patindaytona said
Yeah, when you are taking photos and people are in a rush, you can't do all you want.  

All of the above portraits are really looking good. Basically retouch and image editing make the great shape of these portraits.

So, like you said, then their is the case of using short lighting etc...as much as i do try to remember all of this, it's very hard when in practice because of the flash unit parameters etc.

Yes, it's the same girl in both photos.  How do you feel about using flash? Since i got into it, it's almost like i HAVE TO really use it in every instance now and in a way it puts a damper on my creative thinking such as composition and other creative angles. It's alot to think about on the spot and in a rushed situation i really have to concentrate and even get stressed.

Yes, I always was aware of the banding problem with gradients and now that you mention the 16 bit..i forgot that i had once read that it supposed to help..thanks for reminding me of that now. I wonder how much it REALLY makes a difference??

I did use alot of the blur on the gradients....it's helped some.

I've lately notised that photoshop can't handle gradient background very well and creates pixelated gradients banding (gradient is not smooth). I can see it a bit in your photos. Some workarounds can be:
• working in 16bit
• keeping adjustments (or any other repetitive superimpositions) to the smallest possible number
• blurring after the fact (and maybe adding noise)
Anybody else had the same problem? Any tips? 

I hate taking portraits in rush, because this is almost always something to fix, lol. It is kind of good to have a checklist in your head to go through = background,light, pose, hair, makeup, closing (specially accessories like necklaces cab be after out of place), expression. What makes is easier is to have an assistant, who will be paying attention to the misplaces details in closing, etc. You should ask your  wife to help you. It is always easier to work as a team, especially when in rush. 

mscharff said
I agree with Mandrake... it is a little distracting.

I like the picket fences... 

Thanks MS...glad you like it.

I like the picket fences... 

 Some photos i took of the "big shots" who run the filipino organization. I added a couple to show you how i used a simple background, and added my own backgrounds to them.