Railroad Portrait

[ClayScots]

Canon Rebel XTI
ISO 400
f/3.5
1/30 sec.
Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens

My first attempt at portraiture. Went down to the railroad tracks to shoot some neat shots during the Golden Hour. Not sure about the lighting, but I thought that the subject's pose and the converging lines of the tracks add interest.

Any advice for a budding portrait photog?

[digirebelva]

You need some fill flash, you've got good rim lighting from the sun, but you need fill flash to brighten up the subject

[ClayScots]

Thanks, Digirebel. I actually got a new flash, but couldn't quite get it to fill in like it should. I need to figure out the flash power settings. Haven't gotten around to it, with family in for the Holidays.

[waggygee]

I love the back light and the portrait in general but I agree with digirebelva, I think it would be better with a fill light from a flash or maybe a reflector

[Life in Motion]

You could play with selectin your subject and lightening just her with the exposure slider....may create some neat different styles. it would look better if you'd use a little fill flash straight out of camera.

just playin with your image a bit....after lightening just the subject and then adding a little contrast, i added a purplish texture on the background that matched her scarf....cute outfit, couldn't see it in the original much though. good luck and keep playin with the settings on your camera to get better straight out of camera results with exposure.....it makes a huge difference!

[SwissJon]

I think Life in Motion has gone a bit far with the post processing, looks a bit false, but it's subjective and shows you what could have been achieved with a flash.. He's absolutely right.. Post processing is no alternative to getting it right on the day.. The back light is great, gives her hair a lovely glow, you're dead right about the converging lines, the whole setting gices it a wonderful moody feeling.

When you've figured out how to do an off camera flash, go back down there and have another try, I reckon you'll be really please with the results.

Oh.. and do try not to get run down

[ClayScots]

Thanks so much for your positive feedback, despite my lack of fill-in flash.

I will keep in mind the importance of fill-in flash, for sure, and I agree that some pp could be used to brighten up the subject.

I will definitely learn to use my off-camera flash, but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a cheap and effective reflector/grey card?

And I will keep an eye (and ear) out for any would-be train collisions.

[cherrygirl]

I think just using a reflector to bounce the available light back at her face would be much better than a flash. It would keep the nice warm light and give just enough on her face not to lose the feel of the rest of the photo.

[ClayScots]

Thanks, Cherrygirl. I agree. My external flash, I've noticed, can be rather harsh, so that would be a phenomenal tool to use! How can I make a cheap one, does anyone know of a particularly effective DIY? I'm a poor college student on a budget.

[swilliams61]

One type of quick, cheap reflector is to use some foam poster board (like what you would buy for a school project).