Photographing children

[kimapali]

Hello everyone!

I'm a novice and just received my first DSLR about a month ago (Happy Valentine's Day!). I'm in the midst of taking an online photography class to learn the basics: f-stops, speed, lighting, ISO, etc. since I've mainly used PS cameras. My main goal is to take professional-looking photographs of my 2 year-old daughter, and maybe the occasional nature shot.

I've been reading up on the tutorials on portraits and looking in the lighting forum, but I'm still stumped as to how to successfully photograph children. I've shot some decent pictures of my daughter but there's always something wrong with it and I end up having to mess around with PS Elements to make it passable. If I want to shoot wide open and leave out the background I end up with blurry pictures because she's constantly moving. If I shoot with a faster shutter speed then it tends to be underexposed.

So some pointers on how to set my camera would be appreciated so I can finally take a picture of her that I'm satisfied with!

Thanks!

Kim

[Jason Hermann]

Hi Kim and welcome to the camel I think your on the right track, but just need to practice more. Sufficient ambient light would be the best way to get some nice candids in my opinion. That means no flash and shooting by a window with some nice daylight, or outside with a little bit of shade.

Posing kids is next to impossible, so just guiding them into a photo friendly activity seems to be the best bet in my very limited experience. I also put the camera on rapid fire mode and take tons and tons of pictures. Digital is free and because the children are constantly moving I find i get a very low success rate of good shots. The more I take the more I delete, but the more good images I seem to get as well.

If the lighting is to low to get sufficient shutter speeds then you can use the flash to help you out. I would turn the flash exposure compensation down a bit though as it tends to create hot spots on the skin when you are close to the subject.

I hope that helps you out and just remember, Kids are really tuff and post processing skills can do wonders on an ok shot and possible make it a very good shot

Best,
Jay

[Max@Home]

Originally Posted by kimapali

I'm a novice and just received my first DSLR about a month ago (Happy Valentine's Day!). I'm in the midst of taking an online photography class to learn the basics: f-stops, speed, lighting, ISO, etc. since I've mainly used PS cameras. My main goal is to take professional-looking photographs of my 2 year-old daughter, and maybe the occasional nature shot.

Hi kimapali, welcome to the Camel!

Rule one for shooting children (in *my* book ) is 'get to their level' so kneel, lie down, whatever, but do not shoot 'from above'

I've been reading up on the tutorials on portraits and looking in the lighting forum, but I'm still stumped as to how to successfully photograph children. I've shot some decent pictures of my daughter but there's always something wrong with it and I end up having to mess around with PS Elements to make it passable. If I want to shoot wide open and leave out the background I end up with blurry pictures because she's constantly moving. If I shoot with a faster shutter speed then it tends to be underexposed.

So some pointers on how to set my camera would be appreciated so I can finally take a picture of her that I'm satisfied with!

it would help a little if we knew what DSLR camera and what lenses you have, do you own an external flashunit, use the internal flash, do not want to use flash at all... etc

Basically shooting wide open with a very thin Depth-of-Field requires that you set the active AF point by yourself, do not let the camera seek the appropriate point, and that you shoot as soon as you get the AF confirmation, no 'focus lock and recompose'

If you get underexposed shots with faster shutterspeeds, you are probably shooting with a too-fast speed for the maximum aperture, you could try shooting with higher ISO ??...

...not knowing (yet) what you shoot, but there is a great Canon website for DSLR newbies, that also 'covers the basics' like Aperture, Shutterspeed and ISO etc, see here , and IMO it could actually be usefull for any brand user...

...*my* €0.02 worth of advise...

Kindest regards!

Max@Home

[New England Moments]

Hi Kim, Welcome and Thanks for posting!!

Wow, 2 year old, thats tuff lol.... They say kids only have a lock down time of around 2 or 3 minutes waiting on a photo ... and then they are off to never never land lol...

It sounds like you are trying to duplicate studio type shots?? I only say this because you mention Lights, and Lighting Forum...? so just something to think about, would be to use someone other than your Daughter as a prop , until you are set up, and happy with lighting and exposure... Then out goes the Stunt Man, and in comes the daughter.. giving you full advantage of your 3 Minutes lol...

I also think Outdoor shots, set up, or Candid are great for kids... more in their element..
Worm, ( Jay ) brings up great points about Flash, and I always whenever possible steered away... Kids also can anticipate flash, and their minds concentrate on that exact moment it goes, which usually ends in unnatural expressions, as they build up for the blast, and you say get ready , one , two , three , or even Cheese lol... They usually are not in a natural mode during this time..

I think candids are great of kids, and proper cropping in PP, makes for some super portraits.. not only kids , but adults and teens even feel more comfortable outdoors.. The Majority of portrait shooting , I have done , has always been outdoors... School Pics, the Teens Love picking their own locations, and boy are they relaxed during a shoot... This type shooting also allows kids to be natural, and you to roam with them , waiting for that great capture.. and being outdoors gives you better control of exposures / and speeds..

You also got to get on their level, eye to eye, so be prepared to also get yourself on the ground... watch for shadows, and sun positions... Just make it a relaxed time outside, doing an activity with her.. and sooner or latter, as kids do, she will occupy her thoughts on the activity, and Not your camera...

Again as Jay pointed out above , shoot / shoot / and shoot some more...


Hey , put up some of those pics and lets see what you have... again THANKS for Posting and look forward to seeing some of your work here, Portraits or Nature !!

[April]

This is something I'd love to do more of, photographing children, because in my opinion, they can make the best subjects! I'm more of a fan of the natural stuff, like capturing them playing outdoors and things like that. I find if you can really get in close to their face so that it fills the frame, it makes a big difference. And lots of focus on the eyes. I purchased a book on this subject, it's called "How To Photograph Children" by Lisa Jane and Rick Staudt, I really enjoyed it, and found it had a lot to offer for the beginner, as well as the slightly more advanced, as there is some technical stuff in there. Anyway, that's my little bit of advice...first time I ever gave any on the camel!

[Not4wood]

Since were on Children, here is a shot of my Granddaughter another 2 year old.
Once she sees the camera come out she loves to ham it up. But theres a price with her, she wants to see the image immediately and walks right over to the camera and looks at the back. Very funny this new generation, she knows all about chimping LOL If you don't show her the shot, she wont pose for more. A two year old with a tude.



Canon Power Shot SD450
60 s @ f:/2.8 Hmm, No ISO listed I usually have it set for 100

[kimapali]

Originally Posted by Max@Home

it would help a little if we knew what DSLR camera and what lenses you have, do you own an external flashunit, use the internal flash, do not want to use flash at all... etc

I have an Olympus E-510, 14-42 mm and 40-150 Zuiko lenses, FL-36 external flash, and very little light indoors.

I'm not looking to shoot portraits necessarily, but I'm reading on lighting and portraits so I can understand angles, how the light should fall on their face, composition, etc. I honestly don't like "posed" portraits, I don't think they capture the essence of children at all! I just want my shots to come out clear while chasing her around...if that's possible!

I will try the rapid fire mode, although will that work with the flash?

Thanks guys!

[Not4wood]

Unless you have a good power source for your flash it will start to slow down on the recharge rate after a few shots. You will have enough to get some good shots in but when the batteries start to slow down you will need to change them at that point. For candids your better off not machine gunning but looking for the right shot. Its just timing especailly with the energy of the little ones. With practice you will get the hang of it. Just shoot, shoot and did I say shoot some more

[Goofup]

From what I've read that FL-36 isn't going to cut it. As I'm sure you've found out, even with fresh batteries the recharge time it horrid. You'd be better off with a FL-50. More expensive, but with 4 AA's it lasts and recharges much faster. As another alternative that's less expensive , you might check out a Metz 48 AF-1 for Olympus. They're hard to find, but well worth the $200 or so.

[kimapali]

So here's a couple of pictures I've recently taken:

How do I get rid of the red ball growing out of her head? I tried clone stamp, but I haven't quite got the hang of it!

And one more:


Any comments/suggestions/tips would be appreciated!

Thanks everyone!

[Not4wood]

kimapali,

Great shots, she is adorable. As far as the red ball, I am having the exact same problem with a portrait I have. I tried the Spot Healing, I tried making a new layer and the erasing tool, all that did was erase the area and I had a black and white grid left. I even tried the wand to highlight the area that I need changed or fixed and it grabbed it but at the same time it also grabbed part of the womens face. I just found a PC PHoto Mag from Dec 2007 and there is an article about Photosho Elements in it and it looks like the same thing we need. I will read it and see what happens if It helps.

My problem, I had taken a candid of the lead actress while others were reading lines on stage in rehearsal and she had a very pensive look. Very nice shot, but, on my flash shadow there looks like a line from a double shadow. I cant fix it or remove it. It isn't too bad on the monitor, but when I printed it, the double shadow was terrible. I will link it here to show even though she's not a child. If anybody objects to this link, just say so and I will remove it as soon as I get notified of the post. Thanks.

On the shadow in back on our left look closely at the top left and follow it down like an outline to her shoulder then it goes off to the left again and follows the shoulder line. On my print, it looks like a 1/4 inch border about a 1/4 inch in from the edge and just slightly lighter then the rest of the whole shadow. I also have Elements Classroom in a book and I have to go thru it to find a correction for this. Please, let me know what you all think and give me ideas of what to do. This is a great shot and I want to put it in a new portfolio.

[kimapali]

Mark, I think if you try to the clone stamp it will work for your situation. The problem with mine is getting the texture of the couch cushions to blend over the red ball!

[Not4wood]

Thnx, I'll try it.

I don't think your blending it but replacing it. You sound like you have more skill then me, but have you tried to select the red ball in a new layer? Once you can select it, then your home free. Now, what program are you using to try this? As good as this group is, I was told about this group from another Forum that I hang out in. Its a specialized group about Elements and a couple of others, but Elements is the predominant program. Its called Elements Village, there all very helpful and all over the place with the knowledge and interests. Pretty cool really, go here: Elements Village - Powered by vBulletin

[Maggie_B]

I totally agree with Tom (New England Moments) about having having a stunt double ! For a long time I commandered one of my daughter's dolls, one with real hair and the glass type eyes. I would move the doll around the room to find good lighting and observe how the light looked when I turned it one way or the other. Watch how window light appears as catchlights in the eyes, grab something as simple as a white sheet of paper and hold it up on the shadow side to see how it reflects the light back into the face.

Molly dolly worked really cheap and would sit for hours ! My husband used to tease me that I played with dolls more than our daughter !

Best,

Mag