First Strobist Portrait C&C

[Twelvevoltguy]

Ok so this was taken yesterday evening and is my first attempt at an off camera strobist approach. I am fairly happy with the lighting and sharpness of the photo, just wondering what everyone else thinks. Also, what can i do in PP to give it more "POP"? I tweaked a little on skin tones, burned background, and slightly adjusted curves but i know there is so much more.

Also - this was her first "real" shoot ever and she did very well, trying to help her build a portfolio, what do y'all think?

[HotHolly]

Good 1st try. Try holding the light on the other side when the girl has big bangs like that - her bangs are casting a shadow on her eye and face. You can also use butterfly lighting and still get that 2nd eye and top facial plane. You'll get better range with dark hair if you have a hair light. You can even use a reflector. Makes a BIG difference.

I woulda turned her to light her short and pulled her off the background a bit. I light everything short lately though...its more dramatic and skinny-ify-ing.

Is that one of those steel shed/ barn thingies? I shot strobist style by one recently over here. You can light the background too with a separate flash. Hide it behind the person. It's FUN! Isnt it?

btw - I think it was brilliant of you to choose that background with her complexion and her eye color. Great color scheme. Its popular right now too (blue & brown). If you had more light in both eyes, they would really POP.

[texxter]

Here are my suggestions

- Color renders incorrectly because it's Adobe RGB. Convert to sRGB for online viewing.
- Adjust curves
- Sharpen eyes a little
- A bit of skin smoothing
- Crop

[Twelvevoltguy]

Hot holly - Thank you for your feedback. I was just using a single flash during this shoot, so no light for the background, but hopefully i will obtain a couple more soon.

The backdrop was actually an old time country store I found on the side of a road while driving through bristol. It just caught my eye as very country.

Texxter - thank you for your suggestions - I do like that crop and the curves adjustment. I was always taught that Adobe RGB was the way to go because of the wider gamut, is this not true, or just for online?

[texxter]

AdobeRGB has wider gamut than sRGB but you should convert to sRGB if the image is going to be viewed on a monitor screen.