Shoe repairer

Today I have been shooting a shoe repairer for 1,5 hours.
I shot with my new Canon 5D + ST-E2 + 580 EXII behind an umbrella + 430 EX sometimes with a CTO (CTO is for orange gell isn't it ?) + Canon 24-75
At first I used only the 580 behind the umbrella but moments ago I switched on the 430.
The flashes were opposed one another. The 580 at the left and the 480 at the right.
The place where I was with the man is very very small. I could hardly move.

What have I learned from this shots ?
* I was always or too often, balancing the flash from the right to the left and vice-versa. I think that is incorrect. I should have tested and stayed in a balance for more shots that I have.

* I shot in Aperture mode in most of the shots when I should have moved to Manual sooner, using a higher speed to get a deeper background, even if it would be necessary to change to HSS.
I am aware that using HSS the flash/s deliver less power but I think their balance would be kept.

* The 5D is very demanding in terms of focus. I mean: if we are working with rather large apertures - I am talking her about only a f/3.5 - the DoF is shallow and the focusing point is critical. Within the range 35-70 or so.
The 20D is more tolerant as the sensor is smaller...
I have make a table of DoF for both cameras to compare.

* I should have seen how harsh the shadows were with the flash on the right (430 EX).
Are you still there reading ? Good. Thank you. Nice of you.

1.

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#2 is the only image worthy of comment. It is a good portrait of a workman doing his job. The background is under control, the subject looks 100% natural, the lighting does not favor the workman, but it certainly favors the activity and the milieu.

The only improvement I can imagine, if one wanted to put more emphasis on the workman as a particular individual, would be to use additional lighting to bring out the facial contours more strongly (not a simple task).

Robert_Lay wrote in post #5971936
#2 is the only image worthy of comment. It is a good portrait of a workman doing his job. The background is under control, the subject looks 100% natural, the lighting does not favor the workman, but it certainly favors the activity and the milieu.

The only improvement I can imagine, if one wanted to put more emphasis on the workman as a particular individual, would be to use additional lighting to bring out the facial contours more strongly (not a simple task).

Thank you for your comment.

I think they would be stronger images if he wasn't looking at the camera.

i like the first one.

griptape wrote in post #5974442
I think they would be stronger images if he wasn't looking at the camera.

I want to make everybody happy

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cryforashadow wrote in post #5974529
i like the first one.

With all those harst shadows ??

I also like the first, I like the perspective.I would do a closer crop to lessen the shadows.

I think the last image shows some real potential. I think it's important to record these people who have a set of skills that are heavily in decline. I hope you don't mind, but I wanted to see if I could bring anything else to the image. If you don't like that I've edited, please let me know and I'll happily remove the images from my post.

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Irreverent wrote in post #5976836
I think the last image shows some real potential. I think it's important to record these people who have a set of skills that are heavily in decline. I hope you don't mind, but I wanted to see if I could bring anything else to the image. If you don't like that I've edited, please let me know and I'll happily remove the images from my post.

Dear irreverent.
Thank you for the "treatment" you applied to my photo. I am sure you have done your best and the way you like it.
Please, do not remove your work from this post.
However, to be honest, I don't like the pictures this way. Indeed they look very ... irreverent
See you on line.

No problem. I guess we all have our own way of interpreting a scene - part of what makes this an "art" and not a "science"

Still, I'm glad that you shot this series. Like I said, we need to capture the "old skills" before they die out forever.

Irreverent wrote in post #5977005
No problem. I guess we all have our own way of interpreting a scene - part of what makes this an "art" and not a "science"

Still, I'm glad that you shot this series. Like I said, we need to capture the "old skills" before they die out forever.

Agree !

I really like it in black and white