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[Closed] Photographers - what lighting kit should I rent for a home 'newborn baby shoot'?

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I know my way around my camera (EOS 400D) and have decent lenses (70-200mm F4 IS, 17-55mm EF-S and 10-22mm plus a nifty 50 f1.8), and I have a good eye for a shot and reasonable technical skills, so I reckon I can have a good shot at taking some nice images of my newborn son (rather than paying big £££'s for a pro studio session)... trouble is, I have no studio equipment, so I reckon I'll need to rent some kit from Fixation (here's their [url= http://www.fixationuk.com/Fixation/Rental.html ]rental list[/url]), having never done studio work I'm not entirely sure what I should go for?

Any tips and advice would be welcome, thanks 🙂


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 3:20 pm
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A bright one. Blind the ****er


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 3:21 pm
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Natural light and some reflectors?


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 3:22 pm
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Do you have a limited time window to do this in, or will you be equally happy with '3 day old baby' pictures?

If no massive time pressure, just have a go with what you've got, then hire stuff if you don't get the results you want.

Dave


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 3:23 pm
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Bike light + DIY diffuser?

Seriously


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 3:23 pm
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Go outside?


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 3:24 pm
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Im not so sure, but when you've taken the pictures, make sure you set one as your Facebook profile picture. Then change it to a different one every 6 to 12 hours. Once you've got through all the pictures, start the process again. Its guaranteed to lose you friends!


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 3:24 pm
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Do you have a limited time window to do this in, or will you be equally happy with '3 day old baby' pictures?

Well, he's not exactly a newborn now I guess, he's 3-weeks old today 🙂


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 3:24 pm
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Window light and reflector


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 3:25 pm
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do you have a big window in a room that faces east? if so then i would just use natural light early in the morning. bit of a photo geak myself and any time i used flash when my daughter was young then she woudl get shocked adn cry a bit or wake her up.

the thinkg that makes the most difference are the props, all teh cool baby pics i have seen are the babies on really cosy looking blankets or funny little cute hats etc...

other tips i learnt, super heat the room so that it is nearly unbearable, it sends them to sleep easily and makes them easy to move about, fill them up with milk as well just before. if you want them 'au naturel' have a few blankets around to catch any accidents and alos take the nappy off a bit before so there are no pressur eline sin the skin.

it took me three different attempts before i go pictures that i liked.

and congrats on being a dad.


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 3:27 pm
 wors
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Window light and reflector

+1


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 3:28 pm
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We got three free professional photos done for our son all through his first year.

Forgotten what its called, but they normally come round the hospital wards trying to drum up interest.

As above you can get some pretty nice photos without expensive kit etc, its just knowing how to use the availble light etc.


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 3:28 pm
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Worth renting a pro full frame body for this (EOS 1DS MIII for instance, or a 5d MII)? Would give me better low-light ISO performance over my aging 400D, worth it for natural light in the morning perhaps?


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 3:30 pm
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17-55 is f2.8 and the 50 is f1.8 so should let in a fair amount, is the 70-200 a EF?

If not the only lens that will work that you have is the 50mm.


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 3:33 pm
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The 70-200mm F4 & 50mm F1.8 would work fine (17-55 wouldn't on a full-frame, which is a bugger as it's my favourite lens!). Trouble with using aperture for low light would be the narrow depth of field wouldn't it?


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 3:35 pm
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wors - Member
Window light and reflector
+1

POSTED 6 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

Or [b]MY[/b] original suggestion....

mastiles_fanylion - Member
Natural light and some reflectors?

POSTED 11 MINUTES AGO # EDIT


PFFT!


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 3:36 pm
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http://www.cherubs.uk.com/index.php

There you go...

Now you dont have to worry just let some one who is confident in taking pictures do the work.


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 3:39 pm
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I use my 70-200L @ f4 on a full frame and is fine so on a crop it would have more DOF, I rarely go above ISO 400 either. Anyway you could easily fix ISO noise in noise ninja or similar.


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 3:40 pm
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If you are thinking of renting it would probably be cheaper to get them done properly. A place near me charges £35 for a session [url=


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 3:43 pm
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I shoot babies for a living (sometimes)! I tend to use two large softboxes as close to the baby as I can get them, in order to get the softest possible light. These days, you can get a two head 150W kit off ebay for sub-£100 - almost as cheap as renting.....

I also use a white backdrop (backlit by a third head, but it's not really necessary) and a few posing props.

The natural light and reflectors will also give you a nice, soft light, but you'll have to wait for some nice, soft light 🙂

And no, your current body will easily deliver the goods.

disclaimer - these may or may not burn your house down.


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 3:47 pm
 wors
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I shoot babies for a living
😯


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 3:48 pm
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😈


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 3:49 pm
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***disclaimer - these [s]may or may not[/s] probably will burn your house down.

There you go 🙂


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 3:51 pm
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Ach, they're probably safe enough, but I do wonder how easy it would be to find spares, or to buy compatible extra bits and pieces if you wanted to expand the kit....


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 3:55 pm
 grum
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If you have flash guns you could just buy a couple of cheap softboxes off ebay (and some stands I suppose).


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 8:19 pm
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Why not buy some crayons and draw a picture of him?


 
Posted : 08/09/2011 8:45 pm

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