Children Photo shoot this weekend

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Rosebud44

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Name
Karen
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi guys

I have been asked by a friend to take some photos of her two little girls who are aged 6 and 3. I have a back background but have no lights and try and use as much natural light as poss though I don't have very much of it.

I was going to ask I have tried taking photos of my little girl and used a higher F point to make sure most of my photo is in focus but this decreases the shutter speed so it comes out blurry.

How can I make sure both girls in the photos come out sharp and in focus while having a high shutter speed so I can freeze them if they move about too much, which I am sure they will.

K XX
 
Do you have any lenses apart from the kit lens?

The "Nifty Fifty" gives good pics at f2.0 upwards or you could try taking them in the garden or at a local park etc - if the weather is good - "good" in this context means light overcast as a really sunny day gives problems with contrast.
 
Hi there

I have my kit lens and then a 50mm 1.8. The things is the mum wants only black and white photos and also just a black background, I was hoping to get some in my garden but she does not want that and I have a small window in the only room I have space to shoot so the light is a bit of a problem. I am looking into getting some lights but there are so many to pick from I am not really sure where to start LOL

K x
 
I know ;-/ it's just something she has asked for and I have tried to get her to take them outside but she just wants black and white photos on a black background. I can us emy built in flash but then some come out really harsh. Would it be better if I had a light on the girls and then tried taking photos that way?

K X
 
Use a high iso, then use a free noise reduction software afterwards? If they have dark hair you could try putting some sort of light source (even a lamp) behind them so they don't blend into the background. I find /160 freezes most movement & over F6.3 generally keeps two kids in focus.

I started off with no kit, I used a dust sheet as a background & £5 B&Q flood lights on my first shoot. I told my mates (whose kids I was using) that I hadn't done it before & didn't have the equipment. I was unhappy with the results but they loved the photos!

They prefer the photos I take now that I have a full studio though.....

Try not to stress too much, explain you haven't done it before, have fun on the shoot and learn everything you can for the next time you do it.
 
If this is a free shoot for a friend she's asking rather a lot - she should let you take the best pictures you can - the way you want to. If it's a paid shoot - then you probably shouldn't be doing it as you don't have the gear or knowledge. You could just say no - your way or nothing.
 
Thanks for the feedback, it's a free photoshoot, i don't have anything stuff to be charging people but in saying that this is something that one day I would love to do but am trying to learn as much as I can along the way.

I will see if I can have another word with her and see what happens. Thanks again

k XX
 
Do you have a flash gun?

Before I had any proper lights, what I used to do was use a flash-gun and shoot through brolly, but I also used two lamps (one either side of the backdrop) and sometimes a desk lamp on a little table, so that I had 2 lights making an X so to speak. Daylight bulbs worked best. It wouldn't be too difficult to arrange something like that if you have to.

Remember, it doesn't matter what light you use, so long as it is light - every kind of light IMHO can be worked with in some way or another :thumbs: A photograph, stripped to it's simplest element, is just an image of light.
 
Thank you :-) I may just give that a little go ;-) I have actually had two other friends now asking if I can take some of their little ones as they have seen some of my photos of my little girl and liked them.

I do want to get into baby photography so I guess all this practice is good.

K XX
 
I think you should persuade your friend to let you shoot the pictures as you feel you can then. Soft natural light would be great for this - keep them a distance off the backfround and maybe you can find a dark background outdoors.
 
Yeah I will see what she say in the meantime I will be looking into getting some lights as well and I think that will help me in the long run. K X
 
Why not just take the black background outside and then use the sun to light the girls....

2 birds 1 stone..!
 
Im at a loose end this weekend.

Buy me lunch & I will bring me lights ;)
 
Here's what I would do... If you don't have lights and you're shooting in low light, you're going to have to ramp your ISO and that probably means noise (especially if you're using a Canon!!)...

Take them outside and shoot against a plain background, then replace colour in Photoshop. It's not ideal but if you have poor light, you're risking a lot of blurred images.

Or, as your previous response said, take the background outside and shoot against it in natural light.

Tough gig, best of luck.

;)

www.richardbarryphotography.com

Creating Art With One Eye Closed
 
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