One year olds are hard!

BethC · 09-10-2009, 05:39 AM

Took this picture two days ago (The day before my baby's first birthday!) and out of about 100 pictures, got about 3 half decent ones. I can kick myself now for not using a lower aperture to blur the background some, but I'm still new and have a hard time trying to keep up with her, remember my settings, I"m hoping that will all come with time. She rarely would look at me and kept eating rocks. Then she would run towards me (have a great one of her hand on my lens and just one of her eyes LOL)

anyway, I'm wondering if I should have used some fill flash. The colors look kind of dull. Her tutu was pink, brown and white and you can't tell in the picture. It was a very cloudy day. Would fill flash have helped?

any other CC is very much appreciated. I have thick skin, I can take it, so let me have it.

and thanks!

K-9 · 09-10-2009, 05:49 AM

Fill flash could dull the colors even more. The lighting across her face looks fine, so I wouldn't have used fill here. The exposure could be ever so slightly on the overexposed side, so if you used the same shutter speed, but changed the aperture, you could have blurred the background more and perhaps boosted colors a bit. You can always boost colors and exposure later, especially if you shoot RAW files. Shooting JPG and then adjusting those levels will cause the sharpness to go down.

With such a hassle just trying to keep up to her, just shoot RAW in Auto exposure mode, and tweak the color later.

One other thing is to check white balance. Sometimes changing from auto to sunlight, cloudy, or shade can make a difference in the warmth and brightness of the colors.

Oh, and make sure she stops eating rocks!

**Ash** · 09-10-2009, 06:18 AM

It's all about controlling the light and making it work for you - to effectively and creatively light your subject.
Here, the light's a little flat and hard to control - both difficult to do much about.
But with what you worked with you've got a decent result. If you hadn't taken so many shots, you may not have even got this one, so it's all good.
With kids it's all about getting enough shots taken to try and capture that quintessential shot, and then work with it in PP.

See here:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/general-photography-techniques-styles/618...otography.html

Mechan1k · 09-10-2009, 07:29 AM

Baby photography is hard.
I take as many shots as I can ... just to make sure I get a few NICE ones.
Sometimes I get more keepers than others though.

But as long as you get at least ONE really good shot ... you were successful.

My 4mo boy is OK to shoot at the moment ... but when he gets to move under his own steam it's going to be hard to keep up with him. My 3 yo nieces are a nightmare to shoot ... they NEVER stop moving ... now they are a challange to shoot.

In the end though ... my external flash has really saved me though ... and increased me keeper rate.

Oh .... I definitely shoot RAW when taking shots of my nieces ... just so i have more latitude to save some shots.

09-10-2009, 05:39 AM	#1
BethC Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Pennsylvannia Photos: Albums Posts: 377	One year olds are hard! Lens: 31 mm Camera: K10D ISO: 200 Shutter Speed: 1/250s Aperture: F5.6 Took this picture two days ago (The day before my baby's first birthday!) and out of about 100 pictures, got about 3 half decent ones. I can kick myself now for not using a lower aperture to blur the background some, but I'm still new and have a hard time trying to keep up with her, remember my settings, I"m hoping that will all come with time. She rarely would look at me and kept eating rocks. Then she would run towards me (have a great one of her hand on my lens and just one of her eyes LOL) anyway, I'm wondering if I should have used some fill flash. The colors look kind of dull. Her tutu was pink, brown and white and you can't tell in the picture. It was a very cloudy day. Would fill flash have helped? any other CC is very much appreciated. I have thick skin, I can take it, so let me have it. and thanks!

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09-10-2009, 05:49 AM	#2
K-9 Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: USA Photos: Albums Posts: 1,971	Fill flash could dull the colors even more. The lighting across her face looks fine, so I wouldn't have used fill here. The exposure could be ever so slightly on the overexposed side, so if you used the same shutter speed, but changed the aperture, you could have blurred the background more and perhaps boosted colors a bit. You can always boost colors and exposure later, especially if you shoot RAW files. Shooting JPG and then adjusting those levels will cause the sharpness to go down. With such a hassle just trying to keep up to her, just shoot RAW in Auto exposure mode, and tweak the color later. One other thing is to check white balance. Sometimes changing from auto to sunlight, cloudy, or shade can make a difference in the warmth and brightness of the colors. Oh, and make sure she stops eating rocks!

09-10-2009, 06:18 AM	#3
Ash Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Toowoomba, Queensland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,920	It's all about controlling the light and making it work for you - to effectively and creatively light your subject. Here, the light's a little flat and hard to control - both difficult to do much about. But with what you worked with you've got a decent result. If you hadn't taken so many shots, you may not have even got this one, so it's all good. With kids it's all about getting enough shots taken to try and capture that quintessential shot, and then work with it in PP. See here: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/general-photography-techniques-styles/618...otography.html

09-10-2009, 07:29 AM	#4
Mechan1k Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 2,891	Baby photography is hard. I take as many shots as I can ... just to make sure I get a few NICE ones. Sometimes I get more keepers than others though. But as long as you get at least ONE really good shot ... you were successful. My 4mo boy is OK to shoot at the moment ... but when he gets to move under his own steam it's going to be hard to keep up with him. My 3 yo nieces are a nightmare to shoot ... they NEVER stop moving ... now they are a challange to shoot. In the end though ... my external flash has really saved me though ... and increased me keeper rate. Oh .... I definitely shoot RAW when taking shots of my nieces ... just so i have more latitude to save some shots.