I FINALLY got my speedlight OFF CAM

[Sean Setters]

There's nothing wrong with the light position, per se, but the lighting doesn't make the images "sing," either. It isn't punchy, and therefore doesn't pull you into the image. Maybe it's the intensity of the light--it's just too well balanced between highlight, shadow, and the light falling on the background. And if you placed the light just slightly higher, and not so far over to one side, it might look better.

Take this shot I did today, for example:


December in Cookeville by budrowilson, on Flickr

I used one light (granted, a monolight), shot in raw, and never looked at the histogram. Truth be told, it was a bit overexposed in the RAW, but I pushed it down a touch in DPP and then PS. Is this the best shot I've ever taken of myself? Not even close. But the light succeeds in pulling the viewer right to my face, the brightest part of the image, right where I want them to look. The light was also purposefully placed so that it just barely reached under my thick brow line to illuminate my eyes. Is the skin on my face overexposed? Yes--and it's exactly the way I wanted it.

So yeah, placement is important--generally speaking, the light has to seem to be motivated by something. That's why we typically place mainlights noticeably above eye level. The placement mimics what we're used to seeing--overhead lighting (from the sun or typical interior lighting).

Keep experimenting. Browse through images, find the ones you like, and deconstruct how they were done. Try to copy them, or impart your own spin on the image. Shoot boat-loads of shots...it's the best way to learn what you want your style to be. And just for the record, I shot 34 frames today--all but this went into the recycle bin. I failed to achieve what I considered a Flickr-postable image 33 out of 34 attempts. I've learned a 'ell of a lot more from failure than I ever did from success.