[Bob 256]

Welp, looks like i was wrong... they're fluorescent, not led lol

It's a kit kinda like this
amazon.com?tag=pentaxforums-20&

There are some special florescent lamps which work for photography (which may be what you have if they came with your lighting setup) but in general they're a poor match, especially with better options available nowadays..

LEDs are much better especially if they have a high CRE as mentioned previously. If you are planning on having some of the light come in from outside, you'll want any artificial light to match it in color temperature, otherwise you might not get good whites and your shadows can take on an off white cast. 5000C lamps will match outdoor lighting pretty good. You can use lower Kelvin lamps but best only by themselves with no outside mix. Your automatic color balancing should take care of the fact that lower K lamps are more yellowish, but its hard for it to work when you have mixed lighting (outside light mixed with 2700K or so).

Just something to keep in mind if you go lamp shopping.

[AstroDave]

Welp, looks like i was wrong... they're fluorescent, not led lol

Friends don't let friends take pictures with CFL bulbs! As suggested by bigdavephoto (love the Dave part of the name!), get LEDs.

See these spectra I've taken: CFLs emit light at a few dominant wavelengths, while the LED shown here has a claimed equivalent color temperature of 2700 K.

I am still working out the calibration of my new (to me) little spectrometer. Someday soon, I will have all sorts of spectra to show.

[shyrsio]

Hello from a father of a 8 months old boy.
My advice to you would be: get a lot of light, you wont use it at first since the baby wont move much but after a couple of months he will be unstoppable so you will need fill light to catch him in high shutter speed,
You should keep your speed over 1/100, to avoid blur.
Avoid manual lenses, it is impossible to catch the cub when he's moving around or playing.
Start practicing high pitched sounds, hissing and whistling works a charm,
Keep your shutter finger in Wild Life mode, always ready and fast responding to catch those moments.

Most important of all:
Don't let the camera get the best moments, keep them for yourself, in your memory.
The first year flies they say, and I can testify its true. There's a time for the shots but most of the time should be you and your family interacting.
At first I was like: "ah, I should have taken a picture of that unique moment", but later I understood that making the memory is more important then documenting it.

Take care!

[rvandenbrink]

We have a newborn coming in march. As one could expect, especially from folk on here, lots of pictures coming in the spring lol. That being said, I don't have ANY flash equipment.

What I currently have:
1-2 (not sure if both are still functional) LED continuous lights (non-dimmable, cheap) with umbrellas and diffuser
K1MkII + various lenses (likely will be using the SMC DA 50mm f/1.8 lens)

I have no dreams of becoming a professional baby/anything photographer, but definitely would like something I could set up quickly at the house should the itch happen, which will be a lot lol.

Budget concerns in play too. Whatever flash it is, will have to be off-camera and triggerable via controller. I'm trying to get away spending as little as possible without buying something that'll fall apart in a day lol. I've seen Godox/Flashpoint mentioned a lot with some debate on the round vs rectangle heads, but that's all i've dug up so far.

Thanks in advance.

Back in the days of film I used a flash fairly frequently. Since I moved to digital (I drive a KP), I have not used a flash once - between SR and higher ISOs, I just don’t seem to need it

[clackers]

Personally, I would go with the continuous lights you have and umbrella/diffuser arrangements. Flash can be injurious (particularly to infants) under certain circumstances and should be avoided close-up.

What is your evidence for this, Bob?

Flash is de rigeur in baby photography and is far, far less intrusive than continuous lighting!

https://parenting.firstcry.com/articles/is-flash-photography-safe-for-babys-eyes/

[clackers]

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

[peggers]

I might suggest getting an AF-360 FGZ, and maybe some Cactus triggers.
Both would have to be purchased used.

I really like outdoor portraits while using wider apertures, so it's nice to access high-speed sync options on the AF360FGZ.

I agree with the AF-360 FGZ recommendation. A very versatile flash indeed. Be aware though that it doesn't swivel left and right

[FreeSpirit9]

I recommend a 50 1.4 instead of a flash.

[officiousbystander]

I'd say use the speed of the lens and rely on natural light. And just thinking ahead, baby no 2 always gets less photos than baby no 1 (I don't know what number you're up to). When baby no 2 is old enough to realise this they're psychologically damaged for the rest of their lives. Don't make that mistake.

[UncleVanya]

I'd say use the speed of the lens and rely on natural light. And just thinking ahead, baby no 2 always gets less photos than baby no 1 (I don't know what number you're up to). When baby no 2 is old enough to realise this they're psychologically damaged for the rest of their lives. Don't make that mistake.

In my Case that happened. But to be fair we transitioned from film to digital and so photos exist but the evidence is buried. Lol.

[gatorguy]

Thx! The ISO mindset is a hard one to shake, especially coming from astrophotography and nikon d5500 aps-c. Anything > 1600 on that started getting noisy

I'm with Bob on using the lights you already have as long as they are decently bright and with high color accuracy. Even better would be use them only to augment natural light from a sunny window. Since you have little, perhaps no, experience with strobes you'll find the continuous lights far easier and reliable. WYSIWYG.

If higher ISO's are required, something under 1600 preferably, it won't be an issue, particularly with some of the very, VERY good noise reduction software we have now from Topaz, DxO, and Adobe. I've often shot under lower light conditions at 6400 without issue shooting raw. Don't depend on JPEGS straight out of camera for this. For a baby shoot you should absolutely be doing your own post work IMO, which means use raws.

[Bob 256]

What is your evidence for this, Bob?

Flash is de rigeur in baby photography and is far, far less intrusive than continuous lighting!

Is Camera Flash Safe for Baby's Eyes?

I assume you're referring to my statement about the danger of flashes. This was intended to be a general warning statement, particularly about close use. It's based upon my experience as an engineer and instrumentation specialist. The output of a flash spreads out greatly with distance according to the square law, but close in, a baby's wide open pupil can admit enough energy to be worrisome. If you take a flash unit and a magnifying lens, you can burn a surface (the lens has to be of low f value and positioned correctly and the flash must have sufficient strength). I don't think studio lights would be of concern, but an on-camera flash might be in the case of close-ups.

As for evidence, I don't have any of actual cases (I do remember reading in scientific literature of eye damage from nearby flashes - in most cases not detected without an eye exam), and it's just something I would be cautious about with my own child. Flashes at a distance are another matter, and little cause for concern.

[GhostRed7]

I'm with Bob on using the lights you already have as long as they are decently bright and with high color accuracy. Even better would be use them only to augment natural light from a sunny window. Since you have little, perhaps no, experience with strobes you'll find the continuous lights far easier and reliable. WYSIWYG.

If higher ISO's are required, something under 1600 preferably, it won't be an issue, particularly with some of the very, VERY good noise reduction software we have now from Topaz, DxO, and Adobe. I've often shot under lower light conditions at 6400 without issue shooting raw. Don't depend on JPEGS straight out of camera for this. For a baby shoot you should absolutely be doing your own post work IMO, which means use raws.

The lights are CFL and junk lol. I've gotten some decent shots off of them though. Color temp is 5000K i believe. They basically match natural cloudy lighting (mid-day cloudy color temp). Thinking of maybe getting one of the LED continuous with the color temp modes (at least 2). I'm probably going to take a dummy shot with the window and my light to see what it actually looks like.

I never shoot jpeg. 2 card slots on the K1 and shoot in DNG so have plenty of space (actually planning on upsizing the cards). DxO prime function is my usual noise reduction followed by Topaz then LR.

[gatorguy]

The lights are CFL and junk lol. I've gotten some decent shots off of them though. Color temp is 5000K i believe. They basically match natural cloudy lighting (mid-day cloudy color temp). Thinking of maybe getting one of the LED continuous with the color temp modes (at least 2). I'm probably going to take a dummy shot with the window and my light to see what it actually looks like.

I never shoot jpeg. 2 card slots on the K1 and shoot in DNG so have plenty of space (actually planning on upsizing the cards). DxO prime function is my usual noise reduction followed by Topaz then LR.

A couple of suggestions for lights then:

I've found the Amaran 200D very useful (There's also a higher price but less powerful bi-color version. Bi-color will always have less effective power).
Color accurate, plenty strong as a kicker to augment the window light, and bright enough as a key if needed as long as you're comfortable with slightly higher ISO's. If you're on a tighter budget even the Sokani x60 (80W) is enough to augment the window light, and they're a legit bargain IMO. I have both, as well as the RGB Sokani. Don't automatically reject the home-built lights using Lowe's/Home Depot lighting fixtures either. I've not ever tried them but I often see comments from others about how well certain ones perform. You'd have to do some research on Youtube to get suggestions and tips.

Now my continuous light favorite: The Nanlite FS-300, which I have a pair of. Powerful enough that I've used them with the Nanlite fresnel for outdoor morning and afternoon shoots in place of my AD-200's on three different occasions so far and quite effectively. They're a bit more expensive and perhaps overkill for what you need for indoor baby pics, but I do highly recommend them. For what you pay they're amazing.

Just my 2 cents, maybe 1 cent.

[clackers]

This was intended to be a general warning statement, particularly about close use. It's based upon my experience as an engineer and instrumentation specialist.

Yes, well you can read the advice linked from a doctor and the experiences of an actual newborn baby photographer, Bob!

Flash is fine, I've even used it on owls indoors and outdoors. At a sanctuary in Idaho one of the carers confirmed it's fine.