Back on my grind!!!

I'm trying to get back on my grind.  It's not easy as my life has totally changed. I am now a mother of three with three of the most perfect subjects but it seems as though the hours/days go by too quickly.  With all excuses aside I am recommitting myself.

My son now plays basketball in a church league for the first time and my daughter is a cheerleader for the first time.  It has been so much fun going to these games and watching my children explore their talents.  Enjoy the pictures.

I am still working on perfecting the high key picture. I had a few problems with the first set of pictures as they were blown out but I love them so I am posting them and using them as a learning experience.

My lights were set as follows:

Key light:  f5.6

Background lights:  f11

Fill light:  f3.5

These are the settling I learned in a photography class which always worked for me so I don't know why it didn't this time.  In my opinion, the background lights look like they were too bright and spilling onto my subject.  

So, I went ahead and adjusted my lights without metering until I got what I wanted.  Here are some more pictures with better lighting.  Some still have a few grey spots that I could've cleaned in Photoshop but I hope to get a follower that is an expert photographer that leaves a few good comments until I can take a few more classes.  Hey you never know!!!!


The below pictures came out a lot better.  I didn't do a meter reading until after all pictures were done and they were as follows:
Key light:  f2.8
Fill light:  f3.5 (this is what I usually set it at)
Background lights:  f5.6
Although the pictures came out pretty good it goes against what I've been taught....Fill light should be less powerful with a 3:1 ratio
I am going to have to play with this some more as I might have found something that works for me.