Lookin’ good if I do say so myself. This is a three light setup with a background of some old non-glossy vinyl. (How fortunate I am to have a father-in-law that works at a transfer station, ha ha.)

1. I have my key light SB600 1/4 power about three feet away from subject 45 degrees camera right through a shoot through umbrella.
2. A side/cross light LumoPro 120 1/16 power 5 feet away 45 degrees back camera left bare.
3. A LumoPro 120 pointed at the background behind the subject ( 1/16 I think?).
I am about 4 feet in front of subject shooting handheld at 1/250 at f10 ISO 200 with a 50mm 1.4 lens on a Nikon D200. White balance set to flash and no gels used. Minimal processing for contrast etc in Photoshop CS4. I have the C-Man facing the umbrella and then turning slightly towards me. Adjust glasses if necessary to eliminate reflections, and work quickly if you have a grumpy subject, ha ha. I had to trade a back massage for his modeling services.

K-Cat with her favorite toy buddy. This is a two light set up using a wall in our basement as a backdrop.
1. Key light is an SB600 1/4 power 2 feet away from subject 45 degrees camera right through a shoot through umbrella.
2. Fill light is a LumoPro 120 1/4 power 4 feet away from subject 45 degrees camera left bounced off of the ceiling.
I am about 3 feet in front of K-Cat shooting at 1/200 f5.6 ISO 200 with a 50mm 1.4 lens on a Nikon D200. Try to keep your subject at least 2 or 3 feet away from the wall to minimize any shadows. Happy Snapping!

K-Cat fell asleep in a toy storage bucket today. I thought she had stuffed her blanket in the bucket, but when I helped her out I saw Buddy, crushed at the bottom. Looks comfy. Shot with an SB600 45 degrees camera right fired at the ceiling for fill. Shot at 1/30 f2.8 ISO 100 with a 50mm 1.4 lens on a Nikon D200. Happy Snapping!

Crazy-L always makes a face. I used to think it was for the camera, like one of those fake smiles kids have when their mom says ’say cheese’. Nope, the more I watch him the more I realize he is always making a face. This is his normal.

This is a one light setup. Key light SB600 1/2 power about 3 feet from subject 45 degrees camera left shot through a shoot through umbrella. Camera settings are balanced for ambient fill at 1/80 f7.1 ISO 100 with a 50mm 1.4 lens on a Nikon D200. Flash was gelled with a 1/4 CTO for warmth. Learn to light at Strobist.com. Happy Snapping!

B-Cookie holding Grandpa P’s hand. Newborn babies are great because they tend to sleep a lot and ignore the camera.

This one is a two light set up.
1. Key light SB600 1/4 power 3 feet from subject 45 degrees camera right through a shoot through umbrella.
2. Fill light LumoPro 120 1/8 power 3 feet from subject 45 degrees camera left through a shoot through umbrella.
3. There is a large North facing window behind the camera.
I am shooting about 2 feet away from subject with a lower shutter speed to capture ambient light, settings 1/30 f7.1 ISO 200. Shot with a 50mm 1.4 lens on a Nikon D200. I wanted very gentle soft even light. Baby is laying on a fuzzy/fleecy white blanket.

B-Cookie’s baby feet. Cute perfect baby feet. This one is a two light set up.

1. The key light SB600 1/4 power 2 feet away from subject 45 degrees camera right through a shoot through umbrella.
2. Background light (I don’t really remember what I did here. Oops. I think I either bounced the flash off of the ceiling onto the white sheet background, or I balanced the flash camera left with the window camera right on the white sheet background. The point is to have a nice even white background that is 1-2 stops darker than the subject.)
I am about two feet away from the subject shooting at 1/100 f4 ISO 200 with a 50mm 1.4 lens on a Nikon D200. I stuffed a white fuzzy/fleecy blanket into a white basket and laid the baby on top with her feet up to the edge. The hardest part can be positioning the feet. Try to get the baby fed and changed and keep the temperature in the room warm. A happy sleepy baby is easiest to work with.

Would you give this man a gun? I sure hope so. It’s a photo for his gun license. This is a one light set up.

1. Key light SB600 1/4 power slightly to camera right about 4 feet from subject through a shoot through umbrella.
2. Subject is holding a large white reflector bouncing light into the shadows under his chin.
I am shooting about 3 feet away from the subject camera settings 1/100 f3/5 ISO 100 using a 50mm 1.4 lens and a Nikon D200. The subject is about 4 feet from the background. The background is actually dark grey, but is far enough away from the lights that it falls to almost straight black.

Water drops. Lots of fun. Here is the tutorial if you would like to try it for yourself.