Fill & Balance

Ben Rosenfelder, 31, hammers a softball while practicing for an upcoming slow pitch softball tournament at Cosmo Park on Thursday, March 16, 2017. Rosenfelder played baseball all of his life and picked up the game of softball at age 18. In addition to taking trips from Iowa all the way down to Texas, Rosenfelder says, "the competitiveness of the game," is what keeps him playing.

Lighting diagram:

Ben was a fantastic subject, he was very conversational and open about his passion for baseball and softball. This project tested me. I had to go out and find a subject that was in the sunlight so that I could fill any dark shadows with flash. For the most part, I successfully implemented the technique. 

The only small problem is the placement of the flash and the mark that it left on the photo. You can see the shadow of the ball stand on Ben's leg. Really a quick fix if I had a stand that I could place the flash on, that way the light would come from a better direction that doesn't result in an awkwardly placed shadow.

I am still getting used to looking for certain marks such as these harsh shadows in photos. It makes you pay attention to the entire frame and make the photographer think about the best placement for the flash.