Indoor photography without proper equipment..

[KmH]

... Anyone have any tips that could be helpful for shooting indoors? Settings for my camera, angles and poses close to a window maybe, what time of day to shoot so I'm getting the light I need coming through the window, anything that could aid in getting some good indoor photos for my friend of her new baby? Anything would be appreciated. Thanks guys!

The biggest worry is mixed lighting and setting a custom white balance.

Do you routinely make photos as RAW data files, or as JPEGs?

What direction the window faces and how big it is are considerations for what time of day to shoot. North facing windows offer the most latitude as the light is more constant throughout the day.

In effect, the window light becomes your main light and your reflector becomes your source for fill or secondary lighting.

Newborns spend most of their time sleeping and are very maleable (poseable) when they are asleep. As mentioned the newborn will be quite still when asleep and longer exposures can be used.

 

[Blake.Oney]

Definitely use a tripod. I used to think that a tripod couldn't help me much when shutter speeds got really low (1/8, 1/4) but I was so wrong. People can be a lot more still than you think, and newborns don't really move around a lot. They will inevitably move and screw up some shots, so when you can set your tripod up and set your shot up. When it's setup just shoot away. I check them and zoom in on the lcd for sharpness every few photo's, but that's up to you. I know it's not ideal to set up, shoot and pray, but when you don't have the proper equipment or ideal conditions, you have to resort to it sometimes.

Thats not true at all. Having had um three babies and just doing a shoot with a 2 week old I can say that when they are days old they hardly move when bundled but at 2 weeks they root around for the boob/bottle a lot. Especially with no clothes or minimal covering while awake. Very jerky.

I will try and post a picture of my set up for you later tonight. And yes you can use wax paper as a diffuser, or parchment paper. It might not be very professional looking but hey who cares if it gets the trick done.

I meant within a couple days of coming home from the hospital. Two week old babies do move a lot more. I've have 3 kids also, it's a tough job isn't it? The point is, setting up the tripod and just shooting a lot will give some good results. You're going to have a lot of shots ruined, but with the bad lighting and no flash it will work. Also, do what mwcfarms said and use windows. It's really nice lighting and it works really well. The point here is to take all the information you are given and try it out. You can get some good shots with window lighting, and then go to another pose with the tripod etc etc.

 

[sobolik]

Ordinary bounce flash to fill the room.

 

[asheeants]

... Anyone have any tips that could be helpful for shooting indoors? Settings for my camera, angles and poses close to a window maybe, what time of day to shoot so I'm getting the light I need coming through the window, anything that could aid in getting some good indoor photos for my friend of her new baby? Anything would be appreciated. Thanks guys!

The biggest worry is mixed lighting and setting a custom white balance.

Do you routinely make photos as RAW data files, or as JPEGs?

What direction the window faces and how big it is are considerations for what time of day to shoot. North facing windows offer the most latitude as the light is more constant throughout the day.

In effect, the window light becomes your main light and your reflector becomes your source for fill or secondary lighting.

Newborns spend most of their time sleeping and are very maleable (poseable) when they are asleep. As mentioned the newborn will be quite still when asleep and longer exposures can be used.

I shoot everything in RAW and later make JPEGS after editing. I'm not sure which way her windows are facing, but will adjust accordingly. Thanks

 

[asheeants]

Definitely use a tripod. I used to think that a tripod couldn't help me much when shutter speeds got really low (1/8, 1/4) but I was so wrong. People can be a lot more still than you think, and newborns don't really move around a lot. They will inevitably move and screw up some shots, so when you can set your tripod up and set your shot up. When it's setup just shoot away. I check them and zoom in on the lcd for sharpness every few photo's, but that's up to you. I know it's not ideal to set up, shoot and pray, but when you don't have the proper equipment or ideal conditions, you have to resort to it sometimes.

Thats not true at all. Having had um three babies and just doing a shoot with a 2 week old I can say that when they are days old they hardly move when bundled but at 2 weeks they root around for the boob/bottle a lot. Especially with no clothes or minimal covering while awake. Very jerky.

I will try and post a picture of my set up for you later tonight. And yes you can use wax paper as a diffuser, or parchment paper. It might not be very professional looking but hey who cares if it gets the trick done.[/QUOTE

This baby is already 3 weeks old so I'm sure she'll be a little wiggly. Hopefully though I can get some good still sleeping shots. I look forward to seeing your shots!

 

[asheeants]

Definitely use a tripod. I used to think that a tripod couldn't help me much when shutter speeds got really low (1/8, 1/4) but I was so wrong. People can be a lot more still than you think, and newborns don't really move around a lot. They will inevitably move and screw up some shots, so when you can set your tripod up and set your shot up. When it's setup just shoot away. I check them and zoom in on the lcd for sharpness every few photo's, but that's up to you. I know it's not ideal to set up, shoot and pray, but when you don't have the proper equipment or ideal conditions, you have to resort to it sometimes.

Thats not true at all. Having had um three babies and just doing a shoot with a 2 week old I can say that when they are days old they hardly move when bundled but at 2 weeks they root around for the boob/bottle a lot. Especially with no clothes or minimal covering while awake. Very jerky.

I will try and post a picture of my set up for you later tonight. And yes you can use wax paper as a diffuser, or parchment paper. It might not be very professional looking but hey who cares if it gets the trick done.

I meant within a couple days of coming home from the hospital. Two week old babies do move a lot more. I've have 3 kids also, it's a tough job isn't it? The point is, setting up the tripod and just shooting a lot will give some good results. You're going to have a lot of shots ruined, but with the bad lighting and no flash it will work. Also, do what mwcfarms said and use windows. It's really nice lighting and it works really well. The point here is to take all the information you are given and try it out. You can get some good shots with window lighting, and then go to another pose with the tripod etc etc.

I will def work with a window and see how that turns out, and use my tripod. I'm nervous but got some good advice to work with so I'm sure I'll get a few good ones. Thanks