Lens for photographing children

[abee]

I'm a beginner shooting with a Nikon D3200. Currently I have the kit 18-55mm lens and a 50mm 1.8. I'm looking for another lens that will allow me to photograph toddlers and children and produce sharp photos. I have done several cake smash and portraits in a home studio setup of toddlers with my 50mm and although they look great, they are just not at the level of sharpness that I'm looking for. Should I be thinking of a different lens? Or a different body? I was using a tripod and 2 soft box lights. Any advice on a lens to look in to? Would like to keep it under $1000. Thank you.

 

[thereyougo!]

What settings were you using on the 50? Could be you need to stop down a bit to get a little more depth of field

 

[IronMaskDuval]

The 50 1.8 is super sharp. Even wide open. If you want super, nothing in Nikon's line surpasses the 60 2.8. Just my .02. Sharpness is over rated.

 

[cherylynne1]

I'm not familiar with Nikon lenses, but most 50 1.8 lenses are pretty sharp. Were you shooting wide open?

Could you post a problem photo with the EXIF info?

 

[abee]

I've included a sample photo. I believe I was at ISO 800 (it was cloudy) and aperture at 2.8. I used a grey card to set my white balance.

 

[abee]

I printed the photo and it's just not as crisp as I would like

 

[IronMaskDuval]

Lolololol. What, mate? That's plenty sharp. Lololol

 

[cherylynne1]

It might be the grain that you're getting at ISO 800 that's bothering you. Do you have the same problem at other ISO's?

 

[robbins.photo]

I'm a beginner shooting with a Nikon D3200. Currently I have the kit 18-55mm lens and a 50mm 1.8. I'm looking for another lens that will allow me to photograph toddlers and children and produce sharp photos. I have done several cake smash and portraits in a home studio setup of toddlers with my 50mm and although they look great, they are just not at the level of sharpness that I'm looking for. Should I be thinking of a different lens? Or a different body? I was using a tripod and 2 soft box lights. Any advice on a lens to look in to? Would like to keep it under $1000. Thank you.

Lens wise you don't get much sharper than the 50mm prime - so my guess is a someone else mentioned you might have been shooting with your aperture open too wide. Can you post a sample with EXIF?

 

[abee]

O

It might be the grain that you're getting at ISO 800 that's bothering you. Do you have the same problem at other ISO's?

On that particular day, if I set the ISO to 400 it was too dark

 

[abee]

Lolololol. What, mate? That's plenty sharp. Lololol

Really? Maybe I am being too critical of myself?

 

[cherylynne1]

O

It might be the grain that you're getting at ISO 800 that's bothering you. Do you have the same problem at other ISO's?

On that particular day, if I set the ISO to 400 it was too dark

Oh, I'm not questioning that. I believe you. But when you set it that high on that camera, you get grain, as you can see in the photo, which loses some of the finer details. If you had used flash and lowered the ISO, you probably could have gotten rid of the grain.

I'm guessing you're trying to get it sharp enough to make out individual eyelashes?

 

[abee]

I'm a beginner shooting with a Nikon D3200. Currently I have the kit 18-55mm lens and a 50mm 1.8. I'm looking for another lens that will allow me to photograph toddlers and children and produce sharp photos. I have done several cake smash and portraits in a home studio setup of toddlers with my 50mm and although they look great, they are just not at the level of sharpness that I'm looking for. Should I be thinking of a different lens? Or a different body? I was using a tripod and 2 soft box lights. Any advice on a lens to look in to? Would like to keep it under $1000. Thank you.

Lens wise you don't get much sharper than the 50mm prime - so my guess is a someone else mentioned you might have been shooting with your aperture open too wide. Can you post a sample with EXIF?

My apologies as I am new here, what is EXIF? I posted a photo earlier in the thread

 

[robbins.photo]

Lolololol. What, mate? That's plenty sharp. Lololol

Really? Maybe I am being too critical of myself?

Well the sample looks sharp enough overall, hard to tell though because it is such a small size. The contrast looks a little flat. It's also important to know what you are using to print this with, and what size file your sending to the printer, etc. Does the image look much sharper on screen but not so much when you print it, etc

 

[robbins.photo]

I'm a beginner shooting with a Nikon D3200. Currently I have the kit 18-55mm lens and a 50mm 1.8. I'm looking for another lens that will allow me to photograph toddlers and children and produce sharp photos. I have done several cake smash and portraits in a home studio setup of toddlers with my 50mm and although they look great, they are just not at the level of sharpness that I'm looking for. Should I be thinking of a different lens? Or a different body? I was using a tripod and 2 soft box lights. Any advice on a lens to look in to? Would like to keep it under $1000. Thank you.

Lens wise you don't get much sharper than the 50mm prime - so my guess is a someone else mentioned you might have been shooting with your aperture open too wide. Can you post a sample with EXIF?

My apologies as I am new here, what is EXIF? I posted a photo earlier in the thread

Shutter speed, ISO, Aperture settings