A great portrait depends on various factors. Composition, Light, Model. When one of those 3 fails, the picture fails. In here I will show you the set-up we did on a shot last night, in fading daylight, 2 remote triggered flashes, a reflector, and a willing Model: Fran.
First test-shot about the flash placement.

We see all light needs to be adjusted, and so does the angle (of course). So I dropped down on my knees, and made the second shot.

better, but I want there be more of a surrounding feeling, so I change my lens from the 28mm f2.8 prime lens, to an 18-105mm f3.5-5.6 lens. Since we are using flash, we can use a closer aperture.

The model placement is fine, now we need the back light to be more direct, and we need a front light. The model needs to look a bit looser, so we loosen her hair.

And the jacket

The back and keylights are fine. But we are missing a fill light. Enter a gold reflector.

That’s more like it! Now we work with the model. Fran is a musician, so not a professional model. So we have to catch her off-guard, and make her smile.

That’s nice!
And now we let her look off-camera, and make her work that gorgeous smile!

finished shot, cropped for dramatic reasons to a 8×10. All in all, a very nice day. and again, a thanks the _NF_ for the material. :)