cgardner
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 p.1 #2 · Snowy Portrait - Single SB-600 | |
Given the situation you describe the best strategy would be to put the back of the subject to the sun and use fill flash in high speed sync mode.
High speed sync will allow you to use wider apertures yet still keep the snow in the background from blowing out in the bright sun. Keeping the sun to the back of the girl will help minimize squinting and harsh lighting patterns on the face which are are difficult to fill. The light reflecting off the snow around her will provide considerable fill so you may find you don't need very much fill flash. But bright light reflected off the snow can also cause squinting.
One of the things fill flash does in a backlit situation is create catchlights in the eyes. The size of the catchlights will literally be a refection of the flash. For bigger more flattering catchlights you can add a reflection/diffuser to your flash LINK
Remember that lighting, in the holistic sense, is the sum of the light and what reflects it and for a portrait the goal is to make the FRONT of the face contrast more with the background than anything else. A clothing consultation with the parents can have a big impact on the effectiveness of the portraits, in the sense of making the face the natural center of attention. Doing that is mostly a matter of eliminating other distractions, the biggest being the clothing.
On white its mostly color contrast, not tonal contrast with will attract the eye of the viewer to the face. She might look really cute in person in that pink snow suit, but in the photos it will be difficult to separate the suit from the face. Lighter non-distracting clothing will make the face a stronger center of attention in the portraits, especially the wider full body shots.
Chuck
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