Dramatic Portrait Techniques ... and accidents

I have been very interested in the dramatic portrait lately. I have been skimming books at lunch hour on the subject as well as browsing sites that might help me improve my skill when it comes to creating a dynamic portrait. Part of this involves using a flash off camera set at the correct setting so as to illuminate the subject properly whilst adjusting the ambient exposure to be slightly less than normal - thereby creating a contrast. The key is to create just the right amount of contrast to have the right visual (and emotional) impact.

I decided to try my newfound technique on Erich. What you see below is the result.


Sometimes, accidents also turn out to be great portraits. Here, my shutter went off unexpectedly capturing a blurry image of Erich running down the sidewalk. Oddly enough, it works (much better so than had it been in focus).