2 questions--

[slightlyimperfect]

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

[kurtdriver]

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.

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.

[Mad Aussie]

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.

[Marko]

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

[slightlyimperfect]

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

Robin

[Mad Aussie]

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.