Loudbri Loc: Philadelphia

I found a great spot to capture the magic hour light. The toddler was really tough to get but I think I got lucky a few times. The teens was very co-operative, but I feel like I didn't do her justice despite having great light. No matter what I tried I could not get her to smile without squinting so her eyes look small. I had Mom hold a gold reflector for a few shots which helped, but she was mostly busy with the toddler. I tried shutter comp but mostly that gave me hot spots, or the shadow side of the face was to dark. I used fill flash then the light on one side of the face doesn't match the other. overall I feel like I let these people down despite being given an optimal situation.

What else should I try??


Is the reflector to harsh??

jtipps Loc: Dallas

#1 I would have turned her so there were no shadows and used the fill flash
#2 This is a beautiful photo but should have used the white instead of gold reflector and exposed for the dress so as not to blow it out and then maybe used the fill flash for the face. Cute girl.
#3 Same as #1 but just turn a little to the camera left to get the sun even but let it pick up on the hair. Not sure what caused the stark shadow on the hair camera left but needs to go away.
My 2 1/2 cents.

Merlin1300 Loc: New England, But Now & Forever SoTX

Too wide of a dynamic range for in-camera JPG. (shot 1, 3)
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Shoot RAW and recompress in post using 'fill light'
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Or - use fill flash.

Loudbri Loc: Philadelphia

thank you both