Test session with a strobe kit

[iSpark]

Messing around with a strobe kit that I just recently recieved. She had just got home from work and I asked her to sit in front of the tree for a test session.

http://static.flickr.com/99/309223153_c190160fcc_o.jpg

I had the strobe to camera right and above and used the 580EX bounced off of a silver reflector on camera left.
This was only the second time I have ever fired a strobe. So much to learn and so little time :\
Any tips are appreciated.

Thanks for looking.

[bolantej]

Well, I think the lighting looks fine for a second try. She doesn't look all that thrilled about having her picture taken, but I know how that goes. Maybe if you had a shallower DOF the tree would be more out of focus and she would stand out more.

[iSpark]

Thanks for the feedback.
Yes, the tree being more OOF would have isolated her better.
I also think I might have had the strobe a little to high, causing unwanted shadows on her neck.
The strobe is a Excalibur SP-3200 unit set on 1/2 power
The EXIF is 1/400, F5.6, ISO 100, 70mm
Am I way out of the ballpark with the EXIF?
Also, if the image is to bright, would the best way to adjust it be, use a slower shutter speed or turn down the power on the strobe or a combination of both?

oops, meant faster shutter

[Jim M]

The image lit by the flash will not be affected by the shutter speed. The background can be made lighter or darker if there is enough ambient light to do so, but otherwise, the flash duration is so short that it shutter speed adjustments simply will not do anything to the light it puts out unless you get above the sync speed and then you will only cut off part of the picture. Assuming everything is on manual, you can only use a smaller f-stop, a lower ISO, or turn down the flash. However, your image looks fine to me as far as exposure.

You will not be able to adjust the softness of the light by turning it down unless it is a fill light in an otherwise soft lighting situation. Then you would only be using the strobe as a secondary light source. The way you eliminate harsh shadows is with a light modifier such as a soft box, an umbrella, or by turning the strobe around and bouncing off a surface or reflector. Once you have a light modifier, you can adjust softness by how far the light is from the model. The closer it is, the relatively larger the source and the softer the light. The farther away it is, the relatively smaller the source and the harder the light.

I like your shot, by the way. It looks well exposed to me and the only criticism I might have is the harsh shadows. Are you sure you don't have your left and right transposed in the description of your setup? The light coming from the left of camera looks direct rather than bounced to me and it is much stronger than the light from the left. Surely the bounced 580 isn't putting out more light than the monolight.

[TeeJay]

... I had the strobe to camera right and above and used the 580EX bounced off of a silver reflector on camera left.

Are you sure you had your main light to "camera right"?

The darker shadows seem to me to indicate that the stronger light source came from camera left.

Also, whilst on the subject of shadows, there are very little in the way of them (other than the single one at the side of your wifes face), maybe you could tone down one of the light sources (as I think is detailed elsewhere) to allow more, thus giving a little more shape to the lighting.

[D. Craig Flory]

I like the colors and the cell phone ... calling Santa to complain about not getting that diamond ring. *S*

Here is my version ... and hope she likes it.

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i93/DC47/309223153_c190160fcc_oEnhanced.jpg

[iSpark]

Thanks again for the feedback and pointers. :)

Here is a layout of what I had for the setup.

http://static.flickr.com/99/309950900_41d6372700_o.jpg

I think the Strobe was to far back and the reflector overpowered it?
I'm not real crazy about umbrellas and think a softbox would be more appropriate for the type of light I want to capture.

D. Craig Flory, lol, Thats a great caption for the photo, "Calling Santa" :)
Your edit looks great...Thank you.

[jra]

Are you firing your strobe with a sync cord or optically from your camera flash? The reason I ask is because the camera flash emits a pre-flash that will prematurely fire your strobe if you're relying on an optical trigger (assuming your flash is not set to a manual exposure mode). You may already be well aware of this but if not, I thought I may be able to save you some trouble :)

[iSpark]

Using a sync cord