What is the best type of flash and lens to buy for indoor portrait photography of babies with a Nikon D90?
Sunday, August 15th, 2010 at
10:06 pm
I’m a beginner in photography–took one class in college–but I’d like to take some professional-looking photos of my newborn.
I’d like a "studio look"–think close up, black drape background, naked baby or close up with nice bokeh in background
I’ve heard of "ring flashes"…would they be better than the SB-600?
newborn baby photography blogs
- Funny Picture: Young Boys Shot Naked (Baby Photos)
- It’s time Bill Brady gave a straight answer on SB600 | Republican News Watch
Tagged with: bokeh • drape • naked baby • photography • photos • sb 600
Filed under: Baby Photography
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
Grab an SB-600. It is Light, fairly sturdy, and is relatively inexpensive. Read rockwell’s take here: http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/sb600.htm. Also, a fast prime, like the 50mm f/1.8D will do just fine.
Photography is the art of trial, and error, so with experience, and the right equipment, you’ll do just fine
Ideally you want to get the flash off the camera. You can achieve great results with very modest kit
Read up on a website called Strobist, go through lighting 101 and it will become clearer.
http://strobist.blogspot.com/
It depends upon how much U want to spend, as well as what type of photo U want to achieve.
If U want a studio look, for lighting, U’d need a monolight such as those made by alien bees: http://www.alienbees.com
U can get by with a low-end Alien Bee, a stand, and an umbrella.
If U want a flash for your camera to chase your newborn around the house and to relatives’ homes and the park, U could get an SB-600 flash for the hot shoe.
As for a lens…the stock 18-55mm lens would be fine, if U kept the backgrounds simple and stopped down to f/8 to avoid distractions (for studio type shooting). My preference would be to have a lens in the 85mm to 135mm range though, if U can. The 18-105mm or 18-135mm Nikkor lenses would be fine, again stopped down to f/8 if U need specific recommendations.
In the field (away from the studio), I like the 85mm f/1.8 Nikkor for affordability (prefer the more expensive 85mm f/1.4 if U can afford it) and good sharpness and bokeh.
Do U want a studio look or something else?
EDIT:
forget ring flashes. Very special purpose, heavy, and not at all convenient. Instead, stick with either a set of monolights or an SB-600 (or two SB-600′s). Luckily, your D90 has a superior flash system. Based on description of your needs:
Lens: 85mm f/1.8. Won’t zoom, but superb bokeh and U can zoom with your feet to frame. Great for portraits. Next, get two SB-600 flashes and two tripods. The SB-600 comes included with a stand that allows it to sit on a tripod socket. Next, set the D90 to be a master flash and put the SB-600, or SB-600′s if U get more than one, on the tripod(s) and to the sides. Set it/them to wireless remote. In short, U get wireless TTL flash control this way. Best of all, U can then use the SB-600 whenever U leave the home, because it’s portable–good for trips, vacations, parties, whatever. Experiment with bouncing flash or by adding flash modifiers too.
See your instruction manual on setting master flash and remote flash for the D90 and an SB-600.
To do monolights would require a longer explanation-so message me if U want that.
PS: Photography is the art of manipulating light, not the art of trial and error. U should not be a guess and go photographer. Experimenting is one thing, but it should be to learn a technique, not to make trial and error a methodology.