chikid68 Loc: Tennesse USA

very good link

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

KG speaks with wisdom here... i.e. what KG said...
Mastery of off camera speedlites is a huge task... there are no shortcuts...
Test, retest and test again and again... record you efforts.
btw, commercial shooters will likely never forget to shoot a color target between each change of illumination...
without an accurate color target shot you are only guessing and your eye will lie to you... word...

Thank you KG for providing wisdom on the thread...
you are a asset to others on UHH...

Bipod

Just chiming in late to suggest one more possibility:

Since the sun hasn't completely set, a collapsible reflector might work. It would match the ambient light perfectly
and be much more diffuse than a flash--and is very inexpensive. But you'd need somebody to hold it.

Substitute a reflector for fill flash and I think you'll be amazed how much better it looks.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

It looks like direct flash is one problem, use a diffuser like a Lite Scoop next time. Another is the ambient light. With flash, you have two light sources - ambient light and the flash. You can reduce the effect of ambient light by using the following settings with a TTL capable flash: flash in TTL mode, camera in Manual mode with High Speed Shutter synch enabled (if you can do that), ISO 400, F4.5, and test with high shutter speeds to see how much darkening you want in the background. The TTL flash will control exposure on the subject, the shutter speed will affect exposure from ambient light. Start at 1/200 and go up. You should get a noticeable darkening in the background with 1/800 second or faster even on a bright day.

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

You can retouch you head off to no avail! The control of specular highlights or the control thereof is a function of lighting. Of course you can soften the image, clone out the highlights, use a healing tool or do all kids of retouching, but the results are usually flat waxen skin tones and textures. The more you mess with this- the worse it gets.

Flash gets a bad rap when, it is used improperly. A "wink" of on-camera flash can be used to fill shadows IF the natural ligh is right or properly controlled. When working out of door, you need to FIND the light that somewhat simulates the direction of studio lighting. At certain times of day there is directional light or reflectors or gobos can be used to control the lighting aesthetics.

Highlights on the face are not defects as long as the are placed properly. There are diffuse highlights and specular highlights- The diffuse highlight contain more detail and texture and the specular ones are brighter but should retain some detail- not blown out completely.

Highlights are the function of angle of incidence and ligh beam control. Any flash or natural ligh source that is off the camera/subject axis is gonna cause some highlights. Feathered light, that is, ligh skinning the subject from the edge of the beam, will usually produce more even lighting with better highlight detail.

"Sheen" is a funny word! You don't want the highlights to look "greasy" or "sweaty" but if the is a total absence of highlights, especially in a beach or out door portrait, the image will seem very unnatural. Some of the shots you see on magazine covers and fashion spreads entail extremely heavy makeup and very diffused lighting- some of it looks totally unnatural.

Study up on some of the basic portrait lightnings- butterfly, loop, 45 degree (Rembrandt) split, rim (profile) and kicker lighting. Many of theses can be simulated in existing light environments- once you get to know the look of each basic style.

Bipod

So true: the more you retouch, the worse it will look. The original lighting
may not be flatttering, but at least it's real.

To fix the light in a photograph, one has to fix the lighting, then re-shoot.
There is no short-cut.

If you know enough art to retouch a photo as if it had been taken in a different
light, then why bother with the photo? You know enough to paint the scene!

Light interacts with even the most mundane objects is very complex ways--
especially in color. Check out this painting by CA artist Boyd Gavin:
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/92/c3/d9/92c3d972e50f85eb57f15548fce88ff6--good-art-gavin-oconnor.jpg

Obviously, knowing where to put the highlights is not a simple matter--
it's far easier to learn where to put the lights.