Portraits at either end of the 70-200mm focal range...

[rpcrowe]

Here are two more portraits with the 70-200mm f/4L IS lens and diffused fill flash, one at each end of the focal range. These were shot at a Renaissance Faire in Escondido, California.

This regal looking lady in the Elizabethan costume was on a stage when I captured this image which accounts for the low camera angle. I don't usually like shooting up people's noses but, in this case, IMO, the angle gives her a haughty look which I think fits with her Renaissance Faire persona. 1/640 second @ f/4, ISO 320. I did not do any skin softening in the PP because I think that the lines in her face fit the portrait.

200mm


This "Fairy Princess" was shot at the wider end of the focal range 1/160 second using f/4. I pondered about removing the "blemish" on the right (camera left) side of her face but, decided to leave it since it was a permanent feature, rather than some passing acne outbreak...

70mm


I chose monochrome because when viewed in color, the rents in her wings are very obvious; more so than in B&W. I kept this in the horizontal format because, although somewhat ragged, the wings are an integral part of her persona!

Using fill flash pumps some contrast into a portrait, especially portraits shot in the shade like the last two. The flash also provides some catch lights in the eyes of the subject. Catch lights are sometimes lacking in shade portraits.

I use the Stroboflash camera flip bracket and a small softbox to soften and diffuse the light from one of my Canon EX model flashes. I really don't remember which model flash I was using. It was very likely the 420EX. Although I have the 600EX, 550EX and 320EX flashes, I use the 420EX for a lot of my walk around photography because of its light weight. I like the 420EX for walk around photography so much that I recently purchased another unit of this type ( for $50 USD) on eBay. I don't need a tremendous amount of light for my fill flash and I always leave the flash in ETTL, so the old 420EX works fine as I use it!

I just leave my Canon flash with HSS activated. The camera/flash will automatically then choose whether to shoot at HSS (if my shutter speed is over 1/250 second) and then automatically revert to standard sync (if my shutter speed is at or below the maximum sync speed of the camera). That way, I never have to worry about switching it back and forth.

[Shadowman]

Nice selection and processing, both focal lengths give you a good working distance from the subject.