Take a Breather

Story:
This lake is where my friends and I go to catch our breath, either on our own time or together. I invited my friend (pictured) to enjoy the space with me as I captured the comfort and peace it brings us.
Challenges:
• As a photographer I'm really great at helping people feel comfortable in front of a camera, but occasionally when my friends are my subjects, I can feel a disconnect...the normal "new stranger" charm doesn't work. So while we're normally giggly together, that felt too forced today, so I opted for telling the story of her feeling comfortable and at home instead.
• I'm great at telling stories through candids (focused on this as a wedding photographer). As I've moved onto personal branding and headshots, I'm struggling to create eye-catching and story-telling portraits that are still functional! (Brian, if you have any courses or resources that help with this, I would love to know about them...will do my research on it, but will put it here to ask, too :) )
Equipment used:
• Nikon D610
• Tamron 24-70 (at 70mm)
• Westcott Apollo Orb Octabox
• Phottix Mitros speedlight
Lighting Setup:
• Sunset was behind her to the right (you can see it catching her hair and the edge of the tree)
• Octabox was placed slightly above her and to the right (did not have an assistant with me so this was particularly challenging with windy conditions)
• ISO 250
• f/4.5
• SS 1/400
• Flash was either at 1/2 or 1/1 power
Hope this helps anyone looking into this course! Definitely recommend it.