Results 1 to 6 of 6

2 questions--

This is a discussion on 2 questions-- within the Digital photography forums, part of the Photography & Fine art photography category; So I have question --When taking pictures of babies, (for example of babies sleeping on the soft blanket style or ...

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Alberta Canada
    Posts
    38

    Default 2 questions--

    So I have question --When taking pictures of babies, (for example of babies sleeping on the soft blanket style or hanging in a muslin cloth type of pictures) would you use a tripod? I want sharp pictures obviously but I find that it gets in the way of the good shots. Do most professionals use tripods for those great shots?

    Question part b) I have heard that a favorite lens for baby photogs is a 50 1.4. Wow pricey...the 50 1.8 is significantly cheaper. Would I notice a difference? Or is it worth to pay the difference to have the best in long run?

    Thanks

  2. #2
    kurtdriver is offline Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    Vancouver
    Posts
    192
    My Photos
    Please ask before editing my photos

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by slightlyimperfect View Post
    So I have question --When taking pictures of babies, (for example of babies sleeping on the soft blanket style or hanging in a muslin cloth type of pictures) would you use a tripod? I want sharp pictures obviously but I find that it gets in the way of the good shots. Do most professionals use tripods for those great shots?
    I think that if I were going to shoot a baby on a blanket, I would put the camera on the floor or a few inches up, perhaps on top of a couple of dictionaries. For the hanging shot you might want a tripod and cable release. Or at least I would do so, but I really know little about portraits.


    Quote Originally Posted by slightlyimperfect View Post
    Question part b) I have heard that a favorite lens for baby photogs is a 50 1.4. Wow pricey...the 50 1.8 is significantly cheaper. Would I notice a difference? Or is it worth to pay the difference to have the best in long run?
    Thanks
    The only reason a F1.4 might be better (for shooting babies) would be for it's shallower depth of field. I don't know anything about baby portraits, but why not use a longer lens? With adults a 85mm or 90mm lens is usually considered a "portrait lens". It might be different with babies. Ephotozine has a couple of articles on focal length in portraits.
    Last edited by kurtdriver; 10-31-2009 at 12:42 AM.

  3. #3
    Mad Aussie's Avatar
    Mad Aussie is offline Moderator
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Brisbane, Qld, Australia
    Posts
    14,098
    My Photos
    Please ask before editing my photos

    Default

    I think most baby pro's use a tripod and shutter release to get shots of the baby not looking right at the camera and/or it frees their extra hand so they can entertain the baby with toys , snaps of fingers etc

    For me the question of the tripod would depend on if I had an assistant to do the entertaining and if the lighting was sufficient for the lens I was using.

    I think in extremes where chromatic abberrations etc are likely then the 'nifty fifty' f1.8 50mm is likely to do a great job and it would be difficult to see the difference with a much more expensive f1.4 or f1.2 50mm lens. The dearer lenses might focus a bit quicker though.
    Personally I don't think you'd notice much in the DOF differences between 1.4 and 1.8 if at all.

  4. #4
    Marko's Avatar
    Marko is offline Administrator
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Montreal, QC. Canada
    Posts
    14,870
    My Photos
    Please do NOT edit my photos
    Critiques
    Critique my photos anywhere in the forum

    Default

    I've shot a few babies in my time and i don't like tripods for babies. I want to move fast, change positions and tripods slow you down.
    That said, if baby will be in a fixed "photo studio" setup with restricted movement, a tripod and cable release is perfect...

    In terms of sharpness, focus on the eyes and don't go slower than 1/60 with that 50mm and you'll likely be fine...unless the baby is moving a lot then up the speed to 1/125.

    The F1.4 50mm is a waste of cash for the vast majority of photographers imo. You'll be more than fine with the 1.8
    Hope that helps and this is just my
    - Please connect with me further
    Photo tours of Montreal - Private photography courses
    - Join the new Photography.ca Facebook page
    - Follow me on Twitter http://twitter.com/markokulik
    - Follow me on Google+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/111159185852360398018/posts
    - Check out the photography podcast


    "You have to milk the cow quite a lot, and get plenty of milk to get a little cheese." Henri Cartier-Bresson from The Decisive Moment.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Alberta Canada
    Posts
    38

    Default Thanks

    Thank you all for your input...exactly the info i needed.

    Robin

  6. #6
    Mad Aussie's Avatar
    Mad Aussie is offline Moderator
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Brisbane, Qld, Australia
    Posts
    14,098
    My Photos
    Please ask before editing my photos

    Default

    I was just thinking ... there's one thing the little Nifty Fifty doesn't like .. and that's light striking the lens when you have a filter on it. If you find that you get flare easily then take the skylight/haze filter off if you use one ... that helps heaps.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36