Category Archives: Behind the Scenes Tweet Now, if you’re not a photographer, you can scroll down to view the pictures, because the below will not make much sense to you, or even if it will, won’t be of much interest. I don’t make a secret of the fact that I am not in any way a Photoshop guru. In fact,…  Tweet Another picture, another story, another happy accident. I was photographing the cutest little girl ever, Amelie. He mum styled Amelie to the top of the girly perfection, and we had fun taking photos around the park. As we headed to the playground for a change of scenery, someone walked past with this adorable puppy…. 2 comments 
What a beautiful photo!
What a beautiful photo!  Tweet I’m continuing my blog post series on how some of my all-time favourite images were achieved with this particular favourite of mine from a maternity photography session in West Dulwich. As I said before, most of my favourite photographs happened by accident, and this is no exception. These are not my client’s dogs. They… 1 comment 
I love that top photo! It’s just so raaawr!  Tweet My baby boy turned 1 month old on Friday and I really really wanted to put a blog post up with some pictures of him, but I just couldn’t find 10 minutes to even select the ones I wanted to show, let alone get them processed for the blog. So instead today I’m putting… 5 comments 
Oh he is SO gorgeous, Antonina. Truly adorable x
Awwww, he is so cute! Taking after his mum, I guess 
gorgeous! x x 
Eek!!!! I can’t believe your a mommy either! Congratulations woman! Am just seeing this now but I’m so, so happy for you! Wish I were on your side of the globe now so I could give those cute little fingers some kisses!! 
How absolutely adorable! I could almost feel broody again, unfortunately the last one reminded me that I love my normal sleep routine too much now that they are toddlers  Tweet Recently I had quite a few people asking me what camera and lens do I use, so I thought instead of typing up multiple emails, I’d write a blog post about that! Hopefully it will help someone – even if a tiny little bit. To start with, I really should point out that although… 22 comments 
Love this post, Antonina!!!!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Alex Beadon, Antonina Mamzenko. Antonina Mamzenko said: Some midnight reading for you tweeps – what's in my bag plus camera & lens info for some of my favourites: http://ow.ly/3QFuO [...]
Great post, Antonina. I love my 50mm 1.4 and use it almost constantly. I think it’s the wide depth of field I’m drawn to. 
Loved this post. So interesting! My fave lens is my 50mm 1.8, saving for the 1.4 but totally get what your saying when photographing children with it. Could you share where you rent your equipment from? Thanks again 
Interesting post. I love hearing what’s in other peoples camera bags! It’s funny how we’re all different. I love my primes andonly use zooms when I have to. I rented the 70-200 but just couldn’t get along with it, but I know so many photogs love it! Thanks for sharing this. 
Depending on the situation, I rent from two places, one is http://lensesforhire.co.uk/ – great when you need a piece of equipment for a week or so, as they are much cheaper than other places, and they also deliver to your door. Or, if I only need something for a weekend, I would go to Calumet – they are more expensive, but they have a weekend deal when you only pay for one day rental if you pick up Fri night and return Mon morning (great for weddings
I told you before that I just not as smitten by the 50mm as everyone else seems to be! I actually prefer the bokeh and the compressed perspective effect I achieve with 70-200mm at 2.8 and 200mm!
It’s great to see that we are all different, isn’t it?
I know – just as I replied to Alex’s comment…. And it just shows that there is no single piece of equipment that’s the answer to all your needs – everyone is different and you need to find what’s right for you!
Thanks for this, Antonina, really interesting. I’ve just been using a hired 50mm today for an indoor shoot and was surprised how easy I found working with a prime, as I haven’t used them very much. (The child wasn’t yet crawling though, so I didn’t have the difficulty of having to give chase!)
Yes, I do use 50mm with newborn babies and adults (subjects you can pretty much put where you like them to be), but still prefer the zoom 
Great post! I really love my Nikon 85 1.4g for portraits. It gives you that shallow depth of field that makes your subject pop in a similar way the 70-200 2.8 does but without the weight of that massive lens!!
I think you wold love the 85 then because it gives you much more bokeh than the 50 at the same aperture because of the longer focal length but is just so much lighter to carry around than the 70-200. But like you say, probably not as great for kids though as it’s a prime lens.
Haven’t actually tried the Canon equivalent of 85mm, though I did hear good things about it. But as I said, I think I’m too lazy to really get into the primes!
Funny thing is I know some people are using primes with kids to a great success! Just not me I guess! 
Great post. The Canon 50mm f1.4 is a fantastic lens and pound for pound can’t be beat, amazing value for money. A great quality multi purpose lens, especially on a full frame. I tend to shoot with primes most of the time. If i’ve got a lively child subject i just tend to give them a little more room in the frame, 21mpx has plenty of give A few have mentioned the 85… I’ve owned the 85 f1.8, fabulous quality but at the time my camera was a 350D and it was just too long for me. Next purchase is the 24 f1.4
great post antonina – I definately agree with you that it is whatever you are comfortable with – you have to know your lens well to get great pictures out if it. I tend you use my 85-1.8, 50-1.4 and 70-200L on most shoots. The macro is the next on my list of ‘many things to buy’
I actually tried 35mm 1.4 and LOVED it. Very very sharp and superb low light performance. Guess more useful for more still subjects though, like landscapes and adults
I agree. First time I used a macro, the results were pretty poor. I just didn’t know what to do with it. Same with tilt-and-shift. You really have to practice to get the most out of it. 
Interesting post Antonina, thanks for sharing
always interesting to see what others have in their camera bag.. I’m a bit of a sucker for primes myself. what’s really good to see is that individual styles span more than just which preset they use in LR… thanks for sharing 
Just stumbled upon your blog yesterday and I’m in LOVE Love you for this post too … |
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Hope he is settled and you are all a happy family now)) x
enjoy he is beautiful
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Doesnt your mum look just like you! Lovely images, Antonina.
Very excited to see the VSCO presets. Great demo!
oh, these look nice. Will have to take a closer look at these presets. Thanks!
Lovely! I’m definitely going to buy them, they look so lovely x
I better check them out!
Beautiful!