A first start

After spending hours reading many of the posts on Strobist, I decided to take my new-found courage of using strobes and put it to use. Now, I've done the single light strobe off camera set-up before, but the last time I remember doing it well was when I interned at The Recorder in 2005. Since then my confidence has been lacking. So, after receiving a photo request to cover two local women who have started their own business creating chic reusable shopping bags, I decided to dust off the ol' light stand and umbrella. Lucky for me the ladies were all done up because they had had a TV interview an hour or so before my shoot, and were already giggly and in good spirits. I suggested we get a nice photo in a supermarket, preferably the produce aisle to go with the whole "being green" motif. I ended up having them stand back to back with their bags by the veggies flashed with an umbrella on my right. Hokey looking? Sure. And I could have dialed down the ambient light a little more or adjusted the strobe so it looks more natural and less strobe-y. And what's with the weird color cast in the back? I really need to practice getting better white balance readings or using flash gels to compensate. But definetely a more dramatic step above just having them pose in front of the grocery store with natural sunlight (yawn).