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I was helping out with a mates Portfolio Shoot, and i took these with my 50mm f/1.8. First time doing something like this. But what do you think?

Matty - these are of high quality and you should be proud! Composition, exposure and teh general 'feel' for the images is spot on. If you refer to the FAQ we aim to keep the number of images per post to just 4 and below, so that our member with dialup aren't flogged. Just so you know for next time. I hope to see a lot more of your help with your mate!!

Hi Matty.

Good work overall - great for a first effort!

A few little niggles for me though. I feel there's a tad too much shadow on the model's face in the first shot, the low-riding jeans hanging under the crotch in the second do nothing to flatter the girl's shape and, to me, the guy's face seems slightly out of focus in the last one.

Shots 3 and 4 are rippers - beautifully lit and well composed.

Thanks Manta,

Is there anything i could do to change the shadow level in photoshop? The sun postion really wasn't ideal, maybe i should have use some fill flash. However i struggled a bit with the fill flash on my sb600, it seems to overpower the shot a bit too much.

I do have some better shots, however this was my mates photoshoot for her portfolio, so I wont be able to put them all up.

#1 would have looked much better with some falsh fill (as Manta said).

#2 the whole shot seems a little out - I don't like the messy background, again flash fill required for the shadows, not sure if it is the jeans or the background but the crotch area certainly looks peculiar.

#3 Like this one and the background seems to fit better.

#4 really good shot IMHO

#5 looks cool too.

Cheers, Mick

MattyO wrote:Thanks Manta,

Is there anything i could do to change the shadow level in photoshop? The sun postion really wasn't ideal, maybe i should have use some fill flash. However i struggled a bit with the fill flash on my sb600, it seems to overpower the shot a bit too much.

I do have some better shots, however this was my mates photoshoot for her portfolio, so I wont be able to put them all up.

Matty - you can always dial down the ev on the flash, 2/3 to a 1 stop might work well, depending on how close you are to your subject. You could also bracket flash values - your manual is your friend.

As far as Photoshop is concerned, try selecting the area then Image/Adjustments/Shadow&Highlight. Experimentation here may give good results. (nb - if you feather the selection by ..say.. 5 pixels or so, there won't be as obvious a 'line' showing where you've done the work)

I like number 4 the best, the light is great and it's an overall beautiful shot.
I feel that number 3 and 5, whilst technically great, the setup of the photos could have been improved. The models just stand in a large room and when I look at the photos it feels as if the people don't belong there, the space around them is too big....it's kinda hard to describe
It works for shot 1 because the background is very blurred and the model is right at the front - there's a viewing flow from front to back. 3 and 5 don't have that flow...I know it probably doesn't make much sense, but hey I'm trying hard to describe it

Otherwise very well done, like I said before, number 4 does it for me.

nice photos.
solme of the shadows are a little harsh but if thats what you were after then it was well effected.
cute models too

Matty
A good effort under these testing conditions. I'd echo what Manta has suggested. Another alternative is to take your tripod (assuming you have one) and give the SB600 a go remotely, using the D70 on-board flash in "commander-mode".

You could then try putting the SB600 into manual mode & play with the power settings and distances you have the flash from your subject.

After a bit of trial & error, you'll soon see what lighting looks good and then go for it.... You may still choose to leave some shadow showing, but you can be in full control of how much light is being output, thus controlling how dark (or light) the shadows appear.
By taking the flash off-camera, you can easily put the flash closer to the subject than you normally could, if you left it on top of the D70. Remember, flash to subject distance is of great importance in flash photography (or at least that's what I keep reading)

It's all a learning curve....

Thank you everyone, if i get invited back i will have a shot at using the sb600 off camera. Never really thought about it while doing the shoot.

My mate chose the location, and makeup and wardrobe and i just squeezed the shutter button, and kept out of her way. I think she was going for the "out of place" look, im not sure.

Using manual flash intimidates me a bit, as i don't know how to set the camera exposure and flash exposure together to get a good result, it all seems like a lot of trial and error, which was something i didnt' have the time for.

I tried to fix this one up.... not sure how well i did, but its definately an improvement.

Perhaps a little too lightened now Matty - about 3/4 of of what you've done here would probably be about right.