Film geek bitten by digital bug: kid pics

[ksmattfish]

I've had my 20D for about a month now. There is no chance I'm giving up film, but I'm very happy to add digital to my repertoire. I've spent more than 10 years learning film (and consider it a lifetime learning experience); I'm still a newbie with digital. Here are some portraits of my daughter that represent some of my first tries with digital.

Pink dress, blue eyes, tatoo, and mosquito bites

http://www.mattneedham.com/MNphoto/nfpicturepro/albums/userpics/10001/0825.jpg


At the park fountain

http://www.mattneedham.com/MNphoto/nfpicturepro/albums/userpics/10001/0097mjn05182005.jpg


Monochrome: BW film is my passion. Digital is pretty much only replacing 35mm color film for me right now. But here I couldn't resist as she had a bright yellow macaroni and cheese stain on her pink dress. ;)

http://www.mattneedham.com/MNphoto/nfpicturepro/albums/userpics/10001/0819tone.jpg

[Learner]

your daughter is adorable and those are great shots. Cant wait for my 20D! Did you need a special lense, did you take w/o or with kit lense (if it came with camera) just wonder what i can get with just the camera and what comes with the kit package. Don't think i will have 800 bux for any fancy lenses any time soon:P

Learner

[cjsa]

she's really cute

[ksmattfish]

did you take w/o or with kit lense (if it came with camera)

I went with the Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8, and the Canon 85mm f/1.8 when I bought the body. Recently I've added a Sigma 55-200mm f/standard consumer (f/4-5.6 I think, it's downstairs right now, and I haven't used it much yet). The shot at the fountain was taken with the Sigma 18-50. The other shots were taken with the Canon 85mm.

[Learner]

wow, i just looked "Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8" thats close to 500 bux, i gonna be penny saving for EVER! what are the must have lenses, can I get by with the kit lense and still get great shots? or is there a couple of others that I must absolutely have and what would you suggest . I think anything over 500, wont happen for me, but i could save an extra grand over the next year and maybe fork out for 1 or two lenses, but then i need a good flash and strong tripod or monopod (is that what its called?)

Hope i did not ask too much:P

Thanks,

Learner

[DeltaWebb]

wow, i just looked "Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8" thats close to 500 bux, i gonna be penny saving for EVER! what are the must have lenses, can I get by with the kit lense and still get great shots? or is there a couple of others that I must absolutely have and what would you suggest . I think anything over 500, wont happen for me, but i could save an extra grand over the next year and maybe fork out for 1 or two lenses, but then i need a good flash and strong tripod or monopod (is that what its called?)

Hope i did not ask too much:P

Thanks,

Learner

Don't have it yet, but the Canon 50mm f1.8 II is a lense that everyone on here either has, is getting or can't recommend enough! And it's only about $80!:D It's on my short list. Personally wanted a long lense first.

[ksmattfish]

wow, i just looked "Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8" thats close to 500 bux,

Yeah, but the Canon version is even more than that! The reason it's expensive is because it's a faster zoom. There is nothing wrong with the kit lenses (the Canon 17-85 IS is a $500 lens, and it's one of the kit choices), but I knew I'd want the extra speed. As has been suggested, you can go with a kit lens, and add primes for some speed. The 50mm f/1.8 should be a very nice portrait lens.

[Cleo199]

she has beautiful eyes! #2 is a framer for sure. Great shots.

[exposingmyself]

you could package your daughter as a porcelain antique doll. she's absolutely lovely. her eyes are very captivating. i love them all but no. 1 and 3 look like those kids headshots and very nicely done too. she seems very relaxed and adoring with you. you should continue to post her pictures whenever you need more adoring compliments :)

[ksmattfish]

she seems very relaxed and adoring with you.

That is usually true when I'm not holding a camera, but normally when I break out the gear she treats me like Sean Penn treats a paparazzi! :) I've seen her take off her shirt and put it over her head and walk away. All my friends' kids love to ham it up in front of my camera, but with my daughter it's getting harder to get shots of her looking into the camera. The majority of my personal family photos are taken on BW film with vintage cameras, so they aren't appropriate for this forum.

On a similar note: whenever I photograph kids with my old cameras, they always rush up and ask to see the pic. They seem confused when I explain my Rolleiflex doesn't have an LCD screen. :)

[OceanRider]

funny, once I got my 20D I left film in the dust, just cant look back. the power in digital is far to great for me to ever look back.

[ksmattfish]

funny, once I got my 20D I left film in the dust, just cant look back. the power in digital is far to great for me to ever look back.

I looked back to the 1950s and found Rolleiflexes and Speed Graphics. With modern medium and large format film the image quality is stunning. Digital still has a little ways to go.

Carpenters don't just carry one saw, and even though a powered saw is great for a lot of their work, they still use the old fashioned people-powered versions occasionally. I can't limit myself to a single camera system or type of capture. For me there is no one overall answer to the film vs. digital question; I have to take it on a project by project basis. Different gear brings different options, strengths, and weaknesses.

Besides, I get a kick bucking the trends; I love the looks I get in a room full of DSLRs when I pull out a Rolleiflex. Sure, they're all snickering when I have to reload every 12 shots, but their labs prints will mostly all look the same. My hand printed gelatin silver prints will stand out as something different.

I've had my 20D for about a month now, and I think I'm going to absolutely love it for weddings and a lot of client work. It's fast, convenient, versatile, and takes a quality photo. It has rekindled my interest in color photography. But for BW landscape photography it can't touch what I can do with a 4x5 view camera that's twice as old as I am, although I can understand why most folks don't use them (view cameras) for NASCAR photography. ;)

But to each their own. Canon and Nikon have been attempting to put us all in the same box for decades now. I gotta be free to be me! ;)