Outdoor Portraits - Advice on eliminating shadows

[ddt0725]

This morning I attempted to take some shots down by the lake of my daughter and one of our dogs. It is about the 3rd time that I have tried to get some decent shots of the two down there. I have tried different times of day and the shadows always end up too harsh. So, my question is will one speedlight fix the problem or is this too much for speedlights to handle? What would be the best modifier to use on it ..umbrella or softbox? Which filters would work best. Would just a reflector work? Is the only solution a large setup with strobes or something?

Here are two of the photos I took this morning to use for critquing of what the best solutions would be. I know they are horrendous, that is why they are being used as examples. Granted, a less windy day would be needed for any type of setup but is the only solution to wait for cloudy days?

The only thing I used was a polarizer filter and I attempted to use NIK Viveza on the shadows but it didn't help much. I tried having them situated in many different directions of the sun. I know #1 it would be best for her to take her glasses off, they are thick glass since she has very bad eyesight and they only add shadows and distortion but she would still have squinty eyes due to the sun!

I've never used reflectors before, approx. how far away do they reflect so they are not in the photo if you are taking a full-body portrait to include some scenic background?

Sorry for all the questions!! Ok, on to the pictures ...what would have solved the shadow problem in these two for example? I am looking for the smallest, easiest to use and least expensive solutions that would at least minimize the problem where maybe in post I can fix the rest with maybe NIK Viveza. She'll never go for a huge setup being put up on the beach and we are usually walking and moving around alot anyway!





Here are a few I took on a different day at a different time of day with still the same probem ...



This last one I actually edited the shadow off of her arm because it was real bad ...



Any advice would be appreciated since right now I'm looking at my only choices are a cloudy day or giving up on the idea. The second choice is what my daughter votes for ...LOL!

[Sean Setters]

A reflector probably wouldn't be the best solution for you (especially if you don't have someone to hold it for you). Do you still have a lightstand and a way to trigger an off-camera speedlight?

[Jayson]

Denise, is there any way to get her to put her back to the sun? If so you could use you pop-up flash for fill (just dial the flash comp down) or an on camera speedlight. If you wanted to take a little more time and set up, then take Sean's advice (he knows much more than I do about OCF). I have to use my speedlight on camera when chasing my boys around when I try to photograph them with no help and the results aren't awesome but are still pretty good. You wont have to worry about red eye because it is already bright outside.

Most of these are taken in that manner...my family photo shoot.

[ddt0725]

I do still have one lightstand and I still use the Yongnuo RF-602's. I have one 580EX II and one 430EX II.

[ddt0725]

Denise, is there any way to get her to put her back to the sun? If so you could use you pop-up flash for fill (just dial the flash comp down) or an on camera speedlight. If you wanted to take a little more time and set up, then take Sean's advice (he knows much more than I do about OCF). I have to use my speedlight on camera when chasing my boys around when I try to photograph them with no help and the results aren't awesome but are still pretty good. You wont have to worry about red eye because it is already bright outside.

Most of these are taken in that manner...my family photo shoot.

The shots of your boys are really nice. I will just try having the flash on camera and see how much that helps.

[andnowimbroke]

That time of day, you'd need a big screen and prolly a reflector on the other side. If going lightweight, I'd just catalog the location and wait for a cloudy day.

[Sean Setters]

You might want to try one of the flashes, on a stand (bare) on the shadow side. Basically, you'd have the power set to offset the shadow as much as possible. If that doesn't work, then you might try an umbrella really close with a tighter framing.

[KenK]

Take a look at Syl Arena's Speedlighter's Handbook, it has an amazing wealth of advice. I have tried one of the techniques, which is to underexposse the ambient light and manually zoom the flash for fill.

[DavidEccleston]

The cheapest option is open shade, but that won't generally work at the beach or spontaneous/candid shots.

[ddt0725]

The cheapest option is open shade, but that won't generally work at the beach or spontaneous/candid shots.

Thanks for the link. No there isn't much shade at the beach area that we were at. But I did pretty much the same thing of shooting from all directions trying to find what would work best. We even went again right before dinner hoping later in the day would be better but apparently it wasn't late enough. I did bring a flash with but it really didn't help much. Plus our dog was getting pretty adament that he would rather be chasing birds than looking at me!