taking indoor pictures of baby -need advice

[skysunsandsea]

i tried to take indoor pictures of my baby.

when i set my cam aperture prioity to 5.6, the shutter speed is slow and the picture turns blurry when my baby moves. i then set the iso higher to 400 or 800 but seems its not enough. 1600 and 3200 iso is too grainy.

if i use low aperture like 1.8, 2.0, only the eyes are sharp but the rest of my baby's face is blurr.

5.6 i think is nice but seems i cant have a faster shutter speed.

whats a solution to this prob? my baby's room is moderately bright.

use flash? i do not want to hurt bb's eyes with flash but will a flash diffuser helps?

thanks. pls advice.

 

[Rashkae]

You may need to consider either switching on more lights in the room, or using a diffused bounce flash.

 

[omahunk]

Use diffused bounc flash will help or put your baby closer to window so there more light and u can get higher shutter speed.

 

[skysunsandsea]

will a diffuser on a fill flash works?

do i need to buy a speedlite?

i tried to place bb near the window too but seems one side of bb face is too bright and the other side shadowed. when i place bb near win, the picture do not have those warm feel too.

 

[Rashkae]

will a diffuser on a fill flash works?

do i need to buy a speedlite?

i tried to place bb near the window too but seems one side of bb face is too bright and the other side shadowed. when i place bb near win, the picture do not have those warm feel too.

I would suggest a diffuser on a speedlite. Try renting/borrowing one first.

 

[Reportage]

i tried to take indoor pictures of my baby.

when i set my cam aperture prioity to 5.6, the shutter speed is slow and the picture turns blurry when my baby moves. i then set the iso higher to 400 or 800 but seems its not enough. 1600 and 3200 iso is too grainy.

if i use low aperture like 1.8, 2.0, only the eyes are sharp but the rest of my baby's face is blurr.

5.6 i think is nice but seems i cant have a faster shutter speed.

whats a solution to this prob? my baby's room is moderately bright.

use flash? i do not want to hurt bb's eyes with flash but will a flash diffuser helps?

thanks. pls advice.

what camera?

if it has manual settings, what you can do is set F5.6, 1/60, ISO 1600 and EV +1.

This setting works pretty good for non flash situations even with standard glass. From there work backwards till you get the exposure you like. If using bounced/diffused flash, adjust the iso accordingly.

 

[Diavonex]

what camera?

if it has manual settings, what you can do is set F5.6, 1/60, ISO 1600 and EV +1.

This setting works pretty good for non flash situations even with standard glass. From there work backwards till you get the exposure you like. If using bounced/diffused flash, adjust the iso accordingly.

If you are using manual, do you still have to use EV (exposure compensation)?

 

[Reportage]

If you are using manual, do you still have to use EV (exposure compensation)?

hard to say. sometimes get the image we want just that a tad dark...unless the TS knows what to do in the picture editor or at least in-camera editing, usually EV adjustments can give pics ready to print.

often darker have more details but most of the time the desired is a brighter picture even at the loss of detail.

 

[Rashkae]

what camera?

if it has manual settings, what you can do is set F5.6, 1/60, ISO 1600 and EV +1.

This setting works pretty good for non flash situations even with standard glass. From there work backwards till you get the exposure you like. If using bounced/diffused flash, adjust the iso accordingly.

If you're in a mode that allows for exposure compensation (let's say, Av), then adjusting the exposure by +1 will force the camera to either increase the shutter speed or the ISO (the extra exposure has to come from somewhere...). This would go against the TS's requirements...

 

[Reportage]

If you're in a mode that allows for exposure compensation (let's say, Av), then adjusting the exposure by +1 will force the camera to either increase the shutter speed or the ISO (the extra exposure has to come from somewhere...). This would go against the TS's requirements...

The TS has to start learning how to use the various functions of the camera somewhere.

 

[Rashkae]

The TS has to start learning how to use the various functions of the camera somewhere.

True, but from his post, he does seem to have a grasp of the basics, and at least understands the compromises when you prioritize one aspect of exposure over another. His main issue now is how to get a brighter shot with the same aperture without boosting ISO. The only variable here is shutter speed, and that is affected by lighting. So a flash, or turning on more lights in the room, is the better solution.

 

[Diavonex]

hard to say. sometimes get the image we want just that a tad dark...unless the TS knows what to do in the picture editor or at least in-camera editing, usually EV adjustments can give pics ready to print.

often darker have more details but most of the time the desired is a brighter picture even at the loss of detail.

Can we not compensate by adjusting the aperture, speed or ISO?

 

[Rashkae]

Can we not compensate by adjusting the aperture, speed or ISO?

He's already tried that, but can't get acceptable results (using the aperture value, ISO and minimum shutter speed he needs) due to insufficient lighting.

 

[skysunsandsea]

hey thanks for the advice. im using canon 500d.

then fill flash diffuser works? will it be harsh? thinking of buying one but not sure if it is useful.

 

[Diavonex]

He's already tried that, but can't get acceptable results (using the aperture value, ISO and minimum shutter speed he needs) due to insufficient lighting.

If you adjust the EV, it'll indirectly change the aperture/speed/ISO of the camera (i.e. in manual)

How else can the camera allow more light onto the sensor.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[kylelam77]

i tried to take indoor pictures of my baby.

when i set my cam aperture prioity to 5.6, the shutter speed is slow and the picture turns blurry when my baby moves. i then set the iso higher to 400 or 800 but seems its not enough. 1600 and 3200 iso is too grainy.

if i use low aperture like 1.8, 2.0, only the eyes are sharp but the rest of my baby's face is blurr.

5.6 i think is nice but seems i cant have a faster shutter speed.

whats a solution to this prob? my baby's room is moderately bright.

use flash? i do not want to hurt bb's eyes with flash but will a flash diffuser helps?

thanks. pls advice.

I use ISO 800 routinely on my D70 to take pictures of my baby. There is some natural light coming through the blinds. Am on 1.8 mostly and the pictures are sharp enough at least the face is sharp throughout. Where exactly do you focus? Perhaps you cld experiment with different focussing points? If your baby is less than 9 months, wld suggest against using too much flash. Isn't good for eye development. It might startle them too. If you don't mind divulging, perhaps you cld share some of your pics and some of the sifus here might be able to assist.

 

[skysunsandsea]

True, but from his post, he does seem to have a grasp of the basics, and at least understands the compromises when you prioritize one aspect of exposure over another. His main issue now is how to get a brighter shot with the same aperture without boosting ISO. The only variable here is shutter speed, and that is affected by lighting. So a flash, or turning on more lights in the room, is the better solution.

thanks Rashkae, just tried to take a few shots and turning more lights on really helps.

i think i will get a 430EX II flash soon. before that i will try using a flash diffuser on the fill flash first to see if it works well.

do i need to buy anything extra like external flash diffuser?

 

[catchlights]

TS have difficulty to understand about basic exposure, do you think he will go to the extend of shooting RAW, increase "exposure", doing "de-noising" at the post production?

the suggestion of "keep it simple" is good.
Use flash or bring the baby to a brighter place to shoot.

anyway, to TS, go to our National Library, there are many books about shooting kids, babies, all are cater to hobbyist, parents, not very difficult to understand, you can get a lot useful info.

hope this help.

 

[skysunsandsea]

I use ISO 800 routinely on my D70 to take pictures of my baby. There is some natural light coming through the blinds. Am on 1.8 mostly and the pictures are sharp enough at least the face is sharp throughout. Where exactly do you focus? Perhaps you cld experiment with different focussing points? If your baby is less than 9 months, wld suggest against using too much flash. Isn't good for eye development. It might startle them too. If you don't mind divulging, perhaps you cld share some of your pics and some of the sifus here might be able to assist.

my bb is 3 months old that is why i dun think i want to use any flash. when i use f1.8, i focus on the eyes. the pictures turn out to be sharp on the eyes and nose but the hair area is blurr. pictures look nice but i feel it could be better with the hair and chin area sharper as well.

i am using canon 50mm f1.8

 

[g75yu]

What I find works for me as follows:

- aperture : ideally around f4 should get you sufficient dof
- ISO : just put as high as you can with acceptable noise level (your personal preference)
- shutter speed : can't be too slow as babies can be quite active and always moving/fidgeting, so try to keep to at least 1/60 or preferably faster

if the highest ISO + f4 doesn't allow you a quick enough shutter speed then you might want to consider the flash

- flash : 430EXII would be good as it helps even out the lighting and typically allows you a faster shutter speed (see point on shutter speed). If you are indoors, most likely can just bounce off the ceiling/walls and not need a diffuser. I find I prefer bounce effect to my Stofen