One thing that has really worked for me (I'm 6'4") with high and low shots is my 90 degree angle view finder attachment. It allows you to look down through the eyepiece into the finder.

But it rotates, so you've got a 360 degree travel for it so you can shot from the side while angled up to your eye. OR, you can be at ground level and shoot up through flowers etc. in the MACRO world.

It takes a little getting used to and can, initially, cause some disorientation, but it's a solution.

Another solution is a body with a tilting LCD Screen. Then you can have the Triod at its most stable (shortest skinniest legs retracted, column down) and look at your scene like with the "Waist level finder" of the old Twin Lens Reflexes's and other medium format Reflexes. Plus you've got all the world of Live View shooting to use.

Great for portraits with a seated model, also.

And you'll never have to call the Fork Lift to get up off your knees. Very embarrassing at a Church Wedding.

With a 12" tripod, the small Aluminum Gitzo's should be wuite manageable. As far as a Gitzo anything for $100, may be another story. However, if you do buy a Gitzo of any kind, it will last for a lifetime.

An option is to get the free Kindle reader app for your smart phone. Then you can also download the book there in addition to where you intended. Now, you can have the book with you in the field without carrying it.

Back in the day, HDR required sufficient darkroom skills that automatically separated the seasoned photographers from t'others. The results were unusual and breathtaking.

Today, with the tools available, in camera, no less, it is certain that people will use them somewhat less discriminately. With predictable results.

The same could be said for effects like color--Gee Whizzz. Or toning or re-touching or air brushing or dodging or burning, or push processing or alternative developers, or fixers, or maybe even a patina from an Enlarger Lens.

With the experience and hard earned craftsmanship, hopefully comes restraint and tasteful application of "technique." With the ability to get an effect, appropriate or not, with a mouse click, perhaps one's artistic decision making hasn't caught up to the technology.

Remember the old saying, "Just because you can doesn't mean that you should."

Twin lens reflex, as in a Rollei (fles or cord), Mamia Duo. I even had a Kodak Duoflex.

As the son, grandson and father of Land Surveyors, I'll say that the added benefit to both eyes open looking through the eyepiece is those beer trucks and graders etc. get onto you really fast.

I've also ducked some foul balls and runaway bikes while shooting Little League and High School ball.

I find two eyes enhanced my compositional balance. Critical focusing and smidgen adjustments, sure one eyed works better. But initial framing using two eyes is great.

Take all the replies to heart. There are enough You Tubes on B_H Event Space and Adorama Learning center to get you on track. I found that using some inexpensive manual flashes with inexpensive diffusion or "collapsible softbox" attachments work great. Three lights, main, fill and hair (and choose hair over fill) and let it spill onto the background to kill shadows can get your stuff looking good. Use optical slaves because they're cheaper and work OK. You can trigger these off a pop up--in your rig has one, or a simple safe (not too high a feed back current) hot shoe flash. Speedlites are better but cost as much as a new camera.

If I remember correctly, the photographer wasn't expensive, or free, for my kids. It was the prints. So, in either case, this young lady's family will end up spending a bunch for those many give away and graduation insert prints and the nice 8X10 or 11x14 keepsake. So, getting the "shots" may not be the solution to the money problem.

I've had a Kirk Enterprises, from Indiana, Ball head for over a decade. It had worked flawlessly. Also, reallyrightstuff's stuff is really right, too.

They use the Arca Swiss quick release mechanism and they're spendy. BUT it will be the last one you buy unless you need an additional one.

Excellent answer Necon. Also, in a group shot, be sure to ahve the darkest complected faces closes to the light. Window, flash, overhead lighting and use diffused fill flash by putting a white handkerchief (tissues work) 1 or 2 folds over the pop up or on camera flash. By aligning the group according to incident light, you will also fairly expose the lighter skinned subjects better. It is a real balancing act. But it IS photography vs snapshots. That's why we got those dials and buttons.

As Necon says, you meter is trying to expose a Zone II tone face as if it were a Zone VI, Turning it into looking like a tuxedo jacket. That face needs to be exposed 1+, maybe 2 stops wider than you meter, by using exposure compensation. Use your screen to check and re-expose. And your friends will appreciate your concern and consideration. After a number of years, being the featureless spots in group photos sets very old.

SO, I'm told.

OR, as they do in California, they will bill you as if every penny of income was earned through taxable sales.
Not so easy if you're not filing witht eh State in teh first place like in NV, TX, Florida and anyplace else???

I cut the corner piece from a frosted plastic milk or juice carton and tape that over the pop up flash. It does wonders and it's free! Have a great party. Beware of photographing under the influence. And have a great trip to Norway!!

Have a Pint for me.

This is a great exercise right out of Photo 1. Some Portrait classes actually have Mannequin heads @ 18% gray for students to set up their lighting with or without different color wigs. With DSLR's and the LCD instant feedback, flash photography, with a few exercises like this one can be self taught--and learned and internalized an intuitive!

To answer the question, yes, this should yield normal exposure. Flash Light--in any form has a harsh hard appearance, especially when bare and close to the human (especially) subject. That's why we like to modify it and balance the lighting with ambient, indoor or out. And the ability to do that is with flash compensation. Light modifiers like snoots and softboxes, Stofen, plastic covers, etc, do that too.

So, it is an automatic control method to balance your exposure. So, maybe try different mixes to see what works for your scene.

The great benefit is the LCD on the camera that will give you instant feedback to help you set up your lighting to fit. And avoid that ultra shiny forehead and red eye look that makes your $2k DSLR/Speelight rig look line the green drugstore disposable.

With a heavy emphasis on BEING THERE! You miss ALL the shots you don't take---per Mr. Gretzky.

You broke the code on how the old "Brownie" cameras worked. Their focal lengths were middle wide like a 35 or 40mm on our 35mm or APS-C's. Then all you did was, truly point and shoot. The Drugstore one time film cameras still work that way. So, f11 @ 30-40mm would do the job. The fuzziness you'll see will be far more from camera shake that from focus. And, of course you can fix that with a faster shutter and higher ISO.