Tear it up ...my son on the way to school

[xj0hnx]

So I almost made him late this morning, the lighting was too good. I've been experimenting with shooting the sun behind, and hitting subject with the flash, wish I had off camera though, it takes forever to get the right flash compensation to keep it from looking to snapshotish. The first I added a dodge and burn, the second just a couple adjustment layers to get surrounding colors a little deeper, but there is no Photoshop on the boy, he's just as it came ut of the camera, in the no dodge and burn one of course.

So, is this worth pursuing? Or am I way off?

 

[Designer]

Well, you can practice some more on Saturday. The position of the sun is not quite right for best effect, IMO. A little higher maybe?

One thing that should help is to modify your BI flash by holding or taping a white diffuser to the front. Then it seems to me that the shot could use a little more light.

 

[xj0hnx]

I didn't even think about a diffuser, I made one out of a couple layers of milk jug that works pretty good, I'll try it this weekend You are very right, there isn't nearly enough light on him, especially his face.

 

[paigew]

I think this one is a snapshot. He is way underexposed. And there is major haloing around him (from when you darkened the sky). Bump up that iso! Expose for the face! Backlight is my favorite and I never use flash when I shoot them. Well, I rarely use flash anyway. What I would have done is moved him more in front of the tree to diffuse the light (and so you don't blow the sky so much). Then always always​ spot meter for the face to get correct skin exposure.

 

[xj0hnx]

Yea, we are going to go out Saturday morning and get some more practice, trying out different settings.

But just for fun I did some more post ...

 

[xj0hnx]

So how's this one? Better?

 

[Rosy]

yep i like this one better

 

[rexbobcat]

Dat on-camera flash

The main issue I have with these is that the flash was on the film axis. Sometimes this can work, like if you're using a ringflash. But when you're using either the on-board flash or a speedlight on the top of the camera, it's generally pretty harsh and stark.

One reason is because the catchlight isn't very nice. It's a pinpoint white dot in the center of his pupil. For general photos, this can give a very deer-in-the-headlights look and it harkens back to the days of red eye in photos in my opinion. Another reason is because it gets rid of a lot of the depth in a person's face. It makes them look very washed out and kinda blah.

Try and get that flash at least slightly off-camera and you should have better results.

If you have a speedlight, look into purchasing one of these:

TTL Cords & Accessories | B&H Photo Video

 

[xj0hnx]

I wish I had a speedlight, but money's too tight, and I gotta keep that boy fed and healthy :} This is part of the reason I am experimenting and trying to learn different techniques to make the most of what I have, and to learn how to be the master of light instead of it's slave.

 

[rexbobcat]

Ah, gotcha. There are some cheap alternatives to the overpriced Canon/Nikon speedlights if you're interested. Look up Yongnuo speedlights. The cheaper models don't have all the bells and whistles that the Canikon ones do, but they're more powerful and versatile than you on-board flash.

Amazon.com: yongnuo flash

 

[xj0hnx]

Yea I was looking at those a while back. I actually own a Nikon SB-27, it's just in the pawn shop at the moment :blushing: And I still need to get that cable to get it off camera.

Are these reliable ...?

http://www.amazon.com/RF-602-Wirele...8&qid=1389982081&sr=8-13&keywords=nikon+sb-27

I was thinking about this instead of the cable.