Hello all, here's a photo I took of my daughter during fall.
This was my first photoshoot using an off camera flash, any advice and CC is welcome.
P.S sorry if this went up twice my browser froze during my first post.
SyerraRose
Hello all, here's a photo I took of my daughter during fall.
This was my first photoshoot using an off camera flash, any advice and CC is welcome.
P.S sorry if this went up twice my browser froze during my first post.
Bring the light higher and more to the front, open up a stop or two and use the sun... don't fight it.
Thank you James, positioning the light higher is definitely something I will keep in mind as I feel I have been placing it too low.
Hi Austin! You have a beautiful daughter!
Personally - I'm good with the sun directly behind her head. Nice use of that light. Also, I like the darker background so I would leave your lens at the settings you had - you can make your settings work with proper use of the flash.
Did you meter the flash manually or was it TTL? I use manual flash, and I would have positioned the flash camera right at 45 degrees - about 10-15% power for fill - 10-12 feet away modified with an umbrella or soft box (this would be the settings for my gear - your flash may be different) I would have incident metered her with my hand held meter near her eyes. What you're going for is a full fill on her face, with catch lights in her eyes. If you want it to look as natural as possible, watch out for the setting sun. As it gets darker, your flash will become your main light and will give a very "flashy" look that you may not want. Experiment for the look you want! You can position your flash a little higher, but honestly at 10-12 feet away with an umbrella the light will be scattered enough to envelope her form so that won't make much difference. This was a very good first effort with off camera flash. Keep shooting!
Thank you for your very well thought out and worded response! I did meter the flash manually as my triggers don't work with TTL, I am using a Neewer brand flash/trigger combo of Amazon so it definitely isn't the best light. I will have to try pulling it farther away and adjust positioning, I think I am underestimating how far the light can reach.
You might try searching for "Joe Brady flash" on the Web and review some of his blending flash with ambient light videos on YouTube. In one of them he instructs on how you can determine what your flash is putting out and how to estimate quickly how to position your flash and select power for a natural looking fill. Also search Neil Van Niekerk . Good luck!
Thank you for the recommendations, I will be sure to give them a look.