Tricks to shoot infants?

[dctk78]

Any tricks to share on shooting infants <24mths.

It's not easy to catch their attentions, to stay still and to look at the camera.
most of my shots taken were either blur or the infants not looking at you.

not even when i set high shutter speed

pls advice.
thanks

[zac08]

Don't catch them at play time, if you wish to, then use natural lights like bringing them outside.

Just when they wake, to their meal times are the best at catching them...

[catchlights]

this is what a mummy can create, she took up photography not too long ago, and not using any awesome drop dead no horse run tok gong camera/lenses.

Baby Portfolio

[dctk78]

during eating? like this

[catchlights]

Originally Posted by dctk78 during eating? like this

the proper way to post FLICKR images in Clubsnap

[danielteng]

2 words bro. Fast lens. but even my 50mm 1.8 sometimes not fast enough.... :P

[ndroo]

Do stupid things.

Yeah. Not joking. At least that's how I do it. Make funny faces. Make funny sounds. Put the darn lens cap in your mouth. Make them stop and stare at you. Then snap.

[dctk78]

Do stupid things, making funny faces are good ideas.

but how about snaping play time during outdoors?
it's not easy to catch their attentions.

most of my shots were either their side or back view

[ndroo]

Originally Posted by dctk78 most of my shots were either their side or back view

Can't u shoot from the front?

[m3lv1nh0]

Ask your wife to stand beside you and wiggle some toys to attract the baby's attention.

Also Fast lens (1.4) + high ISO for high shutter speed for indoors or just bring the kids outdoor for 1/8000 speed.

[chalib]

U need a lota patience

[dark72]

Patience and right moment? They have short attention span...

[ortega]

you need to bond with the baby first
know how to get their attn and make him/her laugh/smile

[LifeInMacro]

Here are 10 tips from a parent of 2 kids...
1. You can shoot kids anytime. You can even shoot them when they're are crying. Make your photos real. Indoor or outdoor, it doesn't really matter. Let them be themselves. Unless you have good home studio lighting gear, it is rather difficult to emulate a studio shoot.
2. Anticipate the moment and then fire away. They can change their expressions much faster than your camera's fps. So be Kiasu.
3. Keep them interested, engaged and of course make it fun. But don't expect long attention span from these little people. If you can a get decent set of 10-20 shots per session, I think it is quite OK already.
4. Saying "look here...1, 2, 3..." doesn't really work. They understand (it's true!) but will not cooperate.
5. Frame/Crop tight and eliminate all the unnecessary background details.
6. Aim and AF at their eyes. You want sharp and expressive eyes.
7. My kids hate flash, so I try to up ISO and shoot with ambient light.
8. Not just the face; hands, feet, etc make interesting shoots too.
9. Shoot at their eye level.
10. If all else fails, break all the rules above, and there're really none!

[Big Kahuna]

Originally Posted by chalib U need a lota patience

I agree...just wait for the right moment and trigger

[bomby929]

patience.. + patience + patience... worse is when they start to walk or run.. see you bring up the camera.. will come chasing after you and want to press this and that..

[LifeInMacro]

Originally Posted by bomby929 patience.. + patience + patience... worse is when they start to walk or run.. see you bring up the camera.. will come chasing after you and want to press this and that..

yeah, I'll usually let them see what pictures I took and if they are mature enough to understand, I'll tell them to give me some silly expressions/actions, shoot and them show them again. After a while they get bored and start to do something else. Kids have to be handled in different ways from adults. Instant feedback is good. Fun must be part of the process!

[Dream Merchant]

Originally Posted by ortega you need to bond with the baby first know how to get their attn and make him/her laugh/smile

Which is better ... superglue or fast-drying epoxy?

[Frankenstein]

What I did previously (my kids are 4 and 8 now) were:-

For the younger ones where physical movements are still limited

- Set Camera on Tripod.
- Set a fast Shutter Speed and use ISO to compensate for lower light
- Focus on eyes manually.
- Set to Multiple Frames.
- Wait Patiently and Fire Away (I'm sure you can get their attention by making weird noises)

I did some of these on a film camera and got away with quite a few shots per roll that were good hence in this digital age, no excuses (even if you get 1 out of 10, it is still priceless).

Older ones running around

- Set a fast Shutter Speed and use ISO to compensate for lower light
- Set Focus to AI Focus (can't remember the exact terminology).
- Set to Multiple Frames.
- Wait Patiently and Fire Away (I'm sure you can get their attention by making weird noises)

I still practice the multiple shots when I'm out in situations where re-taking the shots are difficult (e.g. Disneyland picture taking with the characters where you queue for a long time and if you take too long, everyone else behind in the queue seems impatient.....)

[catchlights]

Originally Posted by Dream Merchant Which is better ... superglue or fast-drying epoxy?

have you consider using graffer tape instead??