Why would you use these settings? Am I missing something

I was sent some pictures by a friend of mine. She had them taken a while back and the photographer has been dragging his feet on the PP of her pics. Well she is needing them ASAP for something for work. So she asks me if I can PP a few for her so she can use them.
So I get one of them and open it up. The first thing I notice is the W/B is off (taken in jpeg). Then the second thing I notice is it is cropped very poorly. Then to top it off it is OOF. So then I look at the exif. Keep in mind this is a glamour style portrait. This is what I found.

Canon 5D

1/128
F14
Focal length 55
ISO 400

The photo is from mid stomach up

Can you think of any reason to shoot at these settings? I haven't done a lot of studio work yet. But I do a lot of outdoor work with strobes. Wouldnt F8'ish ISO100 with a higher strobe setting yield much better results?

cheap ebay lighting kit?

zacker wrote in post #5715931
cheap ebay lighting kit?

I guess it could be. But shooting with a 5D I would tend to think not. I guess I could be wrong. But hell even a sunpak 383 or vivitar should have enough ass to get it done.

maybe he wanted the deep dof so to get f/14 he had to shoot @ iso 400...

f14 for what? Landscapes.

With the 5D and up close, f8 is not enough keep both eyes in focus if the subject does not face the camera straight sometimes. But iso400 seems high if it's a studio shot.

So is this guy a pro, or a "pro?"

texasreddirt wrote in post #5715909
Canon 5D

1/128
F14
Focal length 55
ISO 400

The photo is from mid stomach up

Can you think of any reason to shoot at these settings? I haven't done a lot of studio work yet. But I do a lot of outdoor work with strobes. Wouldnt F8'ish ISO100 with a higher strobe setting yield much better results?

Strange for sure... Sounds like someone used green box mode!

The give away is the 1/128 and ISO 400. It should be around 1/200 for the shutter (highest flash sync on the 5D).

I'm not sure what level "pro" this guy is but she paid for these pics. The background was what appears to be black paper. I could be cloth its hard to tell. I told her I would be more than happy to redo them and see what I can come up with.

texasreddirt wrote in post #5715909
...This is what I found.

Canon 5D

1/128
F14
Focal length 55
ISO 400

Can you think of any reason to shoot at these settings?

Not without seeing the image.

Does it look like strobe or continuous?

Without more info its a bit rude to assume so much (or in fact anything) about the photographer. The real question is (or should be) how did the resultant image come out?

nadtz wrote in post #5716905
Without more info its a bit rude to assume so much (or in fact anything) about the photographer. The real question is (or should be) how did the resultant image come out?

It came out very poor. And the reason I'm not posting the picture is for exactly that reason. Just incase he is a member here I wouldnt want to hurt any feelings.

amonline wrote in post #5716882
Not without seeing the image.

Does it look like strobe or continuous?

It looks like strobe to me.

Well, I don't think anyone can give you even a close answer without seeing the image. Regardless, if you think it's strobe, they must be set really low. That in a dark environment on JPG is basically hell and you're not going to get a great shot. Personally, I'd never shoot a studio portrait under 160th. It just sounds like someone that's inexperienced with real lighting.

Green box :O