Actually, I mostly agree with him. A flash is going to be a point light very close to the lens plane, giving you a pretty flat light. My rationale for flash is not for illumination, but just for catch-light.
On location, I find I'm using flass less. I prefer to use a 4' reflector on a tripod. It's a soft light source, while also able to illuminate from a broad angle off-axis from the lens.
Just remember they psychology involved - that the eyes are "windows to the soul, yada yada". There is a large emotional and psychological component to the eyes.
Thanks Paul, I'll keep that in mind next time I do a shot like this. The reason I shot without flash, was that, I attended a photo workshop, where the instructor, Doug Gordon, instructed us not to use flash and, it works for him. You can google him and check out his work and you'll see what I mean. As for the smoov factor, I'll try to adjust for the next post. Thanks again, jim
The tilt was totally unintentional, it was me not hold the camera straight. I didn't see it until it was too late, should have adjusted that. I like what you did though, adds a nice dimension to the photo. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks jim
The part of the shot with just them can be salvaged; they're extremely photogenic and the pose is great. The background however is too blow out. You would have to drop in another background and blur it out to give good DOF and not distract from them. The only other thing I can think of is to take this totally high key.
I came at it a bit different than Paul (although he is the master not me). I think your tilt doesn't quite work, it is just off a tiny bit, so make it like you meant it. I also increased the saturation. As Paul said darken the plateform, which I also did. Catch lights, great idea, tried to put some in, but too much work to get it right. So here is my take....
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