 Mandy Kopitzke |
Photographing Children What settings should I be using when taking pictures of children that don't sit still? I use continuous lighting and my camera is a Canon Rebel XT. Thanks.
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
You should use a setting that will give a proper exposure, fast enough shutter speed to prevent unwanted blur, and focus is up to you or the camera if you have to use auto focus. Keep the shutter speed above 125th. And either use a high enough ISO, or if you want the ISO low to prevent noise/grain, then you may need brighter light or flash. You can get pictures of kids with a broad range of shutter speeds and apertures.
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Mandy Kopitzke |
I'm sorry, I'm new at this and am doing it mostly for hobby. I have 2 500watt continuous lights. So you think if I had higher powered lights it would help. When I put the shutter speed up to 125th you can't see the picture unless I use the flash then it's overexposed. I think I just need to play around with it more, I thought just maybe someone might have a good suggestion for a good setting. Thanks for your reply!
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
A good setting could be f/8 at 1000th of a second, or a good setting could be f/4 at 60th of a second. None of that means very much by itself if you don't take into account the basics of proper exposure, iso level, light level, aperture, what you're using, and what you're shooting. You can't approach it as one good setting for everything.
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BetterPhoto Member |
Children are some of the hardest, and most rewarding subjects that I have shot. If you put them in an environment that they enjoy, such as the back yard or park, and keep the camera at the ready, you will find that awesome portraits will follow. I have rarely posed children, and gotten some fantastic portraits. Have fun and keep shooting.
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Robert F. Walker |
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Dale M. Garvey |
Let them play. Get on their level. I like to you a telephoto lens so I am not in their space. Have them run races and shoot a slow shutter speed for blur (1/50-1/125). Monkey bars can frame some good shots. Use the burst mode and look for one or two shots to be good. I don't have lights but can get what I want outside.
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Bunny Snow |
When I was able to move around and lie on the ground, as well as get quickly to my feet prior to two severe injuries, I used to photograph children outside doing something they enjoyed. I used a 135 - 200 mm telephoto lenses (my camera then was different than the ones today; they did not have zoom lenses so I shot prime lenses). I used higher shutter speeds like 1/250 to 1/500 Sec. and wide opened apertures to reduce my depth of field and allow the background to go way out of focus. This however is a ballpark figure, it depends upon the situation. Generally, I find that working in open shade there is still directional lighting with more flattering skin tones, with the use of an outside-camera flash reduced by 1/3 to 2/3 as fill-light reduces the ratio between the highlights and the shadows. The Canon 580EX flash has a card that can be pulled out to place a catch light in the subject's eyes. I would also have my subjects explore creatures in the grass, or snuggle with their dog/cat, stand with their horse, explore a beaver pond with me; do something that they enjoyed. Because when they are busy, they are not absorbed in running around, but being inquisitive. I laid down on the ground with my camera facing up to a hammock and captured a portrait of a 6 year old peering through a hammock in the open shade with his muddy fingers and long eye lashes. It was Peter at age 6, and his parents love the portrait! Peter Seibert, Jr. rarely sat still for anything, but he was doing something, being a child, and being inquisitive, and I was at his level, but not totally in his space.
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BetterPhoto Member |
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LightAnon.com - Steve Parrott Contact Steve Parrott Steve Parrott's Gallery |
Mandy, your number one problem is you are using continuous lighting. In most all cases, strobe lightiing is far better to use for people shots. You simply do not have enough light power to use the fast shutter speeds you need to set to be able to prevent blur due to the child's movement. Continuous lights can be used with an adult that can remain STILL, but even then, you often have to use a tripod and / or a large aperture to get enough exposure. When shooting subjects such as children, it is almost impossible to use continuous lighting, you need the strobe to freeze the movement. But again, be sure and get lights with enough power, at least in the 700 to 1000 watt range so you will not be forced to use a large aperture. Continuous lights are really more suited for just product photography. Steve
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Bunny Snow |
When my daughter was 4 years old, her favorite doll was Mandy, for whom I made matching dresses. Heather brought Mandy with her when we visited her grandparents at their summer place in Maine, and I brought my Mamiyaflex C-3 TLR with two telephoto prime lenses and a tripod. There was no such thing as zooms back then. Heather sat on a large boulder in front of the camp, and I was on the edge of the embankment so I would be at her level with my heavy camera on a sturdy tripod. This capture portrays Heather's posturing at that time of her life. Since this was taken with film in 1978, I have no idea of my settings. But, I generally used 100 to 200 ISO film, and faster shutter speeds. This is how I was taught in college a half century ago. Some things changed today, while others remain the same.
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Mandy Kopitzke |
Thank you for all the tips!
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Debby A. Tabb |
Some great Info on Photographying Children & Studio Photography can be found in The Studio Photography Threads 1-23 http://www.betterphoto.com/forms/QnAdetail.php?threadID=17534
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