We have carried out trajectory surface hopping simulations for the Schiff base model system C 5 H 6 NH + 2 , in order to study the effects of correct versus incorrect CX topography on photodynamics. By comparing LR-and SF-TDDFT results, we observe that CXs predicted by the more traditional LR-TDDFT approach have sloped rather than peaked character, which is an artifact of improper couplings between ground (reference) and excited (response) states. The sloped character of the CX leads to a slowdown in the nonadiabatic dynamics and longer lifetimes in the S 1 state, as compared to the SF-TDDFT simulations where the relevant CX is more strongly peaked. The SF-TDDFT results are generally in better agreement with existing CASPT2 estimates as compared to LR-TDDFT, although the short lifetime of the S 1 state of C 5 H 6 NH + 2 limits the magnitude of the discrepancies.