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It was hard to go wrong with this little gem. She made the session

easy work - but don't let me being besotted with her stop you from

making helpful comments!

How can you expect helpful comments, this is perfect as is.

 

Don't get sucked in by that cute grin! The photo is flawed even if the subject is flawless! Thanks for the kind thought though. :)

Well rested & fed & surrounded by familiar faces (perhaps mommy playing 'peek-a-boo', camera left) is a recipe for shots like this.  I too have a favourite subject that fits this criteria.  Perhaps you could elaborate on your lighting setup?  Seems like a very soft, broad light source for your main light.  Many here at PN could benefit from this information.  Adorable is certainly an apt description of this little munchkin.  Nicely done!  Best, LM.

Hi Len - I'm an absolute beginner with these lights. I belong to a local photographic society who were fortunte enough to receive some lottery funding some years ago which they invested in this lighting setup. The kit got stuck in someone's loft and remained gathering dust for some years until I offered to rehouse it in our church's building. Largely through trial and error, a little help from youtube, and a "chance" conversation with a pro wit his own portrait studio lead me to the current setup. I still feel a million miles away from propery understanding how to set them up, and I've yet to master th mystery of the light meter that came with the kit. Having said all of the above, caveat reader, here is the kit and the settings:

I'm using a white backdrop lit by two Lencarta 300 units pointing away from the backdrop, reflecting with silver ubmrellas. They are placed at either edge of the backdrop which is about 12 feet wide, and they are set on MAX power. This blows out the background entirely.

The front lighting is one single Lencarta 600 unit fitted with an octagonal softbox, forward facing, placed slightly to the left of the subject and about 2 metres back. I set this light to between 1/4 and 1/8 power.

My camera (Nikon D800 fitted with either 24-70mm f/2.8 or 70-200mm f/2.8) is set at 1/200 sec which is the fastest I can go without getting shutter sync (black bands) problems. The ISO is 100 and the aperture is set to around f/5.6

I shot in RAW and ran the image through Adobe Elements 10 RAW handler, sliding down the clarity control slightly, and uping the vibrance. I've left the exposure, brightness, contrast and fill light settings "as shot"

I think that's about everything! Oh, I shot handheld because I was lying on the floor to get a straight eye-level shot. If I can offer any further information please ask, but remember, I'm just a beginner - I'm sure any pro would laugh at my efforts!

 

 

Thanks for the in depth explanation on your lighting set up.  It's basically the same as mine though I used to simply bounce the main light (Vivitar 283) off my 7ft white ceiling.  I'm now using a shoot through umbrella.  You might consider yourself a beginner but many here on PN would love to get the results you have here.  Best, LM.