foto feedback

Britt says …

In the past couple of weeks I’ve shot groups of people outside, and used the sun as well as my SB-800 with the umbrella. The first one was sort of a promotional shot of a woman Punky, who sells vintage clothes out of her Haberdash trailer. Professional models were posed standing around her showing the clothing. I cranked the power on the flash in hopes that it would be slightly obvious a light source other than the sun was used. I wanted it to have that exaggerated feel of beautiful models outside lit as if they were in a studio with seamless. Effective?

Here’s another outside group shot. Again, I wanted the exaggerated superstar feel. I wish I had two lights for this, and the sun was pretty much down by the time these kids got their act together. What’s the best way to light a group like this with one light?

One last group shot. This one was much easier to control. I had to show a family of Iraqi refugees in their home. Composition okay? Boring light? I like that one girl isn’t looking at the camera, what about you?

Scott says …

Some good stuff here.

In the trailer fashion shot, I’m doubting that your SB800 in an umbrella was doing any good. But there’s an easy way for you to tell in the moment — shoot one frame with the strobe and one without and take a look.

You might’ve got better results had you ditched the umbrella and used bare flash. But to overpower the sun for a big group like this takes a lot of power. However, your SB800 can produce some nice fill. Try it on a stand, about six feet up, just slightly camera left.

But the photos still works. Although I would’ve liked to see Punky a few feet closer to the camera.

The group shot of the crazy bros shows great one-light lighting. Nothing fancy, but you definitely got the light in the right place.

And the Iraqi refugees — I dunno, I’ve never really seen an effective family-on-the-couch group shot, and I’ve done my fair share of them. I don’t have a good alternative for you, but I will say this: Ask for a bit more time and try a few other places in the house. Maybe the kitchen. Maybe the porch. Force yourself to improvise and you’ll probably find yourself coming up with something better than you originally envisioned.

(And no, I wish the girl on the left was looking at the camera, too. But what do I know?)