it better. Dim the background more with higher shutter speed and boost the flash power. With Canon gear you can use high-speed-sync to have shutter speeds higher than 1/200" (if using a cable - the wireless slave may nix HSS). You could also try using a polarizing filter to reduce some of the background brightness. Some people have had success using ND filters for this but they make focusing and framing difficult because the viewfinder gets dim, and you still need flash power to get through the filter.
Actually, except for the too-bright background, I quite like this picture. I know, you can't always go back to the scene with the model and shoot it again - don't I wish!
Thanks, I was battling with the wind a bit so had one hand holding the softbox and other on camera while laying on my side in front of her... so it's not quite framed as I'd like and I was a bit too distracted to think of HSS at the time. Luckily she's my girlfriend and the beach is close to her house so there's always a chance for a re-shoot :)
I like the composition. Really. With regard to HSS, I just always have it enabled. Sometimes it becomes an ass-biter but usually not ;).
Interesting that you yourself mentioned the framing, because it's what caught my eye immediately. I have a bias as an AD/CD, against people photos (especially) that crop along edges of the subject. If the glasses are a necessary prop, which in this case I believe they are, then you need a little more room around the arm at the bottom and the right side. Since you're using an FF camera with pixels to spare, you could also play around with cropping this picture in top/bottom and creating a very nice panorama/banner. Lucky you for a sweet GF and keep up the stellar work! :)