Jump to content

Portrait Lens Baby Photography


JCophoto

Recommended Posts

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Been doing a fair bit of baby photos lately too. I have a 5D with 50/1.8 and 85/1.8 which focus closer than comparable focal length M lenses but the issue I have with a DSLR is blackout at the moment of exposure. I often find I captured a blink or a sudden downturn in expression from the one I saw when I pushed the button. I prefer the uninterrupted view through the Leica and would rather crop a smidgen to get tighter (the M240's sensor resolution takes it well). My 50 Lux only focuses to 1m, but my Cron will get down to 0.7m and f/2 is plenty. In fact the DOF at f/1.4 is sometimes too shallow, getting one eye in focus and the other not, if the head is turned enough. I sometimes also use soft indirect flash (Omni bounce) with a natural effect, and it allows me to stop down to f/5.6 for enough DOF to get the entire head in focus at minimum distance. I have a little old Vivitar 2800 that works just fine. A little catch light in the eye often makes a photo pop. I have a 75/2.5 CV and a 90 Summicron pre-APO, both work well for me also, but in a small room the 50 Cron is my go-to.

Link to post
Share on other sites

FWIW, here is one I took recently with my 75 Summilux...

 

OK, since I apparently can't get Flickr to keep a persistent URL for my picture I will upload it directly. Sorry for the broken prior post, I don't seem to be able to edit it.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hahaaaaaaaa, I just might have found a solution that would fit both my needs and my wallet: the Voigtlander Heliar 75mm f1.8. It seems to render oof elements in classic way, is not too sharp (read: a bit soft) which is nice for portrait use, it's a 75mm lens, fast and cheap. What do you guys think? I will not have the chance to test one before buying, so I'd love your feedback. The one drawback I see at this time is the not so close minimum focusing distance of 0.9m...

Link to post
Share on other sites

You sure did! I'm still hesitating though because I have been mostly unimpressed with what I have seen on the 75mm 1.8 flickr pool and I won't be able to test it before buying. So if anyone has a real life feedback, I'd be glad to take it...

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hello Everybody,

 

Altho people often use longer focal lengths in order to create a more pleasant perspective when photographing people. Another reason to use a longer focal length is to achieve a larger Image - Object Ratio from a longer distance.

 

Example:

 

A 90mm lens produces an Image - Object Ratio of 1 : 9 when focussed @ 1 meter.

 

While a 50mm lens focussed @ 0.7 meters produces an Image - Object Ratio of 1 : 11.5. A more than 20%smaller image on the film/sensor.

 

Using a longer focal length allows the photographer to step back further & create a larger image. Both at the same time.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

Link to post
Share on other sites

I think that's an important consideration. In this regard, the issue with the 90mm is that because of this 1m (or 0.9m) min focusing distance, the largest magnification ratio is 1:9. Some 75mm lenses (Summicron, Summilux and presumably the new summarit (but not the old one)) allow a min focussing distance of 0.7m which leads to a magnification ratio of 1:7. I think that's what I am looking for...

Link to post
Share on other sites

I've been using my 50 Lux till now, it's a bit wide for a baby but hey, better wide than nothing... I'm still debating 75 cron vs. Lux because of the 0.7m min focussing distance. But in the meantime, I certainly do use what I have on hand...

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...