After watching the B&H presentation "Direction of Light: Your Key to Better Portrait Photography" I ran out to my local art supply shop and bought a sheet of black foam and made my own Black Foamy Thing. The best investment in lighting I've ever made. Using it during my last two photo sessions, the results were amazing.
I'm strictly an amateur and only make pictures for fun. I've generally avoided portraiture, sticking to landscapes, still-life and other non-people pictures. But these last two sessions included plenty of people and they don't have that deer-in-the-headlight, washed-out-look that was my normal in the past.
The flash was set to TTL but I cheat and still use Program mode on my Canon 80D. The results are almost all good and only a few need a bit of adjusting in DxO for minor corrections.
I also like how flagging the flash with the BFT to take close ups results in a nice skimming light to bring out the small details.
Granted the BFT is pretty indestructible and cheap, you also mentioned a Spin Light. Not being a pro, would it be a worthwhile step up or not?
Thanks for the inspiration.
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So far, having learned about flagging the flash from you, my flashed images have improved tremendously. Wish I had heard about this a long time ago.