 BetterPhoto Member |
How to Take Good Quality Group Photos of Children The available light in the sanctuary of the church where I am taking group photos is f1.8. I typically will take a group photo 5 rows deep (~ 5 feet). I have been using aperture priority with my D60 coupled with a 550 EX flash, but the shutter remains open for about 1.5 seconds. The children squirm, and at least 1 to 3 children come out blurred. I also tried using a couple of 550 EX flashes as slaves, and that didn't speed up the shutter. What am I doing wrong?
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Jeff S. Kennedy |
If you're using flash you don't need to have the shutter set so slow. It sounds like your camera is basing the exposure strictly on the ambient light and then you're throwing a flash in there. You can set your shutter to something more like 1/30 or 1/15 which will help pick up some ambient light for fill but be fast enough so that the squirming kids probably won't blur. If you are shooting groups 5 deep you need more DOF than f1.8 will give you. If they're that deep you need something more like f11 or f16 probably. Using multiple flashes should help you get to those f-stops. If not then try a faster film too.
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Ron Burgis |
I see a couple problems with what you are doing...First you are using film that too slow, 400 ASA will help you pick up some of the ambiant light. Your strobes will be your MAIN light, adding slaves will help you have more consistant lighting accros your group and maybe help lighten up the background. Your flash sinc should be at about 1/60 of a second. This will prevent motion blur. As far as fstop, it depends on the power of the flash and the distance from the subjects. For depth of field, f5.6 might work fine with a 35mm lens, where f8 might be better with a 50mm.
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