berchman Loc: South Central PA

36" StrobePro deep parabolic softbox left of camera, HoneyBadger Strobe
43" Westcott Apollo Orb softbox right of camera, HoneyBadger Strobe facing into the softbox
Fuji X-T2, 50-140 lens at 140mm, f/11 1/200 ISO 200
Handheld

I know the Apollo Orb is made for a speedlight, not a strobe. I think that if I put the strobe on a boom arm with a counter weight I can use it as intended with the pole of the light stand coming up through the zippered opening, rather than what I did which was to have the stand outside and the strobe pointing inwards.

berchman Loc: South Central PA

(Download)

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

Strobe, speedlight, a candle, flashlight, sun, LED panels, car headlights...all are light, and light is light. If you can fit a studio strobe into the orb, go for it.

This is pretty nice. It might be a bit hot on camera left, but nothing a bit of highlight recovery cannot handle. It looks like you have a good loop lighting pattern with the nose shadow going down and toward the corner of his mouth. By not closing off the shadow by having it NOT merge with the shadow on the cheek, it is a loop pattern, Had the two shadows connected, it would have been a Rembrandt pattern, Nice job. The term "loop" comes from the shadow under the nose which looks like a little loop. His mustache hides the detail a bit, but it is there.

As to the image a a whole, I would have liked to have seen his shoulders turn a bit away—his right shoulder moved away from us to put him on a bit of an angle. Then, have him turn his head back to the camera and maybe a slight tilt to the head. To add a bit of "movement" to images, it is good to consider having two of anything on slightly different levels. So a bit of a tilt puts the eyes on a slant. This is by no means a hard and fast rule - just something to consider. Keeps things from being too static.

I also think it is cropped a bit tight, but that is a personal thing. OH yeah, back to the lighting...good job! No glasses reflection!

CO

CaptainC has already given great critique. There's one thing I noticed that you might look at for the next photo. I learned that no part of the person being photographed (typically it will be hair or clothing), should blend in exactly with the background. It happens a lot with people who have very dark hair when they are being photographed in front of a black backdrop. In this photo, his shirt, on his left side, is blending in with the background. The very lower portion of his neck on that side has also gone completely black. You had the Apollo Orb softbox on that side. It could have created a little fill light on that side. You could still power it down and create a lighting ratio between the main and fill light.

A reflector on that side could also create some fill light. I have a Flashpoint ballhead telescoping reflector holder that I put on a light stand. The ballhead joint is great. You can quickly position it and lock it down. Adorama Camera carries the Flashpoint line.

(Download)

ronz Loc: Florida

I believe you have done a pretty good job for early on shooting. Right side of his face is a bit hot but could be taken care of in post. I don't care personally for the nearly straight on shot so would have turned him a bit and maybe used a bit of a reflector to show his shoulders. He has an interesting face and possibly a bit more shadow may have brought it out; however, he doesn't remind me of a seafarer type person so too much would not be him as I see it. I do believe turning him would solve the problem. Very nice first effort, experiment with various positions with different people.

berchman Loc: South Central PA

Thanks to all for your helpful suggestions.