For my second casual portrait session with Courtney, my goal was to balance ambient with artificial light. I wanted to create a sharp contrast with a slightly darker environment to have the main subject stand out in the frame. I soon realized what I did wrong, instead of packing my portable strobe that bursts a stronger light output, I chose to bring a single speed light that I triggered with a TTL remote! So overpowering the noon sunlight was not an option.

I love natural light, and there's something quite beautiful about getting a great shot with just a camera and knowing how to manage the kind of light that's available. However, I'm interested in taking portraits with a higher level of complexity and with a more refined look.

With this shoot, things didn't go according to plan because I didn't use the right equipment. I prefer to travel light when doing these type of projects; so overpacking to a photo shoot is just not for me. I’ll always choose to bring the essentials or even less if I have a solid idea of what I want to do. Knowing what you’ve got is not more important than learning when to use it.

Despite any technical setbacks that came up, this photo shoot with Courtney went quite well. We ended up with a set of dynamic and fun pictures; besides, I got to shoot in a location that kept calling me for as long as I remember. What's important is that I took note of what I should have done to get the results I was after. These days I don't account my photography by what I’ve done but what I plan to do next