Critique: Portraits of Mark's Dad

Happy Labor Day! Let's jump right to it. During the weekend I had the opportunity to shoot some photos of my buddy Mark's dad. In this first photo, I don't like the overall darkness of the lit part of his face. The flash was set at 1/4-1/2 power and shot through an umbrella. It was midnight, so there was very little ambient light. Upping the power of the flash or opening up the aperture, washed out his face. Should I have moved the umbrella closer to his face? Farther? More investigation and experimentation is needed. Photo info: 52.5mm focal length, f/6.3, 1/250 sec, ISO 200, 1/4 or 1/2 flash power, 24mm flash zoom, shoot-through umbrella, 12:38 am In the next photo, Mark held up aluminum foil next to the right side of his dad's face to provide some fill light. I like the effect. It's certainly cheaper than buying an additional flash, but not as convenient for me because I can only be at one place at one time and I can't afford an assistant. :-) Photo info: 52.5mm focal length, f/5, 1/250 sec, ISO 200, 1/4 or 1/2 flash power, 24mm flash zoom, shoot-through umbrella, 12:39 am Setup shot with Mark holding up the aluminum foil. Notice how far the umbrella is from Mark's dad! Photo info: 52.5mm focal length, f/5, 1/250 sec, ISO 200, 1/4 or 1/2 flash power, 24mm flash zoom, shoot-through umbrella, 12:39 am There's still so much to learn!