Typical aperture/speed for childrens photography

dubcat

dubcat

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Amir
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Hi -

For you folks who take a lot of little kids pictures (1yr old range), what do you find to be the most successful MINIMUM aperture and speed that still keeps the subject in pin sharp focus for these moving subjects? I know it varies from person to person based on skill and also on conditions etc but im looking for a rule of thumb.

I know that people say that you shoot handheld at a minimum speed of 1/(focal length). However, today I realised this is not working for me when snapping my kids. I took some shots at 1/250 by accident and they are the clearest pics I have ever taken. I didn't realise I had to go that low! It's really a revelation for me and I can see my photography improving a lot now.

Cheers,
Dub
 
Aperture really depends on the conditions and what lens you are using. Although, not sure about anyone else.. I would try and shoot somewhere between f2 and f5.6, so there should be a decent amount of background blur but still retaining sharpness (if shooting with a 50mm f1.4 for example), but again this depends on what lens you are using. Although, as a general rule of thumb, try and keep the shutter speed above double the focal length you are shooting at, so 100mm = 1/200 sec, 50mm = 1/100 sec and so on. Not sure how many people would use that, its not completely accurate, but should keep the subject looking sharp.
 
I try to use 1/125 or faster and f4 as a general rule, although may go as slow as 1/60 if the child is relatively static. Depending on the shot, I will also drop to around f2 or f2.8 which can boost the shutter speed. Anything faster that 1/125 (like 1/200) is ideal. Obviously if they are really tearing around you may need to up this.

I find my 50mm 1.4 to be nice and sharp around f4 and f5.6.
 
Personally, I tend to leave Auto ISO on my camera since I would rather have some noise and an in focus and sharp shot that an out of focus shot.

I also tend to use a speedlite with Balanced Fill-in flash these days too.
 
the 1/focal length rule is IMO for something that is not moving, you can get away with it if the child sits still long enough, but at that speed your on the limit of handholding a sharp picture and risking any movement on their side messing it up. I have gone that low when situation dictates, but only as a last resort. (Im not the most experienced, just talking of snapping at my own children)
on a 50mm 1/125+shutter speed and f/4 aperture is a good starting point. decrease the aperture if light is low or you want a shallower DOF, inc the shutter speed if at all possible. ISO lower the better, get to know what your camera produces. start low ramp it up as needed when its two high, the aperture is wide open then its time to bring the shutter speed down and hope IMO.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I adjust the ISO to allow me to expose for the speed and aperture I want. I will try auto ISO but when you are in Av mode I wonder how the camera decides whether it should raise the ISO or lower the shutter speed since both of these could be done to get the exposure right.

I noticed from my shots this morning that I needed to be at 1/250 to get a sharp picture. I just didn't realise that I would need to have such a fast shutter speed - came as quite a shock to me. Even at 1/125 I found there was some blur... I must have really shakey hands.

Regarding aperture I have realised that I spent too much reading about theory and not enough time actually writing down my results based on different apertures. I found out this morning that for the distance and zoom that I typically shoot at indoors I do in fact need to shoot at 5.6 unless I am REALLY careful about the angle of my subjects face towards me and also my focus and recompose technique. Below 5.6 I seem to find that i end up with blur unless I really nail it.

Key lesson learned for me was to shoot more (and analyse my results) and read less :)

Thanks for replying.
Dub
 
dubcat said:
I will try auto ISO but when you are in Av mode I wonder how the camera decides whether it should raise the ISO or lower the shutter speed since both of these could be done to get the exposure right.

Dub
Click to expand...

Auto ISO is best used in good old M mode because the ISO is then the only parameter missing from the three so the camera will adjust ISO :)
 
Ah yes.. i thought that would be the answer. Thanks Ali :)
 
highest speed you can get commensurate with your gear's ablity to take clean shots at a given iso
as the iso goes up so you get more speed
 
AliB said:
Auto ISO is best used in good old M mode because the ISO is then the only parameter missing from the three so the camera will adjust ISO :)
Click to expand...

That is fantastic advice. I got my DSLR just before Christmas, I’d played with auto ISO in AP before and found there to be too many compromises, but In manual its spot on, I am kicking myself for not realising it earlier. I have set the front programmable button on my D80 to show iso (as inherently the iso doesn’t display it) , so (time permitting) I can easily check the iso in the viewfinder before I take the shot .

Naturally I will still use AP for some things, and manual without auto iso for others (eg my night & flash pics), But manual with auto iso is proving a very handy tool.
 
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