"The umbrellas deliver relatively hard light, and the farther away they are the smaller the light source, thats why you have the hotspots - think of it like the sun, it's hunge, but it's so far away that it becomes a small light source, and hard, by the itme the light reaches the earth. Try a light box if you have one. "

Hey Tony,

I think that the trick is that many folks like umbrellas for pets because the light is harder and the fur stands out a bit better. For the humans, we want something a bit softer because of the specular highlights. Don't get me wrong...many people use soft boxes as well for pets. I just know that when I do pet work, I prefer a slightly harder light.

BTW, you did a nice job cleaning them up. As my mentor used to teach me, 'consider every photograph a 60 second art project.' To get rid of the specular highlights, you take the paint brush, picking a color from the area you wish to emulate. Then, with a small pencil, with an opacity of between 15 and 19%, you draw over the hot spots.

Cheers
James