Indoor shots of a very active baby.

ikeeling

ikeeling

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Ian
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Was trying to take some pics of my 2 month old son yesterday after work, was just going dark outside so the light in the house was low. I was using my canon eos 600 exposure of around 1-6 1-10 to try an get plenty of light in. At f5.0.

Now the problem I was having was the he wouldn't keep still, but if I increased shutter speed I was losing my light. I didn't want to use flash,so what are my options here.

The lens I was using was my canon 18-55 mm kit lens, and I am looking at buying a 50mm 1-4 prime. Would the prime lens allow enough light in under these conditions for me to increase the shutter speed to get a picture with wasn't blurred with very fast moving arms and legs!!
 
ISP was set to auto I think it was around 1600
 
I Use the flash it helps me alot and at iso 100 and with the help of raw flexibilty, helps.
 
Up your ISO to whatever level allows you to use a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the action. Or if possible move the baby to where the light is better!

A fast prime set to a big aperture such as F1.4 or F1.8 will certainly let more light in, at the expense of a very shallow depth of field. You may or may not want that effect!
 
Put "Big" light on!
 
I didn't really want to use the flash, not comfortable using it yet and even at is 3200 I don't think I could of increase shutter speed enough to freeze the image with a good amount of light still in the picture.

Obviously yes I could move the baby, but this is the easy option, I few months down the line I might have a similar situation and I may not be able to move the subject.

Thanks for the feedback
 
buy a cheap flashgun like the yongnuo 465 £50.
 
you really need flash even with the 50mm plus for indors you will struggle on crop sensor as your real focal length will be around 85mm. I use 50 1.4 and love it but indoors flash and bounce it of the ceiling different world. Like that one below, flash makes a difference.

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I'm facing the exact same problem. Been toying with the idea of a 1.7 prime to see how that goes. The flash does work well if you can use it. I struggle with getting good shots when she's just nodding off though. It's either risk waking her and use flash or try and hold still long enough. The "big" light doesn't help me much. I even tried putting the hall light on as well in a desperate attempt. I'd not really considered the depth of field but I think having the photos is worth the compromise even if its not ideally what you want.
 
f as wide as it gets. I managed to take good pics of my daughter only when I got a 1.4. Id does also help that I have a micro43, so the depth of field is not that shallow as with lesser crops or full frame.

A good bounce flash is also good advice, but that's something that will ask for more work on your side.
 
I use to use bounce flash a lot on my 550D, however recently I've been using my flash, the picture still comes out dark. The only way I've ever used flash is to bounce of the ceiling etc.
 
Going for a very fast prime is only going to help you so far. At f1.4/f1.7 on a 50mm or 85mm lens at baby portrait length is going to give you a very very shallow depth of field, and you may end up using it at f/4 or above to get the desired look/amount of focus you require - in which case your existing kit is sufficient. You might get speed of focus, and a brighter viewfinder but shooting kids moving at f1.4 is a lottery even if you are really experienced.

So you are back to two solutions. Use a camera at a high ISO, or use a good light source.

I can't stress enough how good natural light is, close to a large window or glass/open door at the right time of day will give you good light to shoot at reasonable ISO/Shutter speed/depth of field.

With your own child there is no reason why you can't pick a better time of day, use a weekend if you are working mon-fri, and move them towards the light/with a decent background. At 2 months this is a no brainer.

You could also invest in a large reflector for much less than a flash gun and lean it up against a chair to bounce some light from a window/door if you need to move it around a bit.

far better off trying simpler and cheaper solutions before you start buying more expensive kit.
 
I bought a yongnuo flash gun and remote trigger which you mount onto your camera. It works very well with my 50mm 1.4, like you I use my camera to take photo of my kids age at 9months and 3 years old.

Flash bounced off celling off the camera at a location of your choice and set at low enough level to get your shutter speed to stop movment blur :)

I have try to switch on all the light in the living room and even bring in a few table lamps but its just not bright enough. With my 40D I see grains at 400iso onwards. I am a newbie at photography but I am really fussy at grains showing :P
 
Thanks for the response, as far as the no brainier is concerned i am aware that I could move baby closer to the light but this may not always be the case in future. Thanks for all the advice though
 
ikeeling said:
Thanks for the response, as far as the no brainier is concerned i am aware that I could move baby closer to the light but this may not always be the case in future. Thanks for all the advice though
Click to expand...

Why would this not always be the case in the future, are you planning on gluing your child to the floor in a dark area of the house?
 
ikeeling said:
Thanks for the response, as far as the no brainier is concerned i am aware that I could move baby closer to the light but this may not always be the case in future. Thanks for all the advice though
Click to expand...

Bit of a stubborn response IMO - your only options are aperture, shutter speed & iso so if you don't have the light then you do need to create it. Switch the light on, learn how to use the flash and stop trying to create a certain type of image in conditions you don't have.
 
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