rob_h5

Shot with a French Angeniuex 35-70mm f2.5 zoom lens and Canon

full frame digital

This photo was taken with a rare Angenieux French cinema zoom

known for its beautiful pastel colors and Bokeh.

Meir & Fred, first thank you for your feedback. Here is what happened with this outdoor model headshot of this gorgeous Native American Indian model...

Only NATURAL lighting was used. There is NO FLASH used in this photograph. This was shot on an OVERCAST /CLOUDY / MIXED SUNLIGHT in late afternoon day. The catchlights you see in her eyes is a simple silver reflector. Only natural light and a silver reflector is used here. There is no red-eye as red eye is not even possible without flash. You dont see ANY shadows here because the day is cloudy, the sun is low and sunlight is DIFFUSED because of the clouds. Silver reflectors are HIGHLY REFLECTIVE and need to be used with care to avoid double shadow and the reflective light became the fill light for this HIGH KEY shot light ratio of 2:1. This is what is giving her the nice GLOW/HIGHLIGHTS in her face. It is also adding FILL LIGHT to her under neck and under eyes. A common mistake you see in photos is not using fill light which is why you will see shadows under the neck/eye sockets. This diffused light would be the studio equivalant of using a scrim/diffuser/softbox/translucent light panel fabric with strobe lights with reflector.. Sometimes scrims are used in outdoor shots with glamour/fashion to DIFFUSE harsh sunlight. No scrim was needed because the overcast clouds on that day was the DIFFUSER.

As for her expression/crop. In answer to Fred question: Models in fashion/glamour often use an expression-less smile and yet show teeth. This is different than portraiture... where it is more about the subject in REAL LIFE. So for portraits you might see more smiles and more teeth. Fashion/glamour is more fantasy. Crop wise I like to crop tight this is more of a style thing and more space at the top of her head would have also been FINE.  In general there are NO RULES in Art so if it looks good it is good. Although ANY lens will do, a FAST PRIME LENS works best for portrait/glamour/fashion in this case a Canon 135/2 L portrait lens was used here giving the detail, sharpness, bokeh and vibrant colors. In other words a good lens really helps! Hope I answer all your questions.