Futzing around with backlit portrait - C&C welcome

[dsiglin]

So after trying and failing with my first attempt at backlit portraits I'm at it again, hopefully with better success. This time around I had a particular look I wanted to emulate, somewhat gritty, washed out and backlit in a "retro-cinematic" style. I wish I could find the original photo that inspired me. It was a guy holding a hasselblad smoking a cigarette. It looked very debonair backlighted with the smoke curling up. I don't smoke and I don't have a hasselblad but I do have a nifty Mamiya 645 which would fit the bill. For this setup I had a 43" white umbrella and a YN560II at 1/32 firing directly behind me. In front and below me I had a silver reflector which I'm not sure if it actually reflected anything and a mirror to help me get my pose right. I used a Canon FD 50mm 1.4 lens at f8 about 3' in front of me. Even at f8 I had a really hard time nailing focus and hence that's why the Mamiya lens is in focus for most of these. I tried about 30 times but yeah... So some of these are more product or fashion photos than portraits. Either way I'd appreciate C&C on some things to look out for next time and tips on shooting good backlit portraits. Thanks!



For what it is worth here is an original raw file of the second shot.

 

[dsiglin]

The resounding silence is probably not a good sign. :/

 

[alexzobi]

don't be so sure. in certain cases, i've found on this site that silence was a good thing ha. i like the second the most. i think the reason you're probably not getting a lot of feeback is because when you go for an unusual style, the guidelines become blurred and critiques become more about personal opinion and less about technique.

 

[Derrel]

I think the third shot, the one where you're holding the camera lens-up, sort of like a pistol, is the winner of this set.

 

[Braineack]

I'd like to see #3 with a smaller aperture and everything actually in focus.

 

[dsiglin]

Coming from an arts/design background I know what you mean Alexzobi. As I learn lighting I'm trying to keep the photos I post for C&C fairly vanilla. But then I get some crazy idea in my head and I have to try it out.

Braineack - yeah getting the focus right was my main problem even at f8 it seemed there wasn't much play.

Thanks guys for the comments.