Considering new lens for infant/toddler pictures

[gossamer]

Hi, I'm an avid amateur photographer with a D300 and a few lenses (35mm f1.8, 16-85mm f3.5, 70-300mm f4.5). A friend recently came to me and asked if I could take pictures of her newborn son in her house with some props she picked up based on pictures on pinterest.

If this was in a studio where there's a lot of space, I'd think something like an 85mm portrait lens would be nice, but this is in her house, so it's likely to be more confined.

I'm sure I could do a fine job with the 35mm or even the 16-85mm, but much of the photography I do is of people as my subjects, and I thought it was a good time to justify purchasing a nice lens.

I have about $1000 or $1500 to spend, and would like an FX lens, as I intend on upgrading my D300 to a D750 in the next six months (hopefully!).

Thanks for any ideas,
Dave

 

[astroNikon]

First figure out how much space that you have
and then test your current lenses

You do, after all have focal lengths from 16 - 300mm, which includes 85mm twice. Or 50mm which has the FOV of an 85 on a crop camera) with your 16-85 lens.

The only thing lacking from your 85mm's is maybe a lower aperture to isolate the subject. But with portraiture you may find f/5.6 more ideal anyways (versus f/2.8 or 1.8 or 1.4) except for more artsy type photos.

remember ( dependent upon the backgrounds, objective, etc) in a studio setting you want space BEHIND your subject too. The more the better. I thought my home studio was okay, until I needed more back space, which then cramped everything up front.

 

[gossamer]

Thanks for the info. I was just thinking there was a better quality lens from what I'm currently using. I'll upload my pictures after the infant photo shoot and ask for comments