Some advice please

Hello fellow POTN members!

My pastor had requested to me if I was willing to take high school pictures of her daughter. I thought this would be a great learning opportunity, so I accepted her request. Unfortunately, this will be my first "formal" photoshoot so I'm coming to you all who have more experience for some advice. I guess I'll start off by saying the gear that I have.

Canon 30d, 18-90 zoom lens, 580exII with diffuser, tripod, and I'll be borrowing my friend's Sigma 30 and maybe the nifty-fiftys (would it be necessary?). I live in Seattle, so the weather's been pretty gloomy, so I'll be waiting for a nice sunny day as I anticipate taking shots outdoors. I plan to take shots throughout the day if possible taking either early morning -> afternoon or afternoon -> evening/sunset shots to get a wide variety of ambient lighting effects. I have done some light reading/research at my local Barnes and have got some of the basics down as far as poses go and basic etiquette. I'll be requesting 2 sets of clothing (formal and informal) and will take some time to research the photoshoot site. Anything else I should be keeping in mind? Any sort of techniques, tips, or creative shooting ideas you have to share or advice like the things that you wished you would've done? I am an avid student, and am always willing to learn more to improve myself.

Thanks to all who look and reply!

Have a wonderful shooting day.

Bright overcast with some fill flash might be your best possible condition. If you must shoot on a sunny day you need to get your subject into the shade if possible. Or you could have an assistant man a scrim to block some of the sunlight. Never face your subject into the sun as they will squint. Make sure mom is there.

i agree with poloman, if you are doing outdoor portraits you should wait for a cloudy day. the clouds act like a giant diffuser and you avoid harsh shadows on the face. good luck and post some shots when your are done.

I like to shoot when the sun is low enough in the sky that the subject can stand in front of it. Underexpose the sky 1 stop or so and experiment till it looks like you want it, then use fill flash. Or the scrim idea is good also when the sun is low. Position the scrim facing the sun and position the subject at 45 degrees to the scrim.

Thanks all for your advice.