Mama needs a new lens

So, I splurged a little and bought a new portrait lens for my Nikon a few months ago. I thought it might come in handy when the baby arrives. It's been a bit tricky learning how to use it - no zoom function which is hard to adjust to - but luckily I have a few friends with some very precious little practice subjects:




Darling Ellie, 8 mos. old. Like most babies her age, she was much more interested in eating the grass than taking pictures, but we managed to snap a few good ones in between grazing sessions. She is such a little doll, and I love her red hair!




My buddy Harrison, who has the sweetest little spirit for a three-year old. He's coming over today to play with our dogs (and my vacuum - this kid LOVES vacuums!). He's also on mom's phone quite a bit so he and I do a fair amount of texting.




His precious baby sister Avery, who just turned one and is the most active little thing you've ever seen. She is into everything and keeps mama on her toes, but you can't really get mad at her, because she has these magic little curls and long, long lashes.

This lens (a 50mm, f/1.8) takes advantage of the available natural light, which makes for a prettier picture, and as my friend Caroline noted, the lack of zoom forces you to be creative with your composition. It's also great for lower lighting situations and brings the subject into sharp focus while giving off that nice, fuzzy background. I think kids might be marginally easier to shoot than dogs, especially with a lens like this. Here's one I got of the pups after many (many) outtakes in which one/both dogs were not in the frame -