Behind The Scenes No.2

Equipment Used
Nikon D3s, 70-200mm 2.8 lens, circular polarizer filter, Einstein 640w bare bulb
Time of Day
Around 1030am in September, sun nearly directly overhead-behind the model
On route 1 going south towards Santa Barbara. Random stop at a vista point.
Camera Settings
F9 - 1/250 - ISO 320

Key Points

Set the ambient light first. That means to get your camera settings so that the exposure on the background is how you want it to be. Then set the strength of the strobe light to fill in the shadows as much as you want. Then you can mess around with positioning the light wherever you see fit, depending on the style you're going for. This lighting style gives a clean, balanced look.

It's not right for everything, if you want a bit more drama then more focused light will shape the model better, or you can use a neutral density filter to make the background a bit darker, with the strobe light stronger to make the model pop out more. 

If you're having trouble matching the background with the foreground, then adjust the ISO. I decide what shutter speed and depth of field I want, then tweak the ISO to make the shutter speed/aperture settings work out.
When you experiment with lighting, ONLY experiment with friends/fellow creatives. NEVER shoot for the benefit of someone who will use the images for profit/promotion. You didn't spend thousands on equipment and hours and upon hours doing this just for the exposure, did you? Don't be a tool. Every brand has a marketing budget, magazines sell more ad space, professionals marketing their services benefit, so your services should be monetarily compensated. If you work for free/cheap, then you're signaling you're replaceable by the 100000s of others who think working for free will lead to something, and thats what will happen. None of this applies if you do photography as a hobbyist, the only difference between a hobbyist and a professional is the latter is paid. If you want to thrive in this industry, not just make a livable income, then you need to say no to all the people who think you just push a button. Once you cut through that noise, you'll see theres a whole lot of people who do realize the importance and cost of proper media creation.