I've got a new flash gun...and I'm not afraid to use it!

[Texas Dave]

...I'm just not sure of what I'm doing with it.

Here are a few of the shots I took this past weekend of my youngest daughter in her prom dress. We would of got her date but he apparently doesn't feel that comfortable around photographers when it's the intimidating Dad. (Which I very much prefer!)

I shot these with the new SB-700 speed light with the F-Stoppers diffuser over the flash. It diffused well and I had an assistance holding the speed flash in different positions as I experimented with the lighting. This is my first attempt to use this speed light for portrait photography and I am very much open to suggestions and input from you guys.

Out of 87 shots I had 22 keepers that would have been worth showing a client. Several of the bad ones where from having the flash to close or to far away or to strong. This does help me though and this is the first time I've really not had to do much post work. I think I need at least one more speed flash and a reflector.

This one I had the speed light behind her and above her head by about a foot. I had my fill light from my camera and turned down.


A portrait with some backlighting. A bit hard.


On this one I put the speed light in front...obviously, but I so wish I would have had another with almost a snoot to use as a kicker or hair light. A soft reflector to the right would have help with those weird shadows.


This one we got the speed light behind her and blew out some tree limbs. This is the shot that I realized she needs to bend her arms in the pose. I need to get the light allot less intense and wrangled in to where I want it. The pose is weird and the lighting is weird and it hurts because this was my favorite background.

[DEAN01]

David,

A beautiful young lady. I like the portrait even though the light is a little hard. Number four is a nice background, she does need to bend the left arm and hide the right hand. All a nicely done.

If you use her as a model again, the women posing at the Academy Awards, and other such things, cross their legs at the ankles--it works very well.

[Shadowman]

Nice series.

[Barbara Ponder]

Such a beauty! Good job DAD!

[D L]

...not afraid to use it, or experiment with it. I like your attitude.

Nice series of a beautiful young lady.

#1 I like the specular highlight on the cupboard behind her shoulder to camera right. It adds a bit of background interest without distracting from the subject. Not so much the one on the edge of the frame to camera left.

With #2, you say "A bit hard". I actually really like the hard light on her hair. Edgy, and no loss of detail.

#3 "weird shadows"??? Possibly setting up the lighting makes you overly conscious of the shadows? Looks good to me

#4 I agree the highlighted tree limbs behind her head aren't ideal. Did you have an "assistant" available to hold some dark material to the side of your diffuser (gobo) to stop the light spilling to the background? Maybe make your daughter's otherwise idle date at least half-useful. He was probably wearing a dark jacket perfect for the job.

Your daughter looks a little unsure of what to do with her hands. An accessory might have helped. Did she have a clutch purse or something to hold? Maybe even that absent date would have been a good "prop" to rest her hands on.

Very impressive series.

[rpcrowe]

Your daughter has many things going for her that make lovely images. First of all, her posture is excellent and her skin appears flawless and she is a very attractive young lady.

Here are some tips I found regarding female poses that I consider quite valid...

http://www.slrlounge.com/posing-tips...ale-portraits/

[Stagecoach]

David, I have not got a clue about either shooting such as this or lighting it so I'll just say I especially like what you have achieved in No 1 & No 2.

[IzzieK]

Dave...cleaning your camera while her escort is there might not be a good idea, but cleaning a gun will... Anyway, all good shots of a beautiful girl. I like all of them apart from the last one where her arms looks lazy...Also +1 to Dean and David (D L)'s comments.

[deetheturk]

All very nice Dave, well done bud, your daughter is a very pretty young lady, she must take her looks from her mum then!

[Donald]

...I'm just not sure of what I'm doing with it.

Well, you seem to be doing pretty good so far.

Seems to be a perfect illustration of the thing about practice, practice, practice; i.e. just get out there and try it.

[Texas Dave]

Dean, I think the legs crossed at the ankles would of been a great pose with a dress like this and yes, we have established that she needs to have her arm bent.

David, a gobo is in the works. ...a foam core version. I did have an assistant, that was 5'2" at that. I'm now wondering how we even got that tree in the light in the first place now. I can't remember if she was standing on something. I wish I would have brought a prop, purse, clutch or something. I was so focused on her head, then light, then exposure. I missed the focus on a few. There's is allot for a photographer to get in order. My mental checklist wasn't as long as it needed be!

Richard, I'm going to print that information from the website you gave me and make a cheat sheet out it! Good stuff.

I really appreciate the feed back and boost of confidence from you all. I've learned some new things here today and have a better idea of what to do next. I've got a couple of senior pictures lined up next and I feel allot more confidence now thanks to you folks and this forum! Thanks again!

[Manfred M]

Very good for your first crack at a flash. I find your analysis of the shots to be bang on as well. The "secret" of using flash is that the casual viewer should not be able to tell that you've used flash.

The other thing you appear to have noticed is that a speedlight is a small light source and has all those lovely harsh shadows associated with one. An umbrella, flash/umbrella holder and stand should set you back in the order of $100; probably the best investment I ever made for my small flash. Add a few more $ and get a reflector as a fill light. To start I would suggest a white convertable umbrella (does reflected and shoot through light) and a large piece of white foam core (or for a bit more money get a folding reflector). A sandbag would be useful for outdoor work. This is really my most frequently used "formal" speedlight shooting setup.

As for shooting hands, make sure they are not flat to the camera; that gives you that "paw-like" look. Angling the hands slightly so they are shot a bit more on edge works better, in my experience.

[klpurkett]

Very nice David! Thanks for sharing... I've found this to be a very educational thread. I haven't ventured into the realm of flash yet, but I know it's inevitable... I've found a helpful app called "posing app" with tons of ideas nicely formatted into a cheat sheet on my phone. I've found a lot of poses there that I would probably have never thought of during a photo shoot.

[bnnrcn]

Very nice shots David !