My oldest

SimpsonBrothers

Trying to get better at portraits, so C&C please

Date Taken: 2011-04-25 16:09:01
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Exposure Time: 0.0001s (1/8000)
Aperture: f/1.8
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 50mm (80mm in 35mm)
Flash: 580EXII with diffuser set on 105mm off camera left via 6'ettl cord
Metering: spot
Exposure Program: manual
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Exposure Mode: manual
White Balance: manual
Color Space: AdobeRGB

SimpsonBrothers

nothing?

Bryce Wilson

First I've seen this post.

The off camera flash makes this shot.

I like it a lot!

briandelion

I love it! It has a very 50's "Leave it to Beaver" vibe.

puzzledpaul

Not really my scene, but just passing thro' ... and you seemed desperate

All to do with the bg
Tilted horizon
Fairly stark dark /light transition out of head
'Spikey' stuff on right a bit distracting ... would've been less so if just the roof lines / profiles.

I suspect ppl better at this stuff than myself will probably make comments about flash positioning / diffusion to decrease / remove shadow lines too ...

Can't remember the last time any of my kit was wound up to 8k ...

pp

Sam

Hey!! I just got up and am having my coffee. Don't get so darn impatient!

While I can see some of the technical flaws, I like the image for what it is (a nice portrait of your son) and it will be a cherished family photo.

Sam

SimpsonBrothers

I'm just wondering on how I can improve on the lighting.
Been hanging out on Strobist blog a bit and tried some of their suggestions.
For this shot the background is -1 stop and #1 light (sun) is 45* above camera left behind subject, flash is 45* camera left in front of subject turned down 2 stops.
Should I have used a color filter on the flash?
Any other suggestions for lighting?