Backslash23,

Steve, I'm sure, is correct about all the other professionals involved on this type of shoot. Mae-up artists play a big part in these shoots for sure.

Now, it appears that there was a very large light source used, usually from above and off to the left or right a little. The catchlights may have been cloned to appear as one, but there was probably at least a reflector for some fill and I'd imagine a background light.

The main light was probably a 5 to 7 foor round soft box or umbrella most of the time, or maybe even that huge 6 or 8 foot dish from Broncolor.. I don't know. But is was a broad soft source for the most part, I'd imagine.

Then, of course, there was probably some great editing done on the skin.. I have a few techniques I use, and some Actions from Totally Rad Actions, Kubota and Craig's Actions that are very useful for most applications.

I hope this helps a little, and Robert Hammer seems to have gotten it down very wel, too. It's important to use a diffused light source, even if it's with Canon Speedlights, which do work great and is about the extent of my lighting anymore, and to have something, ie. a reflector or anther light, to fill in the shadows.

In most cases, it's often much more simple than we think it is.. Good luck!

Aloha!

Here's my 2 cents... J Consiglio says it is important use a diffuser. And I also love the effect that a nice big softbox gives, but on all my location portrait work I use 2 Nikon speedlights. An SB800 and an SB600. If working with a larger group, say 10 or more, I'll add a 2nd SB600 as a 2nd key light.

For most of my location setups, I'll set the 800 for 50mm focal length, and the 600 for 35 mm focal length. No diffusers outside of what's built into the tiny flash units. And both lights are set to about 12 feet from the subjects. The key at about a 45 degree angle, and the fill close to the camera. I set the key to full, the fill to 1/2, and shoot at f9 with the shutter speed set to expose the background correctly.

The results of this lighting setup are remarkably similar to what I get in my studio with a 40x60 softbox on my key, and shooting the fill through a 4.5x6.5 foot scrim! The ratio looks like a beautiful 2.5 to 1, the transitions are smooth from highlight to shadow, and I love the results.

So, from my viewpoint, additional difusion isn't always required.
SPC II

True, mostly all of my work is with a 580 on camera and maybe a second off to the side or into an umbrella... not because I'm so good with it, but because I'm too lazy to set up stobes and boxes!

I guess I was speaking in reference to the look of the skin, but then maybe I'm just not too good yet with bare lighting to get that look! I've been doing a good bit of reading on it though..