Hard light strobing - outdoor portrait of my gf

[stevoarnold]

Hi everyone,

I thought I should ask you guys for your opinions on this shot, taken last night. Im just starting to get into off-camera flashes (this being my third attempt at doing some portraits using flash) and could use some advice on how much hard light might be too much...

I was using two bare flashes, one camera upper right and one camera left, behind my girlfriend pointing back towards her to give that lit edge.

Do you think that the edge light is too much? It starts to blow out in areas, but I quite like the effect overall. What do you think? Also, opinions on the lighting in general would be great as I'm eager to learn all about this strobist stuff



I do have a few more shots from the same shoot on my blog (link in sig) if you were interested in having a look what else I was up to - this image was really pushing those highlights though which is why i'm asking for cc on it in particular.

EXIF info:
# Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
# Aperture: f/8.0
# Focal Length: 75 mm
# ISO Speed: 100
# Exposure Bias: 0 EV
# Exposure Program: Manual

[CaptainNH]

That's a really great shot Stevo, nice and sharp, and a fabulous location - what great colours. There are a few good spots like these in the eastern suburbs, but we're not cool enough for graffiti out this way

On the lighting front, the key light is spot on, but for my taste, the rim/kicker is too much. It's done a great job as a rim light to separate your gf from the mural, but, to me, is too bright as a kicker. I think I would have kept it 1/2stop less than the key light, but it would have been interesting to experiment with different settings.

Whilst you're in strobist experimenting mode, and if your gf is patient enough, it's an interesting exercise to play with your lighting ratios, eg. 8:1 -> 4:1 -> 2:1 -> 1:1 -> 1:2 -> 1:4 -> 1:8 then your can pick which one achieves the look you had created in your mind.

All that said, it's still a great shot. Have you tried a b&w and dropping the exposure by a stop? Might make for a great moody b&w shot.

[zona5101]

I checked out the rest and it looks like you had another sucessful outing. I can agree with the Capt on the rim being a bit heavy but I can also see that if you left it hot it would be ok too. There is something about the front lighting that doesn't quite sit squarely with me. I am feeling it may be the arm presenting this big bright spot... but I like the pose... I hate to add another varible to the mix, but have you thought about gelling your flash? Maybe if the main was gelled with a 1/2 CTO get, it would warm up and feel better balance against the bright rim light.
Humm., anyway random thoughts before my first cup of coffee.. In any case - keep up the nice work!

[stevoarnold]

Thanks very much for your feedback guys,

Cap'n, not sure if it counts as Eastern Suburbs, but the park I shot this in is in Mascot. Been living there for the last year since moving over from England, so still kinda getting to know Sydney.
Great idea about testing out the ratios too, i'll definitely try that next time i get a chance.

well noticed on the hotspot on the arm Zona, now you have pointed it out it has become blatant to me. takes a fresh pair of eyes to notice something like that sometimes

I have got a set of gels, but im taking it one step at a time - i'm like a kid in a sweetshop with so many different new things to try as it is. im looking forward to being collected enough to try using them productively.

Thanks again for the feedback and suggestions, i'm trying to soak it all in