Newborn photography is a craft that takes patience, creativity, and skill. Having the proper equipment to shoot these sessions is extremely important in order to produce high quality images. The camera body is the main piece of photography equipment that is used to capture the image, but the camera’s lens is what provides the camera the ability to capture it.
Lens selection is a very important aspect of photography, and a photographer’s lens choice can mean the difference between a crisp, clear image and one that lacks in technical quality. The Canon 50mm f/1.2 lens is a fixed focal range lens that provides a narrow depth of field, allowing more natural light to be captured. The 50mm range is the best choice for indoor sessions and allows the photographer to shoot from a comfortable distance.
The lens offers a maximum f/1.2 aperture, when used wide open, creates smoooth and creamy bokeh that gently blurs background details and brings the subject into focus. The aperture can be “stopped down” or decreased in order to bring background details back into focus. The Canon 50mm f/1.2 is ideal for newborn sessions because its wide aperture lets more natural light into the image. It can also be used in studios with a lack of natural lighting sources, virtually eliminating the need for an external flash as an artificial light source. The wider aperture also allows for a faster shutter speed, which is necessary when newborns are moving their arms or legs.
The Canon 50mm f/1.2 sits very close to the camera when it is mounted on the camera body, leaving it less open to dings or damage than other longer telephoto or variable focal length lenses. Its range allows for “zooming of the feet” – meaning that the photographer can move in close to capture fine details up close, or move back and capture more of the scene surrounding the subject.
The downside to this lens is if you are short and a tight shooter like me this lens is a challenge for newborn photography.
Next up is the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART lens. I LOVE this lens it is the perfect lens for me when photographing newborns. I like to be up close to my newborns to make sure I am always within an arms reach. So for this reason, this is my go to lens when photographing newborns, not to mention this lens is super tack sharp. The only downside is you have to be careful with angles as it can make the newborns head appear larger than it actually is.
