First try with umbrella's

Trying to find subjects who sit still while I practice.

Im looking for lighting critiques before I get the wife to sit down.

Any advice is appreciated.

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Judging by the flat lighting and the shadows it appears the umbrella was too "straight on" to the subject. Try positioning it at a 45 degree angle from the tip of the subject's nose and about 2 feet above their head. There's a bit too much specularity so I'd suggest dialing back the flash power or moving the umbrella back a bit.

Ok I will try that next for sure.

This was a clamshell setup. Top umbrella was 1 stop more than the lower one. You can see them both in the reflections.

I too agree this looks a bit flat. And Im willing to experiment with other setups.
I will post back.
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I think it looks really nice. Only thing I would change is the background. I'd position her to get rid of that drapery.

Thanks bboehnm.

A short list of things Im going to change
1) Change umbrella position to 45*
2) find a better wall with less distracting items
3) use a colored gel against the backdrop.
4) use a smaller apeture ( want to darken back somewhat)

I will post back when I have this accomplished.

Angry Dad wrote in post #13002022
Thanks bboehnm.

4) use a smaller apeture ( want to darken back somewhat)

I will post back when I have this accomplished.

On this one keep in mind that you control ambient with the shutter speed and the flash with aperture . In a controlled studio setup this should hold true. For an outdoor shot the aperture will have some effect on the ambient. So if you want to darken the background you should increase the shutter speed. If you stop down it will just give you less light from the flash on the subject.

If you are using ETTL then the flash will compensate if you stop down or with manual flash you can increase the power of the flash to compensate. This gives you DOF control while keeping the flash lighting on the subject the same. This shouldn't have much effect on the ambient (including the backdrop) unless your model if very close to the backdrop.

if you want to darken the background either move the model away from the wall more, or move the lights closer to the model (and as such lower the light power) - I'm far from an expert, but there is a lot of info around you can read on this.