Newborn photography with S3?

First off let me say that I am very new to digital photography and with the birth of our new baby boy we want to take portraits that could be somewhat equivalent to the department store studios - i.e. wal-mart, sears.

As of now we have a S3 and have been taking lots of photos with it and are completely satisfied, but would like to experiment with portrait style photos of our baby.

I know my camera may be somewhat limited but would be curious to hear from others if I could achieve decent results.

Right now I am considering purchasing 2 umbrellas, tripod and have looked at purchasing the HF-DC1 flash for my camera but not sure if it is really needed or not. I am confused about the umbrellas - will I need more flash or can I get by with the flash on the camera?

I now these are random questions, but I would appreciate any advice or comments. Thanks!

Sorry this isn't very flash related but I'd advice putting the money towards something like a 350D DSLR with kit lens, fast prime (80mm f/1.8, 50mm f/1.8 or 50mm f/1.4) and 430EX flash...

Don't listen to the people who say you must have an SLR, they seem to forget even a camera phone is far more advanced that sort of gear people first started taking photos with.
An SLR might make something easier, but it dosn't mean its the best option, and its very rarly the cheapest.


Have a read of this thread: https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=268542


It shows its quite possible to take some very good photos useing any Compact camera and an extra off camera flash.

With the ever increasing popularity of DSLR's there is now a large number of old fashioned flash units for sale on tradeing sites for very little money.
You could easily buy two cheap flashes, two optical triggers, some stands and umbrellas for less than the cost of a new Digital SLR compatiable flash.
This, with a little practice and some basic photographic skill would allow you to take some very, very good portraits.

The most simple idea to try however might just be a cheap older flash unit with manual control, an optical trigger for it, and a flash bracket so you can mount it above the camera, and preferable bounce it off a ceiling or wall.