How can I avoid this?

[Gina9942]

This weekend I am taking pics of two little girls ages 2 and 4. We are going to be outdoors. I am really excited as its my first paying photography job, if it goes well. I shot this pic outdoors and he looks really washed out, how can I avoid this for this weekend? We are going out at around 9 in the morning, and I am hoping to be done before the really harsh shadows come out. So my questions, how can I avoid this look? Any suggestions on poses? What should I bring in terms of equipment? I often hear to bring a speedlight for fill shadows outdoors, true? also I am going to get a piece of oaktag for now to use as a reflector. Anything else? When I use the speedlight should it be on camera? Is there a better place on this site that I should be asking these questions? Thanks so much in advanced, everyone here is so helpful, I have learned so much from lurking and now participating.



The whole picture looks a little blurry because this is not a full high res image. It was downloaded from my other site so it's been compressed numerous times.

[windrider86]

For any technical advice you'll need to include your exif information. Please and thank you

[Gina9942]

I don't have the exif data for this pic because when I redownloaded it, it was already a compressed Jpeg and lost a lot of data. I am going to see if I can find it, but I do know it was

50mm lens
f 1.8

I am going to look for the shutter speed and ISO.

[lputman]

I moved this over to Photographing People Technique section as you are asking more than a critique. You might get better responses here.

[OsmosisStudios]

Dont shoot at f/1.8. Stop down to f/2.8-3.5, especially if you dont necessarilly need to blur the background. That should sharpen things up, remove the blur and give you some better contrast right off the bat.