Newborn Photography HELP!!!

I'm having some trouble with the website so I'm on my phone I'll see what it's like on my phone but might be better reading on the laptop but thanks a lot for the link I will certainly be checking it out!!! Ive had some time and ive edited some of the photos still obviously not perfect but I have managed to improve to composition on some slightly by cropping some if the backgrounds so I'll upload one when my internet is sorted!!
 
Out of interest Catlin. What sort of settings are you using? Fully manual, Apurture priority, Auto, P for profesional?
 
Im using manual, ive tried av a few times but didn't like it I like being able to have full control of the camera so i keep it on manual
 
What do you mean? I usually adjust the shutter speed depending on the lighting and i usually try to keep my aperture above 2.8ish and my iso i try and keep as low as possible for the photos recently posted i just iso 100 but sometimes when im inside it might be 200/400 it just depends on the lighting situation? I'm not sure i know what you mean lol
 
Why are you trying to keep aperture specifically above 2.8?

What I mean is How do yuo know what to set the shutter/ apurture to. I fully understand that these are set based on light/effect however I dont know anyone who simply looks at the lights and says oh look i need xxx settings.

How do you know what to set the shutter too? Light meter , histogram, blind luck?
 
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I dont mean that i refuse to use a higher number f stop but i find it gives me a nice background blur whilst still keeping the subject in focus, i just find it's better to keep it above that. If i use my 50mm and i go right down to f1.4 i find the background is really blurry which is nice but so is the subject, its just what i've found to work but it's not to say i wont go lower than that

Yeah i use the histogram on the live view when im taking photos and afterwoods so i can re evaluate and look at the lights and darks and see if my exposure is on the right track so ill take a test photo, look at the histogram and then go from there or ill do it when im looking at the histogram before taking a photo to look at lighting and what not. It's still something im trying to get a hang of and keep reading up on.

Not sure if thats the right answer lol but it's what i do so please correct me if im wrong :)
 
No right or wrong answer, just trying to get into your process so I can help you improve. You may benifit from a light meter. I think a light meter is great when you are learning as it makes you thjnk about the settings more.

I think we may have found the problems you are having with focus. Shooting at 1.4 is hard work, yes you will get a lovely blurred background . Unless the subject is on a flat plain you may find one eye out of focus which is often what I am seeing here ( its not uncommon in new born photography to see this just make sure it's the closest eye that is sharp). You will also find it is very easy to completly miss the focus.

Try closing down a little. You will find it much easier to nail the focus and to get nice bokah you just need to create more distance from the background. Don't get me wrong shooting portraits wide open cN look great. But you need to really nail the focus.

Shooting on a longer focal length will also help to isolate the subject better.
 
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If your subject is blurry then you're too close to the subject. Not that I'm suggesting you shoot wide open, but if you have it then don't be affraid to use it. Nail focus on the eye at a decent distance and you should be ok. I found f2 a nice aperture to shoot at as most lenses have sharpened up by then and the dof is a little more forgiving.

I'm not one for manual shooting either, I'm pretty sure I'd balls it up. :LOL:
 
minnnt said:
If your subject is blurry then you're too close to the subject.
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Looking at these images it does not look like the focus issue is due to minimum focus distance to me. I could be wrong but a nifty 50 should focus at that distance with no problems.
 
minnnt said:
From my experience anyway ;)
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It certaintly can make a difference. Min focusing distance is all down the the Lens. A Diffrent lens would have a different required distance. I am not 100% sure what lens she is using. A 50mm 1.8 would be somethign like 1.5'
 
I have been religiously using selective focus since it was first suggested to me i think by you andy probably wayyyy back on page one lol and i find thats helped, i used that when i did the outdoor photos with my friend and i think it helped!

Yeah i think i tried a couple with a 1.4 and it was even blurrier i do like using a 1.8 aperture i think that can look nice but i still have my focusing issues! and with a 1.4 yes i find it really easy for the entire thing but an ear to be blurred lol, i don't really like using it that low but i think 1.8 and up is ok i just need to make sure im using the selective focus on the eye closest to me.

I keep getting out and about with my neice i took some photos yesterday of her but she's two so will not for the life of her sit still lol but i think i got some nice ones I was more playing around with the lighting. I don't think its very sharp at all though so thats a little frustrating. I did that on 2.4 and I know she's a little mucky lol but im taking every opportunity
i can to try and nail the focusing and the sharpness, im not sure, see what you think. I think im struggling because what i think is a good picture is totally different to you guys as ive been told the photos im posting are lacking but the ones im not are decent ha!



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I also got some composition comments on the last set of pics i posted and although i know i should have got it right in camera, ive cropped into a third just to see what it should look like and I quite like them!

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asphotographymk said:
It certaintly can make a difference. Min focusing distance is all down the the Lens. A Diffrent lens would have a different required distance. I am not 100% sure what lens she is using. A 50mm 1.8 would be somethign like 1.5'
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I have a 50mm and an 18-55mm I do want to upgrade to a better lens but that wont make me a better photographer so im sticking with what i have for the time being until i get it right!
 
I'm not talking about mfd's. What I'm saying is that if you're using a wide aperture then make sure you're not in your subjects face as parts of your subject won't be in the focal plane hence the blurry look. Using a 50mm lens will also distort a little if too close.
 
Thanks, i need to give it another go working out distances that are the best, ill make sure i try that next!
 
caitlinjade95 said:
I have a 50mm and an 18-55mm I do want to upgrade to a better lens but that wont make me a better photographer so im sticking with what i have for the time being until i get it right!
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It wont make you a better photographer but understanding the effects a different lens willl have on the image are a big deal. A good photographer picks the right tool for the job. I am not saying go out and buy a new lens however the focus problems you are having are partilly down to not having the correct tools for image you want to produce. At this stage you may be better off at around f4 as its more forgiveing, a longer lens at f4 would still give you a nice blurred background but would be much sharper on the main subject.

For me distance is not really an issue with the sort of images you are shooting and should make no difference to the focus at this distance. For really tight crops or headshots a 50mm is a little wide so shooting further back and cropping in may be better but I dont really see any distortion issues.

The outdoor shots are much better than indoor. You did the right thing by going into the shade which is much easier to work with than sinlight. Did you take a reflecter with you?

One thing I notice is everyone is looking away, thats great for some but getting some eye contact right now will really help you understand the focus
 
yes, i think she felt a little awkward and silly so we just had a play around but i knew the eye contact with the camera would have gotten some nice results and no i didnt take a reflector, it was very last minute but i know it will help me to block out some of the really light spots hitting her hair and across her face so it's something i need to do next time. I know where i went wrong on the outdoor shots. I just need a willing model to try an indoor shoot with now -.-
 
The thing to remember when choosing the aperture to isolate the subject from the background is how my much distance from you to the subject and then how far is it from the subject to any obvious in frame elements in the farther distance.

What I mean (this is just a generalised proposal) is if using your 50mm f1.4 lens your model say 10ft away and the trees/fence is 100ft further back there is no reason not to use f2 to f4 by doing so you should ensure the best chance of enough DoF to get the subject fully in focus and the far background blurred.

The risk of using it wide open at f1.4 and depending the subject distance the DoF can be razor thin ~ if the model is facing you it could be so thin that the eyes might be in focus but this tip of the nose and the ears are oof.

Also when the DoF is so thin hand holding the camera is risky as very slight movement of you or the model after you focus could make the lose critical focusvto makecjjst oof.

Do not be a slave f1.4 but learn what the choice of aperture and subject distance means and how it affects DoF
 
Spot on. Many people seem to think you need to be wide open to get a nice blurted background and that's not always the case.

Also it's all well and good having some nice background blur but worthless big the subject is not sharp.
 
got it! I wouldn't use it on 1.4 anyway i did say i prefer to take my photos f2.8 and higher depending on the situation, ive found that to be much better especially with me struggling to always be in focus :) But thankyou for your explanation it has cleared it up
 
Oh god, yes it is its the £50 one not £200 one sorry! My mistake -.-

And what do you mean david? I take like test photos so i can look at my histogram to see what the lighting is like if thats what you mean? I dont think its my camera having issues focusing i genuinly think its me, i just need to get better lol
 
Not all cameras and lenses work 100% together. Some need a bit of fine tuning etc. No idea what camera you have and I'm not trawling 11 pages to find out :D so i have no idea if it supports AF fine tune/micro adjust. But perhaps looking at one of the various methods for checking your system would be good to do. Even if it's just for piece of mind. There is a thread running in the equipment section re af checking and how to do it.
 
Caitlin

As far as I can see the 600D does not have the MFA function that David refers to and to be frank IMO MFA changes even on bodies are capable of this function is only required when there's a testable/provable front or back focus issue.

Please push on improving your cameracraft and only worry about the above when it shows when being needed and it will require to be worked on by Canon service!
 
oh gosh yes i'd never faff with my camera im terrible with DIYS i'd break it :')

Thats my plan, i feel like im getting better but still loads of being happy with my photos if you know what i mean so i just need to keep photographing and finding people willing to have their photos taking :/
 
It is always part of photography to have joy of seeing what you have shot but an expression used by many is "how many keepers" do you achieve per session. The aim is raise that number by improving the camera handling skills I.e. camera craft.

Part of that improvement is to understand what you did that have made a keeper and as such what you have to do/improve to make the failed keepers into keepers next time. For the record I have yet to hear of anyone who has 100% keepers.........even the best planned session will have some that miss the keeper category ;)

As advised by me and others you need to persist with the learning and development and show us your best......... but do not fear showing us the misses especially where your self critique explains what you will do next time to make it a keeper that will make clearer how your improving :)
 
Yes i think the way im improving is im beginning to understand what i'm doing wrong and i think thats pretty important for me to get better, discover my own mistakes. There hasn't been many keepers but I have kept some along the way, it'll be good to look back on as a reminder of what i was doing well and how i've improved etc!

Does this need to be moved to another section now i feel it's gone way off what i was having disillusion thoughts about when i first started it haha!
 
If you feel the thread needs moving or split off as it has drifted away from its origins you should contact a Mod requesting such a change.
 
It might be easier to be kept as it is, im not sure lol ill contact them if i want it moved!:)
 
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