Dark Faces - Help!

[dsp78]

Hey everyone! I don't post much, but I was wondering if you could help me out. I have a Canon 5D and I am a portrait photographer new to the business. I am having a difficult time in the shade getting people's faces and generally the whole photo well lit. I always have to adjust levels and curves during post processing to correct the problem. Any advice? I have attached an example. Here is the exif:

ISO: 160
Flash: off
F stop: 1.8
Focal Length: 50mm
Exposure Time: 1/3200
Metering: Pattern
Aperture Priority

I have the aperture low so that I can get more light in because the higher the aperature for me, it seems the darker the faces and the whole photo in general. Do I need to up the ISO?

[RLucas]

Holy high shutter speed Batman! First for shots such as this, and since you are shooting in aperture priority, you will want to switch your metering mode to spot and meter off of the face. Right now with pattern metering, it takes in to account the whole scene, and exposes for it And since the background is the largest part of the image, it is exposing for it. That is why your subject is so dimly lit, and the background is nicely exposed. Shooting at f1.8, you are not using the lens at its best aperture for sharpness. Try stopping down to at least f4 or higher. You will still have a nice creamy background. I promise!

[JAD40]

I actually kinda like how the child pops up from the background in this image. I agree with the person above me though. Spot meter for the face since that is your main subject. You could also try reflecting some light back at the subject so both background, and child can be exposed correctly.

[sybren]

Apart from what's been said already, I would lower the ISO to the minimum, as that would improve the overall quality a tad. Your shutter speed will go down, but that's not an issue when you're at 1/3200.