Metering mode facing the sun

[gossamer]

Okay, we had an opportunity to meet this morning, very near the same time we'll be meeting on Sunday, to do some practice shots. I thought I'd post them here, in hopes people would give me some ideas on how I can improve. They actually came out better than I anticipated. It was quite bright - full sun, nearly directly over us. I used my SB700 hotshoe flash, usually with -2.0 flash EV.

You'll notice some sloppy photoshop work on the right. I'm not very good with photoshop, and this was only a practice shot, but there was a big pole, like a fencepost, anchoring the pier to the ground that limited the area where I could get the shot.

The questions I have are:

- Should I be concerned about the remaining shadows?
- Is the composition okay? Is there another perspective you'd recommend?

I believe I also adjusted the exposure in post, so although my values are there, they may have changed slightly. I can post the NEF files too, if necessary.

I welcome any other comments or criticism you may have.

Picture 1: (f/5.0, 1/250, 100, @26mm)

Picture 2: (f/5.0, 1/800, 100, @24mm)