No Editing.........

I used strobe kit on this, no editing, just crop & resize
C&C Appreciated

i think you still need more light on the left hand side of the shot as we are looking at it, instead of being in shadow it has an orange tint to it, good eye contact though, i'd love to have a play with this one Kathy

Thanks Sharon, it was my first play with these lights. Quite a learning experience...practice arranging the lights, eh?

Play away if you like

yes Kathy a great big learning curve, i've not bought any expensive lights and even with the ones i have it's all a big juggling act to get them just right, all you can do is keep practicing and showing us and we can then tell you where we think you have gone wrong or right, i know when i'm doing portraits it's easy to think you have it all set up the way you want and just keep firing shots off but i find that if you take your time and try different positions for the lights after each shot you find what suits best in the long run then later you find it all comes together without as much thought, i'm off to have a play with your shot, but only to fix what I think is wrong and try my new technique on it

ok i had a play and before i started i did a quick levels adjustment and lightened up the dark side of the shot, removed a few blemishes, sharpened and then put the new technique to work, hope you like it Kathy

Wow !! That looks great Sharon, your new technique is awesome with the makeup redo !!
The light kit I got was by no means expensive. There is no way I could afford the setups like some of you guys have. But the set I got is good enough to learn with, and than maybe down the road sometime I might be able to add.
I got the set from ebay, which is something I have never done before.

Hey Kathy....Enjoy playing with those lights.... Practice will make perfect!!!

Sharon, great job on the photoshopping!!!

Kathy, experiment iwth having the light at different angles. Do you have a soft box? If so, try that too..... It will kind of "soften" the light coming out of your strobes. You can always make a something with even an old picture frame, with something as simple as a white dish towel stretched over it, to block out some of the light from the strobes....

key words...practice, practice, practice!!!

Well done Kathy - you are braver than me. My first 'experiments' with my new studio light set were.................... oh! Dear!!!
As Tracy says "Practice, practice and practice more..............."

Just wish I had the time.

Keep going Kathy.......................

John

Thanks Guys !!

Tracy, my kit came with 2 soft boxes, an umbrella with both gold & white for the inside, a barndoor and colored gels. I used one soft box and the umbrella with the gold reflector in it. I had the umbrella on her right side, the soft box on her left. I had the softbox aiming directly at her for a few shots and then angled it up 45 degrees, I probably should have had the umbrella aimed down some also.

John, If I am brave enough to post my firsts shots........
I'm sure yours are good, they have to be better than mine !!!!

Hopefully today I will get to play some more :)

Kathy, one thing that I learned from Stephen Faust when I was out in Boston a couple of years ago... Try this one...use just one soft box, and shoot it head on, as far away as you can get in didtance, with you standing in front of the camera....I get some nice results with this one..... No other lights necessary.

Thanks Tracy, I will give that a try !!