Practicing Outdoor Flash Portraits - Advice Requested

[Derrel]

Could be my crappy monitor, she's pale and uses tanner. Look decent on my end...

Round two will happy fairly soon.


even less red:


DSC_7430-Edit-1-2 by The Braineack, on Flickr

I took a guess at her real skintone:



Then I thought, lemme see how it looks with a one-click Auto-Enhance Nikon Portraiture action.



Pretty agreeable I think.

 

[Braineack]

I need this easy button...

 

[Braineack]

Thoughts on the last?

 

[Derrel]

Better catch lights.

No sunburn.



Erin Posing for me by The Braineack, on Flickr


and better job using sun as rim:


DSC_7470-2 by The Braineack, on Flickr

My thought on the first one is that the brightest tones are over-exposed, and her cheeks,nose,and forehead are too bright. The contrast also seems too high or the black point is set too high; her hair is dark and plugged up, where there should be some differentiation visible in the hair.

The second shot looks like a very good balance of ambient and flash, but I wish I could see a bit of detail in the shadow where her hair is...seems like the contrast is really high, but her black shirt is not so black as above, so I doubt it's a black point issue..

If you want the actions I spoke of, they are free at the Lightroom Killer Tips blog.Lightroom Killer Tips | Lightroom Presets, Videos, Tips and News

 

[Designer]

Derrel's edit #2 FTW!

This pose is the best of the bunch, IMO.

I don't know why Erin pushed her hair back, but I like it. Also, the 3/4 turn is da bomb!

Good light, good frame, good pose.

You should definitely keep that in mind for future portraiture.

 

[rexbobcat]

I like the last one (DSC-7470-2) the best in terms of lighting. In some of the others the lighting seems very flat. That one has more depth thanks to the rim and the better placement of the flash so there is some shadow on the side of her nose.

 

[Braineack]

Thanks for all the advice. Unfortunately, I pulled most of them down at my wife's request, but hopefully in the next few weeks I have a real set to post. Very helpful thread.


I'll just leave these here:


Erin Posing for me by The Braineack, on Flickr


Erin outdoor flash by The Braineack, on Flickr


Erin in the Wind by The Braineack, on Flickr

 

[W.Fovall]

When you have her model for you in the future try and see if you can get her to relax a little bit, I usually tell jokes to get people to loosen up or potty humor. She is very attractive it's just the smile looks a bit forced..