On the first day of school, photare is a tradition at our house. I know many people are doing the same thing this morning and posting these photos to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and anywhere else they can celebrate and preserve those precious memories.

Now taking photos just before my daughter leaves for school meant I was outside taking these photos at 7:15 am. The sun had been up for a short time, so it was still not all that bright.

Without a flash, the settings were ISO 6400, ƒ/7.1 @ 1/70. I am always in favor of using a flash when there is no excellent directional light with the available light.

Here is the lighting diagram I used over and over this morning:

The rule of thumb I use for placing my flash, which will be my leading light, is 45º to the left or right of the model about the camera as well. I also try to put the flash’s height to about 45º above the camera and the model.

Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/7.1, 1/70—Neewer TT850 on light stand. The Neewer 433MHz Wireless 16 Channel Flash Remote Trigger fires the off-camera flash and controls the camera’s power. Power 1/128

The light position height controls the shadow from the light coming across the person’s nose that touches the lips.

Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/7.1, 1/70—Neewer TT850 on light stand. The Neewer 433MHz Wireless 16 Channel Flash Remote Trigger fires the off-camera flash and controls the camera’s power. Power 1/128

Now I moved around the yard to find this location. The sprinklers just watered the grass, so I didn’t want to get my daughter all wet before school. The photos above are pretty nice for this morning.

I did start on our driveway and tried to find an excellent green background. The problem with my taste was it was just a little too dark.

Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/7.1, 1/40—Neewer TT850 on light stand. The Neewer 433MHz Wireless 16 Channel Flash Remote Trigger fires the off-camera flash and controls the camera’s power. Power 1/128

I dialed down the Neewer TT850 to the lowest 1/128th power and did this with the Neewer 433MHz Wireless 16 Channel Flash Remote Trigger. Next, I dialed the ƒ-stop up to ƒ/7.1 to be sure my daughter’s skin was well exposed.

I recommend starting with the available light and the flash down when your exposure uses ISO 6400. Make sure your sync speed is the same or slower than your camera’s. For the Fuji X-E2, that is 1/180.

Early morning was making the best of the time of day for the first day of school photos. I used a similar setup in the afternoon when the light was brighter just a week ago.

The only real difference is the light is on the right side rather than the left, and it was much brighter than today, shooting at 7:15 am.

I love this simple setup for portraits. The Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm—Neewer TT850 & The Neewer 433MHz Wireless 16 Channel Flash Remote Trigger to fire the off-camera flash and control the power from the camera. If I were doing more headshots, I would have switched or at least shot more with the FUJINON XF 55-200mm.

Here are those photos from a week ago.

Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 400, ƒ/5, 1/180—Neewer TT850 on light stand. The Neewer 433MHz Wireless 16 Channel Flash Remote Trigger fires the off-camera flash and controls the power from the camera.

Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 400, ƒ/5, 1/180—Neewer TT850 on light stand. The Neewer 433MHz Wireless 16 Channel Flash Remote Trigger fires the off-camera flash and controls the power from the camera.

Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 400, ƒ/5, 1/180—Neewer TT850 on light stand. The Neewer 433MHz Wireless 16 Channel Flash Remote Trigger fires the off-camera flash and controls the power from the camera.

Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 400, ƒ/5, 1/180—Neewer TT850 on light stand. The Neewer 433MHz Wireless 16 Channel Flash Remote Trigger fires the off-camera flash and controls the camera’s power.