Fun in the Woods

Here's a few shots from a recent shoot with my girlfriend Dominique. She wanted to do shots in the park with lots of tree bokeh like she saw in a magazine. I'm still pretty new to shooting with a flash as fill light and she's new to modeling but it was a lot of fun and a learning experience for sure. I would love some critiques and suggestions for next time because I'm keen to improve! Thanks for viewing.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/oMAT​Dn

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/oQr8​hn

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/oyHu​k6

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#1, Bare bulb flash makes hard shadows which are prominent. Also I would lower the contrast and adjust the WB. Very orange and the flare overwhelms the shot.

Pretty much all have potential, just too much contrast and some color balance adjustments.
#4 is the one I would have made b&w, the pinwheel color is distracting.

I really like the emotion in #1. I would have shot from a higher angle on the other ones (not at the same level as her face, or lower.

BrickR wrote in post #17111896
#1, Bare bulb flash makes hard shadows which are prominent. Also I would lower the contrast and adjust the WB. Very orange and the flare overwhelms the shot.

Pretty much all have potential, just too much contrast and some color balance adjustments.
#4 is the one I would have made b&w, the pinwheel color is distracting.

I really like the emotion in #1. I would have shot from a higher angle on the other ones (not at the same level as her face, or lower.

Thank you for the feedback. For the flash what should I do to soften it next time? I see that the pinwheel is somewhat distracting from the overall image. I'll play with the processing some more too.

Kind of like the pinwheel idea, but it should have enough DOF in photo to be as sharp as main subject.

marq4porsche wrote in post #17111988
Thank you for the feedback. For the flash what should I do to soften it next time? I see that the pinwheel is somewhat distracting from the overall image. I'll play with the processing some more too.

To soften a light, the lightsource needs to be larger. It looks like you're using a speedlight on your camera. It makes a ton of difference to have the flash off camera. Get a cheap lightstand, an umbrella adapter for your stand, a cheap large umbrella, and a pair of wireless flash triggers. This'll improve your lighting tremendously.

Thanks guys. I'll have to do more research on light stands and umbrellas before I invest in them. Looking on adorama, there is a ton of variety for them. For now here is a reedit of one of the shots above.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/oVgN​t8

marq4porsche wrote in post #17119148
Thanks guys. I'll have to do more research on light stands and umbrellas before I invest in them. Looking on adorama, there is a ton of variety for them.

Remember, the cheapest umbrellas will work fine. The more expensive ones tend to be more durable though. I've been using $7 umbrellas from Amazon for years without problems. Except with wind, then my umbrellas turn inside out and break. But you shouldn't be using umbrellas with wind anyway. I use shoot-thru umbrellas, the white ones ones that you shoot through. For the bounce umbrellas with the black backing, the difference between cheap/expensive is more noticeable as the backing needs to be better material. The cheaper black backing is so thin in cheap umbrellas that light can still shine through it which means light is being wasted. If you can't see the flash through the black backing, then all the light is being bounced towards the subject, which is good.

AF has grabbed the key in 2 and hasn't properly locked in on 3. You want those eyes to be sharp.

Which AF point did you use on the 6D?

Thanks guys. I like the sound of the slightly more expensive ones because I won't have to keep buying more in the future. I think the wireless triggers might be the most expensive part. I guess lighting is my next venture.

marq4porsche wrote in post #17120183
Thanks guys. I like the sound of the slightly more expensive ones because I won't have to keep buying more in the future. I think the wireless triggers might be the most expensive part. I guess lighting is my next venture.

Triggers can be cheap. I use Cactus v5 triggers are $60 for a pair. Range is really good, haven't missed a shot once. It's a basic trigger, it sends the signal for your light to fire. There's no TTL, or fancy electronics, but it's cheap... and it works perfectly for me.

http://www.gadgetinfin​ity.com …h-transceiver-v5-duo.html