Trampoline Paul

I have always liked prime lenses, but found zoom lenses to be far more practical — so that’s what I used. However, after having a kid I learned of two huge advantages prime lenses have: there is no zoom ring to fiddle with, and they are lighter (perhaps only slightly, depending upon your lens selections). A prime lens most likely will have a faster aperture which is invaluable to help get the shot when you can’t mess around with flash because of the fast-moving kid, too. Both reasons are related, of course. Being lighter, it’s easier to hold the camera one-handed for extended periods of time. This is important when I’m holding the kid with one arm, and only have one free to shoot. Shooting at the kid’s eye level is important to making an engaging photo, which means getting on the floor/ground. Having one hand to help move and balance on the floor while still being able to shoot makes it possible to get shots much easier. And of course, without a zoom ring, I’m alwa...

Some photographers might argue that a zoom will never be as sharp as a prime and yes, in most cases I would agree. However, (and this is where my Nikon girl colours really show)….I’ve never had an issue with sharpness in this particular lens, after all – its a Nikkor 24 – 70 for pete’s sake! Finally I have a secret weapon – the Nikkor 60mm micro for close up shots of those tiny fingers, toes, lips and eyelashes – a wonderful lens but I do find that sometimes you have to get so close to your subject that you’re blocking out your own light! As I’ve already said, if you’re deciding on a lens for your newborn portraiture you must consider your own style, your work space and how you work and what you want to achieve, then base your decision on that.  I hope this little blog has provided some useful tips in the meantime. Read more from Trampolinepaul Contact me at About.me

The nifty fifty is great for newborn photography without a doubt – but as I tend to include family portraits it did mean that, to avoid standing with my back pressed up against the wall, I either had to have another body with a wider lens on in the studio, or switch lenses during a shoot.  I also had to climb a stepladder for those cute ‘looking down on baby’ shots. Much as I love my nifty fifty I did question one day, whilst balanced on my step stool in a very warm room trying to get my little model and all the lovely swooshy fabrics that I had painstakingly arranged into shot, whether there was a better option. Later on as I rummaged through my camera bag I realised of course there was.  I dug out my 24 – 70 2.8.  Fabulous lens, but one that had not seen much use since I gave up weddings a couple of years back. I used it in my next newborn shoot and haven’t look back since.  I don’t know why this didn’t occur to ...

For example, I know some fab photographers who use a 35mm prime to great effect in their newborn work.  For me personally, that doesn’t work.  With wider lenses you have to be careful with your distance and perspective, as a wider lens will make close subjects look a lot larger than ones further away.  If you get ‘lost’ in your work and aren’t concentrating, you could well end up with images of big nosed babies with tiny eyes! The 85mm prime is a fantastic lens and one I use regularly for head shots, but for me its not wide enough to use throughout a newborn session.  I don’t like switching lenses if I can get away with it, so the 85 whilst fine for some shots, doesn’t give me enough scope.  Likewise, whilst I do use the wonderful 70 – 200 2.8 for portraits where I’ve wanted beautiful bokeh, I personally find it far too cumbersome to wield around in a newborn session as my studio space isn’t huge. When...

I often get asked what equipment I use in the studio in particular, what lenses would I recommend be used to photograph newborns. First of all, I’m a Nikon gal.  If you’re interested in photography yourself, you’re probably well aware of the great Nikon v Canon debate. I’ll be perfectly honest with you, I personally don’t think there’s much in it. Every camera has its plus and minus points – sometimes the bods at Canon will bring out a new body that just pips the Nikon, sometimes its the other way around. I, like many photographers I know, have stuck with one particular brand because its what I started out with.  Once you’ve built a photography business using a particular make and you’ve got a few bodies plus several lenses, its really quite expensive to think about switching to another system – although I am aware of photographers who have ‘jumped ship’ mid career one way or another for their own reasons. Back to the subject of th...

You should definitely have the best lens for newborn photography to take your maternity and baby photography business to the next level. If you want to become a professional newborn photographer, you will need a medium telephoto, a wide-angle, a macro, and a 50mm prime lens. Let’s find the best lenses for baby photography that will suit your budget. I’ve chosen 12 lenses designed by Canon, Nikon, Sony, Sigma, Tamron, and Tokina that are affordable and for professional photography. Newborn photography is one of the most difficult subtypes of portrait photography where a photographer takes pictures of a baby younger than two months. You should keep everything safe, choose the appropriate style of shooting, know how to pose baby, work with lighting, props, and accessories. The shooting process is usually up to 4-6 hours including short breaks. Newborn photography is a relatively difficult type of shooting considering the fact that your models are two-week-old. Today...

Parents don’t need to deplete their diaper fund before the baby even arrives to capture good newborn pictures. While not a top performer like the Sony a7 III, the Nikon D5600 can shoot circles around smartphones and compact cameras. And you can keep the costs even lower if you buy a refurbished model. The Nikon D5600 sports a 24.2-megapixel APS-C sensor. This isn’t quite as good as full frame but still packs plenty of capabilities. The sensor captures solid photos for the price point — and DxOMark still considers the camera a top performer. The EXPEED 4 processor is still decent at capturing images in low light, especially if you pair the camera with a brighter lens. Speed-wise, the D5600 snaps away at 5 fps. This is not enough to be hailed as a great spots camera, but it could still do the trick for toddlers and older kids in motion. The 39-point autofocus is decent, thanks to using the type of autofocus that’s long been fine-tuned inside DSLRs. The camera ...

The Canon EOS R has the 30-megapixel sensor of the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR but in a smaller package and at a lower price point. The 30-megapixel sensor is a good mid-point for newborn photography. It’s not too high to introduce a lot of noise or make skin imperfections obvious, but high enough for big prints and good detail. The Canon EOS R also has a lens adapter that will allow it to be used with Canon’s DSLR lenses. It’s a good option for photographers that may already have a stash of Canon lenses. As a mirrorless, the camera is also equipped with a silent electronic shutter. With solid low light performance, the Canon EOS R is one of the best Canon cameras for low light, according to DxOMark. They rank the image quality a bit below the first three cameras on this list. The colors and dynamic range aren’t ranked quite as high as others in its class. This won’t stand out though. Canon’s Dual Pixel autofocus system is also highly praised. This should com...

Nikon is new to the full frame mirrorless category, and while the Nikon Z 6 may not be quite as refined as Sony’s third generation, the new camera still packs a powerful punch. The Z 6 uses a 24.5-megapixel full frame sensor that captures excellent images. DxOMark ranks it right below the Sony a7 III by a single point. The camera body also has stabilization built-in. This can help in those low light shots if the baby isn’t moving around. As part of Nikon’s new mirrorless series, the Z 6 has access to a lot of existing Nikon lenses using an adapter. This could be reason enough to choose the Z 6 for photographers that already own some Nikkor glass. Like most mirrorless cameras, there’s a silent electronic shutter for when being quiet matters. And the Z 6 is even faster than the a7 III with a 12 fps, though that’s in an extended mode with a few limitations. The Z 6 is lighter than Nikon’s DSLRs, though not by a lot if you use a heavier Z lens or once you add t...

Stabilization in the lens or camera body will also boost low light quality. It’ll allow you to shoot at slower shutter speeds instead of increasing the ISO. This will happen only if the baby is being very still. Along the same lines, when you look for a lens to pair with your camera body, look for one that has a wide aperture, like an f/2.8. Give yourself permission to skip those f/3.6 kit lenses often bundled with camera bodies. A 35mm or 50mm f/1.8 is a great lens for newborn photography. Many good versions are also cheap. Another consideration is how loud the camera will be. In most cases, newborn photographers play white noise that will drown out the click of a shutter. In some instances, a quiet mode is an excellent feature to have. Many mirrorless cameras have this feature and some DSLRs. The best cameras for newborn photography have a resolution that’s right. A camera with a resolution that’s too low won’t allow parents to have large prints. ...

Newborn photography is the closest the portrait genre gets to still life. Often, newborns are photographed sleeping. Sometimes fussy babies only offer a few seconds to get the shot. Most of the time, you’ll have a few minutes to get the shot once you get the baby in position. That means a fast camera, with a high burst speed such as 10 fps, isn’t absolutely necessary. Many newborn photographers or parents looking for a new camera will also be photographing toddlers at some point or photographing a toddler with a brand new sibling. That’s a different story. Photographers specializing beyond the newborn stage may want to consider a camera with a good burst speed. Kids go from that still newborn to a wild, won’t-sit-still toddler in a blink. For newborns, don’t feel like you need to spend a lot of cash for a crazy fast camera. While still, newborns are often photographed using natural window light, since flash can startle some newborns. That means a good ...

Newborns don’t stay new long. Photographing those first few weeks of life is critical. But what’s the best camera for newborn photography? Newborns aren’t running around yet. You don’t need a fast, expensive camera to capture newborn baby pictures. But that doesn’t mean you should pick up a random, cheap budget camera to snap newborn photos with. This article will show you what to look for in a camera for newborn photography and the best camera for newborn photography. Whether you are looking for the best camera as a new parent or you are looking to take professional baby photographs. Photographing newborns comes with a long list of challenges. You need to get the baby settled, sleeping and into that perfect position then doing it all over again for a new pose. But the challenges that come along with newborn photography aren’t the ones that need a $4,000 best-ever digital camera. For newborn photography, look for a camera that will perform well in windo...

That lens may be too long for your sensor for photography while inside. It will have approximately half of the angle of view of a 50 mm lens. It's a good focal length for portraiture, but only if you can get far enough away from your subject. Basically, you want to be able to stand far enough away from your subject to avoid perspective distortion: while some photographers with some subjects are able to pull it off successfully, you risk making the subject look comical. Instead, a commonly-suggested working distance of 10-15 feet from your subject is usually safe, or if this isn't possible, at least as far away as practical. Where are you planning to photograph the babies? If outside, then you have far more flexibility to use a longer focal length in order to get "close up" detail and greater background blur or 'bokeh'. In this case, any focal length greater than about 70 mm should do well; longer focal lengths as well as wider apertures both he...

  The most obvious attributes of a lens are its focal length and maximum aperture. Parents of newborns can be concerned by the use of flash, so you will probably want the option of taking photos in available light, and for this a lens with a wide maximum aperture (a low f-number) is better. This will also help you get a shallow DoF. An alternative is to buy a bounce flash for your camera, such as the SB500. For newborns, the shooting distance itself isn’t much of a concern. You’ll choose it more because of comfort, available space, and effects on background than by its effect on the appearance of the subject. However, when you include parents or other adults in the picture, you might want to try for a shooting distance of about 2-3m, to show the adults at their best. The focal length to choose depends on the shooting distance and the size of the area you want to frame. When shooting just a newborn, you are framing an area of about 75cm by 50cm, or even small...

The final benefit of primes: “They physically make you move for a different composition, which can make a picture. Primes make you think; they make you evaluate your scene before composing.” No matter the lens, her literal point of focus is consistent. “It’s always the eyes. I want them—or at least one of them—sharp. I want your eyes to go to the subject’s eyes first; then I want your eyes to move around the image.” And where the focus goes, the metering follows. Summer almost always uses spot metering and takes the reading from the point of focus, which, of course, is most often the eyes of her subject. A quick look at Summer’s photos reveals her liking for black and white. It’s not often planned; rather, it’s almost always a decision made at the computer. She’ll study a color image and make the decision to convert it to black and white based on her feeling about how strong and effective the photograph will be as a black and white. “I find the most effective ...

The lens you’re looking through can make a big difference. Summer prefers prime lenses—that is, single focal length lenses—with the AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G a particular favorite. Primes are generally lighter and smaller than zooms, but she likes them for their large maximum apertures that allow in more light. Since she often photographs in the client’s house, lighting can be a problem. “I try to use natural light whenever I can,” she says, “even if it’s coming in through just one window. I’m going to bring the child over to that window and start working it.” She also likes to shoot wide open (the lens at its maximum aperture), or close to it, to get sharp focus on her subject and a pleasantly blurred, non-distracting background—as in the photograph of her daughter playing with the magnets. Primes also allow her to shoot at faster shutter speeds. “I don’t often have a lot of time—the baby is yawning, that’s a second. I need to be able to capture a yawn or a smile ...

Still, Summer says, strategies can be adapted and family knowledge can be put to work. Your kids may not be surprised by you, but you know the area of the house your children prefer; you know what they like to do; you know their schedules. Sometimes you just stumble on something – as Summer did for the second photo here. “That’s my daughter, doing her own thing, [playing] with the magnets on the fridge. I might have said something to get her to look at me and smile. The most important part about photographing your own kids is to capture the moment they’re involved in. It’s those natural moments you have to look for.” And when that moment arrives, you’ve got to be ready. Well, actually, you should be ready before the moment arrives, almost pressing the shutter release a millisecond before the moment. “That comes with experience,” Summer says, “with knowing the kind of image you want to get and what the child does.” Although there are exceptions, for the most part...

The very fact that there’s a camera in sight can make her interesting to the child. “Part of it is having them want to know about me: ‘What’s this girl all about? What is she doing?” Even though the camera is in plain sight, she will give the kids some time to get to know her before she starts taking pictures. “I give them that space, that warm-up time to build some trust. Trust has to come first.” Then there’s timing. “I need to work around the child’s schedule, need to know when the child naps. If she naps at 1:00 and gets up at 2:30, then she can have a quick lunch and she’s ready. She’s not tired, she’s well fed—that’s the basic. The times [for the shoot] are always set up around well-rested, well-fed babies…or else you’re going to get some tantrums.” And there’s location. Working in the families’ homes is a big plus. “It’s a comfort thing for the kids—you want them to show you their house so they’re comfortable with you being there.” For toddlers there...