Shutter Speed help

[Stephanie Cole]

Last weekend I took some practice photos of my nephews birthday. Most of the pictures are inside. I had pretty good lighting but since daylight savings it's getting darker quick. How can I adjust the shutter speed to still capture the picture without my subject being blurry? He is 1 so he is all over the place! I think for this picture I used either 3200 or 6400 as the ISO (I think it was the highest my camera will go) and for shutter speed I used 1/5 or maybe a little faster. I will have to check my camera. I was trying to use a faster shutter speed but they kept turning out too dark. I ended up switching to automatic to prevent myself from not getting any photos at all. Thanks for the help!!!
Here is what I shot at
ISO - 800
aperture - 5.6
shutter 1/4

 

[astroNikon]

I think your shutter speed for people needs to be at least 1/125
If your ISO is maxxed out you basically need to add more light (add a flash)
and/or increase your aperture

BUT with increasing the aperture to say f/2.8 or f/1.8 you lose depth of field.

To me, looking closely at the photo
The cake is in focus
but as you go back the large crumbs go out of focus.

I'm guessing your camera focused on the cake at a large aperture setting and everything behind it was defocused.

I don't see any EXIF data, what kind of lens were you using .. such as a 50mm/1.8 ?
Do you know the settings of that photo, such as:
ISO 3200
shutter 1/5
aperture f/1.8

 

[jamesngo]

i noticed that you focused on the cake. you should try using the center focus of the camera to focus on your subject first and recomposed for the shot. I've taken shots at 1/30 or slower fine with a steady hand but that was with flash to help freeze movements. also 1/5 is pretty slow. did you use a flash?

 

[vintagesnaps]

1/5 is really slow. It depends on what you can do, I don't like to go slower than 1/125 or 1/60. If you have the lens open to a large aperture you may not get the kid and the cake all in focus. I wonder if your lens is sharp enough to be able to take photos like this in existing room light.

Look at the background too, think about your vantage point and where you're going to sit/stand to take photos so the background looks pleasing. If you face a different direction you might be able to get more window light or room lighting coming into the lens/camera.

 

[Derrel]

Oh, I love the design on that old wooden high chair!!! I bet it's a family heirloom chair!!! Anyway, yeah, 1/5 second is very slow....when the light is that poor, I think going with flash at ISO 400 is the way to go...the heck with ambient light...get "the memories", in-focus and sharp and clear, with flash. I totally know what you mean, it gets dark-dark here by 5:15 PM this time of year.

 

[Stephanie Cole]

I think your shutter speed for people needs to be at least 1/125
If your ISO is maxxed out you basically need to add more light (add a flash)
and/or increase your aperture

BUT with increasing the aperture to say f/2.8 or f/1.8 you lose depth of field.

To me, looking closely at the photo
The cake is in focus
but as you go back the large crumbs go out of focus.

I'm guessing your camera focused on the cake at a large aperture setting and everything behind it was defocused.

I don't see any EXIF data, what kind of lens were you using .. such as a 50mm/1.8 ?
Do you know the settings of that photo, such as:
ISO 3200
shutter 1/5
aperture f/1.8

I don't have a flash unless I use the one on my camera. And the lens I'm using it the standard Canon 18-50 f3.5 that comes with the camera. I'll have to check what settings that photo was when I get home.

 

[Stephanie Cole]

i noticed that you focused on the cake. you should try using the center focus of the camera to focus on your subject first and recomposed for the shot. I've taken shots at 1/30 or slower fine with a steady hand but that was with flash to help freeze movements. also 1/5 is pretty slow. did you use a flash?

No I didn't use flash, unless there is a way to use the flash that comes with my camera on manual mode. It was hard to focus on him (that's what I intended) unfortunately it was very crowded and he was moving around a lot haha

 

[Stephanie Cole]

1/5 is really slow. It depends on what you can do, I don't like to go slower than 1/125 or 1/60. If you have the lens open to a large aperture you may not get the kid and the cake all in focus. I wonder if your lens is sharp enough to be able to take photos like this in existing room light.

Look at the background too, think about your vantage point and where you're going to sit/stand to take photos so the background looks pleasing. If you face a different direction you might be able to get more window light or room lighting coming into the lens/camera.

Yeah I wish I could have gotten a better angle, but with 20 kids and a room full of parents it was hard lol

 

[Stephanie Cole]

Oh, I love the design on that old wooden high chair!!! I bet it's a family heirloom chair!!! Anyway, yeah, 1/5 second is very slow....when the light is that poor, I think going with flash at ISO 400 is the way to go...the heck with ambient light...get "the memories", in-focus and sharp and clear, with flash. I totally know what you mean, it gets dark-dark here by 5:15 PM this time of year.

Yep the chair was his dads when he was little!! I'm still practicing and a little unsure of what settings to use when I'm trying to think real fast lol what shutter speed do you recommend with ISO at 400? I don't have a flash to add to my camera. It has one that pops up when I'm in automatic mode which is what I ended up using to save time.

 

[astroNikon]

When you are in manual there should be a button that you can push for the popup flash

what kind of Canon camera do you have ?
(I won't know because I use Nikon, but other people will know)

 

[Stephanie Cole]

When you are in manual there should be a button that you can push for the popup flash

what kind of Canon camera do you have ?
(I won't know because I use Nikon, but other people will know)

Canon Rebel T3i. Thanks I'll have to check that out!!

 

[Stephanie Cole]

I think your shutter speed for people needs to be at least 1/125
If your ISO is maxxed out you basically need to add more light (add a flash)
and/or increase your aperture

BUT with increasing the aperture to say f/2.8 or f/1.8 you lose depth of field.

To me, looking closely at the photo
The cake is in focus
but as you go back the large crumbs go out of focus.

I'm guessing your camera focused on the cake at a large aperture setting and everything behind it was defocused.

I don't see any EXIF data, what kind of lens were you using .. such as a 50mm/1.8 ?
Do you know the settings of that photo, such as:
ISO 3200
shutter 1/5
aperture f/1.8

ISO - 800
aperture - 5.6
shutter 1/4

 

[Village Idiot]

You need an ETTL speedlight. Well, maybe not need, but it would make life a lot easier. Also, look in to the 50mm f/1.8. It's about 100 and will be one of the widest Canon lenses you can buy for the price without going MF legacy. Otherwise, definitely more light.

 

[Waterbug]

I am learning too and you can learn a lot from these folks. I am surprised you got an image this clear handheld at that slow shutter speed. Try shutter speed priority to get a faster speed instead of manual. Low lets in more light, but shake is hard to control. Ask for a 35 mm f 1.8 for Christmas. A great low light lens to use and they are reasonable for nikon! Great pictures too

 

[dannylightning]

you really cant use a slow shutter speed unless you have a tripod and the subject is staying still. for hand held shooting or shooting something that is moving you will need a faster shutter speed

like already said aperture changes depth of field, A wide aperture might not always work well even though it lets in more light, if you get a little farther away from your subject and you use a wider aperture you have a better chance of more stuff being in focus but than you will probably need to corp the photo

in a situation where you do not have enough light you will need a flash or you will need to boost the ISO, or like I said get the camera on a tripod and make sure what ever you are shooting stays still.

In some situations high ISO works fine, in some situations it does not, it also depends on how well the camersa you are using does with high ISO

this is all stuff you just kind of need to play around with and get the hang of.