Umbrella location help!

I have a young niece (8 years old) coming to town this weekend and would like to get some nice shots of her with my new studio setup. I have done some single umbrella shots using a reflector to fill the weak side with decent success. I just got another umbrella and flash setup and want to use them both for the shoot to open up my lighting possibilities. Everything is tied up with pc cords so about 15' in either direction is the limit of my ability to stretch things. I usually put my main light 45deg up and 45deg to the side like almost everybody does, but where should I put my fill umbrella to get the best shot? I have one shoot through white and one white convertible (bounce or shoot through) umbrella, both 45 inches. I will be using a muslin for the first time and am thinking that maybe I should use the x-tra light to try to kill the shadows on the backdrop.....or maybe a hairlight? I will have a couple of hours to experiment but I would like to get some input so I have a starting place. My main flash is a canon 430ex and my secondary is a sunpak PZ40x (I know it sucks!) I will be shooting everything in manual mode and know how to limit flash output, although I am a basic newbie to all of this. My muslin will be either white or black....any suggestions for good kid shots? Thanks! I did a search of the forum and couldn't find the answers I was looking for

If you don't need the 2nd light for fill point it at the background if you want to blow it out, else use it as a hair light.

tim wrote in post #5965413
If you don't need the 2nd light for fill point it at the background if you want to blow it out, else use it as a hair light.

I'm just getting into this and recently picked up a second light. So far I have not used it with an umbrella. I use it to hit the hair and/or body to simulate sunlight from behind. I have a second umbrella and want to use it, but up to now I have not found the right situation.

i think..just use one light and a reflector underneath...it would whiten the backround. but give a nice light ..and push up the shadow..it the simplest light set up...works great


lemon

With the subject a good distance frpm backround you can get it nice and blurry and you wont get shadows from subject, when using two front lights ( right and left ).

But its better if YOU have an idea of how you want the portrait to look and then ask how to achieve it. Find a example portrait on the web, post it and see if someone here can find a good solution how to replicate it with the gear you have.

Thanks for the replys guys. The fact is that I really don't know HOW a photo of an 8 year old little girl is supposed to look. I am looking for the right kind of light that will make a very cute little girl look as cute in the pic as she is in real life. I definitely don't want any shadows if possible and I am leaning toward using a hair light but I haven't been into this long enough to know what to look for yet. I guess I will keep looking at other peoples work and try to find the style I like and try to replicate it. There seems to be no "right way" to do anything as personal taste comes into play too much. I was just really looking for a reply from someone who has done a lot of child pics to say what had worked for them in the past to give me a starting point.

maybe have a look at the photo sharing threads in the forum on people for ideas.
Or flickr is always a great source for inspiration!

Point-n-shoot-n wrote in post #5971137
Thanks for the replys guys. The fact is that I really don't know HOW a photo of an 8 year old little girl is supposed to look. I am looking for the right kind of light that will make a very cute little girl look as cute in the pic as she is in real life. I definitely don't want any shadows if possible and I am leaning toward using a hair light but I haven't been into this long enough to know what to look for yet. I guess I will keep looking at other peoples work and try to find the style I like and try to replicate it. There seems to be no "right way" to do anything as personal taste comes into play too much. I was just really looking for a reply from someone who has done a lot of child pics to say what had worked for them in the past to give me a starting point.

I've never done a formal portrait of anybody, but the nice thing about cute kids is that they stay cute almost no matter what you do. You can light her just like you'd light anybody else. The real trick is getting her to pose at all, and to smile. A lot of kids don't like doing sittings. If she's a natural model, your life is going to be easy. Otherwise, you'll have to find a way to tease her into enjoying it and smiling. You might have to shoot a zillion frames where she's goofing off, pouting, turning her back to you, or otherwise not cooperating. But if you're patient, and especially if you're good at entertaining kids, you'll eventually get a shot.

One bit of advice is that if I were doing it, I'd be very quick to kick the parents out. Most parents don't really understand how to wheedle their own kids in this kind of situation. They mean well, but their attempts are usually counterproductive. If that happens, you'll need to find a polite way to say "I'm sorry, but do you mind going into the kitchen for a while so I can try a different approach? She might be less nervous if you're not watching."

Some good points Geoff! The good news is that I have her all to myself as mom and dad are out of town..The grandparents will be here and would like some shots of themselves with the kid and some of the kid alone. She is a cutie and she knows it so getting her to pose shouldn't be too much of a problem. Thanks guys!