Outdoor portraits

The key to outdoor flash portraits is - in my opinion - OFF CAMERA FLASH. Today this means using radio triggers. I use Cactus V6ii and Godox X-Pro triggers and flashes to match these. In this album I'll show how it's normally done.

The flash is supposed to add the missing light, soften/fill in shadows and provide catch lights in eyes.
1. Place the subject in the shadow with a pretty and preferably a sun lit background.
2. Set the camera settings according to the background, Choose a higher ISO if a large flash output is needed. The less flash output you need to make a proper exposure (face), the more natural the image will be.
3. I prefere shooting with the flash(es) in M mode. Set output according to some testshots. You may use TCM (Godox, ...) in order to convert a successful TTL setting to a Manual flash setting. This may reduce the number of needed test shots significantly.
4. Shoot with the camera in the eye level of the subject. Focus, Frame, Fire - is a proper and well known procedure. Use a short tele photo lens in order to achieve a narrow depth of field (blurry bakground). Use f/f4-f/5.6. If a very short shutter speed is needed (beyond normal flash sync speed) you must set the flash unit to HSS (High Speed Sync). Godox triggers can manage this setting for all Godox flashes.
5. Enjoy.