Newbie and baby pics

[Zrock]

Newbie here... Just got a T1i a month or so ago due to my old point and shoot not being fast enough to catch the shots i wanted of my 3 month old baby girl. I have been looking at one of these for some time so this gave me the perfect excuse... Now my problem is im trying to stay out of full auto for 2 reasons im tring to learn all the features of my cammera and i hate the pictures t takes with the flash on. iv been using AV mode or M but by the time i get it set the shot is gone or she moves and it turns out blurry. Anyone else have a recommended setting here? Iv been rying to read the nderstanding exposures book but that isent easy with a 3 month old in the house..

 

[Stradawhovious]

Newbie here... Just got a T1i a month or so ago due to my old point and shoot not being fast enough to catch the shots i wanted of my 3 month old baby girl. I have been looking at one of these for some time so this gave me the perfect excuse... Now my problem is im trying to stay out of full auto for 2 reasons im tring to learn all the features of my cammera and i hate the pictures t takes with the flash on. iv been using AV mode or M but by the time i get it set the shot is gone or she moves and it turns out blurry. Anyone else have a recommended setting here? Iv been rying to read the nderstanding exposures book but that isent easy with a 3 month old in the house..

First, IMHO......read the book. I know that life with a 3 month old can be trying in the area of extra time, but understanding how shutter speed, aperature and ISO work with one another is paramount, especially if you aren't using a flash.

Next, it's going to be really helpful for the pros here that help us noobs out if you post some of the pics that you missed. 90% of hitting the shots you want, is knowing why you miss the shots you miss, and correcting the issues.

 

[flyingember]

a 3 month old? I get blurry photos of kids birth to toddler and I know what I'm going

post some examples and we can give some tips. if you can pull out the exif data and put it too that'd help

 

[Zrock]

ya teh book so far is great. I think my little girl let me read about 10 pages so far before she demanded my attention...hehe

The shots im missing are the ones where they have a certian facial expresion, they are playing with something,im not trying to set up a pose or anything i always have my camera within reach so i can grab and hopfully shot. you know those shots with a baby that you only get a split second to take. The ones where i actually get time to play with the camera and get a basic setting before the shot turn out pretty good for a newbie. Ill post up some pics latter baby is being demanding again

I hate the flash pic's as they make everythign behind look dark. Once i get my external flash i should be able to rectify that problem

 

[Zrock]

here are some of the shots i just quickly grabed out of the 1000+ shots i have. They are far from perfect and alot of the shots i like i convert over to B&W. They are a combo of auto and M settings mostly just M

 

[RauschPhotography]

Is she choking on those grapes? Last shot genuinely concerns me... :crazy:

 

[Zrock]

Is she choking on those grapes? Last shot genuinely concerns me... :crazy:

haha nop she was actually full up on grapes and we were just playing with her. they were on the stem pretty good. She wasnet actually eating them like that. It was more or less just to get the pic. She was safe

 

[ababysean]

what lens were you using?
and what are your settings?

 

[Zrock]

For the lens im useing Lens EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

First pic
Shooting Mode Program AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/20
Av( Aperture Value ) 4.0
ISO Speed 1600 (been leaving this on auto for now)

Pic 2
Shooting Mode Program AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/30
Av( Aperture Value ) 5.0
ISO Speed 1600 (been leaving this on auto for now)

Pic 3
Shooting Mode Program AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/60
Av( Aperture Value ) 4.0
ISO Speed 400 (auto)

Pic 4
same as 3

Pic 5

Shooting Mode Auto
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/60
Av( Aperture Value ) 4.0

 

[flyingember]

you're too close for it to properly focus. in the 4th one you might notice your focus is actually on her legs

your small apertures are getting your shallow depth of field. some of them have areas which are well focused but just not your subject because it's only focusing on an area in front of her

you might consider something really simple- put her underneath a bright lamp.

also, you might want to start using center spot focus and recomposing if your camera has it.

these two things combined should help

 

[Zrock]

ya i just found the setting for setting what i want to focus so i will be changing it. Now as i was outside having a smoke and looking through my manual i also think iv been using the wrong manual mode. I have been using AV witch if for depth of field. i guess instead i should be shooting in full M mode. Part of the thing that has been also screwing me up is when i change the aperture the shutter speed also gets slower the higher up i go witch isnt really good for shooting a moving child..hehe... I really wish i had about a day i could set this thing up on my tripod read the book and play with the settings as i go to see the changes each setting is doing. Just when i figure something out i set it down for a few days and forget about what i learned. Im a hands on guy and can usually learn anything just by playing with it for a few min. This is a bit of a learning curve for me. I think after xmas im going to go take a class so i have someware where i can work with teh camera without getting distracted by baby girl.

The 4 pic is 100% my fault oh wait they all are... i was just sitting on the end of the couch grabbed the camera and took the shot. I didnt even get a chance to look in the view finder.

Thanks for the tips