"Summer Smiles"

"Summer Smiles"
© David A. Ziser

This was an image I made during my Sedona workshop last month.  We were walking through Sedona's popular Tlaquepaque shopping area where I spotted a walkway on the second level.  The arch and the scenery were beckoning my camera for a photograph.

I asked our model to get comfortable on the railing under the arch. I knew I had to throw the background as much out of focus as I could with meant opting for a large aperture.  The large aperture meant higher shutter speeds in this bright daylight situation and that meant I could use my off camera flash.  The flash would only sync up to 1/250 second and here I am sitting at 1/640 second for my exposure.

The easiest solution to this lighting dilemma was to use my super reflective Sunspotz reflector to bounce the sun's rays back onto my subject.  It worked like a charm.  The reflected light gave me the highlights I wanted while still holding detail in the shadows.  Alex's easy expression, long lanky diagonal pose in the center of the arch's opening, and radiant smile finished the portrait.

Camera specs: Canon 7D fitted with 70-200mm IS lens at 120mm, F3.2 @ 1/640 second, ISO 200.  Enjoy!  -David