Strobist kit ... am I on the right track?

[Charmed]

Was asked yday if I would be interested in doing some baby pics, and there seems to be a bit of interest in it.

Seriously thinking about it as I'm appalled at a few well known "photo franchise" business you see in Shopping Centers who are ripping ppl off with charging a min $80 for a 12x8 print only & handed over in a plastic bag. Shame on them for point of sale pressure & especially emotional selling.

I'm looking at a Strobist Kit & Cactus V4 Radio Trigger transmitter & receiver kit.

From what I was told, clients would be quite happy to come to house. Have a decent size living room with plenty of natural light. So looking for something very basic with very little outlay. If need be quite happy to upgrade down the track.

So besides backdrops etc am I on the right track with the kit, do I need to look @ anything else?

[ricktas]

Looks good Simone. As well as the backdrops, consider some shaped bits of foam etc. You may find you want to prop baby up occasionally, and some bits of foam can be just the thing, in the right size so that they are hidden behind baby, whilst supporting them.

[DzRbenson]

You will need props and extra clothing and toys, Be mindful that the best baby shots do not utilize a flash, as a babies skin is delicate and mostly pale a flash no matter how well bounced will still give a negative impact on the photo.

The best bet is natural light and shallow DOF to ensure background is smooth, Some frontal lighting is ok but a flash will more than likely not be anywhere near as good as a natural light baby portrait.

[ehor]

Get as big an umbrella/softbox for the flash that you can.
The closer you place it, the softer the light. I wouldn't want to rely on ambient lighting. What happens if it's storming the day a client comes over?

[Jules]

Shoot-through umbrellas will give you a softer light than the reflective type and also let you position the umbrella closer to the subject.

Personally I prefer natural lighting for babies and children, but as ehor pointed out, you can't always rely on ambient lighting.

[Charmed]

Rick .

Yep got the support thing sorted. Along with backdrops. Currently have a huge piece of black velvet used from direct selling days. Plan on getting couple more colours.

Dz.

Props np & will advice client on @ least 2 changes of clothes.

ehor.

Thanks and noted. Lounge has this huge bay window & even on an overcast day like today there is a bit of light (quick snap with ph, but room is not as dark as appears in pic) I had no intention of relying totally on natural.

Jules.

Thanks was leaning towards shoot through, just seemed like common sense to me.

Thanks all, much appreciated. Anything else that needs to be covered please feel free.

[ehor]

That is a nice big window, I'd get a nice big white curtain and turn it in to a softbox and use it as fill with the flash as key

[Charmed]

That is a nice big window, I'd get a nice big white curtain and turn it in to a softbox and use it as fill with the flash as key

That's the plan

[imagemelbourne]

Hi Simone,
I guess it was you who rang me earlier today. Thanks for telling me about this forum and I hope the V4s your ordered from me arrive soon...

[Charmed]

Hi Simone,
I guess it was you who rang me earlier today. Thanks for telling me about this forum and I hope the V4s your ordered from me arrive soon...

Certainly was.