First Studio Portrait C&C

[Destin]

I recently did my first try at shooting portraits in a studio enviroment, rather than outdoors. Here is one of the photos I took, C&C would be greatly appreciated.

Lighting:
SB-600 high camera right, 45 degree angle from subject, in a shoot through umbrella.
yongnuo yn-460 high (but lower than sb-600) camera left, also in a shoot through umbrella.

 

[Big Mike]

It seems a bit dark. I don't mean the background etc. but I think it could use more exposure. The eyes especially are fairly dark...bring your light down lower, so that the eyebrow ridge isn't causing a shadow over the eyes.

The hair blends into the background, which is usually to be avoided. You could solve this by using an accent light from behind the model, a hair light above him or a light on the background.

You just have a sliver of his left ear showing. Either show it or don't (same applies to an eye) so I may have had him rotate just a bit more to hide the ear but not enough to bring the eye to the horizon of the face.

 

[Destin]

Mike, Thanks!

I noticed the ear too, but not until it was too late.

I'll definitely remember to bring the light down lower next time, as well as use a hair light. The only reason I didn't use a hair light for this was that I didn't have enought speedlights. I do now, so I'll try this again soon.