Natural Light & Speedlite

In an effort to practice with natural light since I don't have strobe lights, which I really really want (hint to my husband) I decided to use Mocha, my dog, as my model.  Natural light can really make for some beautiful photographs.  My last post mentioned how I loved Adorma TV and Mark Wallace's instructional videos.  Well, here is my "first" attempt at using natural light along with my Canon Speedlite 420ex and reflector.  I really like the lighting and was so proud of Mocha for being such a great model!  Yes, she got a treat after our session.

First I want to show you my setup.  As Mark explains in his video you can practically find any area in your home to set up a small studio, mine is in my basement.  I used a white paper backdrop, a small window in the basement, my reflector bouncing the natural light onto Mocha and my speedlite.

Here is what it looks like:

And these are some of my favorite portraits of Mocha.  I did try to tie a ribbon on her, but all she wanted to do was chew on it so that was not a success. 

This is my FAV!

This one my chair isn't real centered, but it turned out ok.