event and portrait shots

okay so this wasn't really assignment per se... but it was a chance to take some shots that some people need, while practicing with the new camera as well as a speedlight with a sto-fen cap on it - one of the diffusers i am thinking about using, basically just a plastic white "cap" that slides on to the top of your flash head - so it was VERY helpful to try it out in the lobby of my brother's office building - an open atrium-style lobby, at night. basically, it took me a while, but i finally ended up putting the flash on manual and dialing down the power and pointing it up and behind me, to get the least shadows and the most even lighting. taking portraits of my brother and his law firm partner up in the office (as well as pictures of raheela!) i found it better to take the cap off entirely and just bounce the flash off the low ceiling instead.hope that made some sense to somebody :) here are the pictures from thursday evening! the event was a fundraiser for dr. esam omeish, who is running for a seat in the virginia house of delegates - that's in the last two shots.

i have to also note: i ended up cropping a lot of these pictures, just slightly. maybe it's taking me some time to get used to the full frame of the 5D, because i almost never ever crop... but it sure is nice to have the freedom to decide! alhamdulillah.

my brother, hassan ahmad: