CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

The majority of my business this time of year is High School Seniors. This is a special one for me as she is the daughter of a long-time family friend. A competitive ski racer of many years, she is done with the competition and is now a teacher/coach. Lovely young lady and REALLY smart. What a joy to make her portraits.

Nikon D810,Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8. All shot at f/2.8 except #1-the blue top - that was at f/4.0
Lighting was a Flashpoint XPLOR 600 HSS TTL. All were shot in TTL and HSS except #1 at 1/160.

berchman Loc: South Central PA

Very pleasing portraits.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Nice session!

Good use of available light and great background treatment.

Tikva Loc: Waukesha, WI

What a pleasing selection. I certainly hope she and her family appreciate the work that you did. There is something special about it. I think your good feelings toward this girl come through in your photos.

Treepusher Loc: Kingston, Massachusetts

Very nicely done. Pretty girl and excellent work.

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

She has hair like my younger daughter, my older daughter would kill for a mane like that. (so would I, but I would appreciate ANY hair)
I know we've discussed it in other sections before, I just don't have luck with TTL. Not sure if it is a metering thing, or just the wrong flashes, or just too set in my ways, and am just more familiar with changing settings myself.

Every time I see images that you post, I beat myself up for not practicing and getting better with TTL, you are proof that it can work.

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

TTL certainly is not 100% reliable, but it sure beats having to meter and re-meter every time the subject-to-flash distance changes. I do think the performance of this Flashpoint 600 HSS TTL unit is remarkable in its accuracy. It is still necessary to check the camera LCD/histogram and adjust the flash output if background brightness changes or if there is a significant change in flash-to-subject distance. But overall, this unit is outstanding with about the same output as an Einstein unit with HSS and TTL as a huge bonus. And the battery lasts all day.

It is true if you think that TTL will give you perfect exposures every time as conditions change, you will be disappointed.

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

With some recent setbacks, I may just get a Vagabond mini to hold me over with my white lighting 1600.
The HSS is the part that I would really miss. I think that's the main reason that I haven't moved from multiple hot shoe flashes to a battery powered strobe. My YN622 TX and the YN 685 strobes (I use 3 on one stand) do the trick, but once in a while, one doesn't fire, or something happens, and my exposure goes wonky.

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

"...Lovely young lady..." Agreed CaptainC... Intriguing compositional elements... Elegant pose dynamics... Charismatic radiant smile... You obviously bonded well with your client here... The synergy shows...

Thank you for sharing...

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

Amazing portraits, Cliff!
Your work is consistently wonderful.
Technical question: which transmitter are you using for the 600? I am eyeing the new one with the TCM (TTL Convert to Manual) feature. http://flashhavoc.com/flashpoint-r2-pro-godox-xpro-c-transmitter-announced/

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

I JUST received that transmitter yesterday. For this session I was using the original. That one works fine, but as you know, the new one is easier to use.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

Been eyeing it on the internet, not first hand, but it looks fantastic. Some great innovations in the last few years. Still, composing and lighting have always been key.

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

OK - Spent some time this morning playing with the new trigger and it has a new feature that is terrific. It is the TTL Convert to Manual or TCM. WE know how TTL is a wonderful tool, but can deliver the occasional weird exposure based on just what the reflectance was or just plain strange. Now, with TCM, take the shot and if you like the exposure, convert it to Manual for consistent power output until you change it. Of course we can still adjust the manual output in one third stop increments in that mode. To get out, just push the TTL button and you are back in TTL.

When Using the Good or Flashpoint strobes, the trigger allows us to turn the modeling light on and off from the trigger. Since these are battery units, using the modeling lights for an extended period is not a good idea, so the ability to turn it on - check it - and then turn off from the camera is genius.

Of course with the correct Nikon or Canon receiver units, we can control our flashes from this trigger also. For studio use I still prefer my Einstein units, but for location/outdoor stuff, this is superior. Of course with the optical slave function, this can be added to the Einstein mix if an additional light is needed.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

Remotely switching the modeling lights is another feature I like.

Stanhope Loc: New York City

All teenage girls are gorgeous.