[samyshah]

Hello All

I might be fishing for some basic information here.

Just the other day, I was trying to do portraits for a 6-month baby boy.
I was using my Nikon D5100 + Nikkor 500mm Fixed Prime (Hand-held)

I was shooting using the Aperture priority mode at f/1.8, ISO 100.
The shutter speed was working perfectly fine.

Now when I say the shots were coming out right was when the baby was pretty still and not waving his hands or legs or head.
But then, even the slightest of a 6-month old toddler would ruin my shot, because then I got blurs and shakes.

How do I get rid of the shake/blur/movement of the babies when I try to photograph them naturally? It's hard to make them sit still for obvious reason ))

Cheers
Samy

[tonyjennings@sky.com]

Hello All

I might be fishing for some basic information here.

Just the other day, I was trying to do portraits for a 6-month baby boy.
I was using my Nikon D5100 + Nikkor 500mm Fixed Prime (Hand-held)

I was shooting using the Aperture priority mode at f/1.8, ISO 100.
The shutter speed was working perfectly fine.

Now when I say the shots were coming out right was when the baby was pretty still and not waving his hands or legs or head.
But then, even the slightest of a 6-month old toddler would ruin my shot, because then I got blurs and shakes.

How do I get rid of the shake/blur/movement of the babies when I try to photograph them naturally? It's hard to make them sit still for obvious reason ))

Cheers
Samy

To freeze motion you need a faster shutter speed, Have the baby well lit so that flash isn't necessary and increase the ISO to 800, this should give a good result without introducing too much noise, change to shutter priority and increase the speed until you get the f1.8 to maintain a shallow depth of field, if too shallow, decrease speed by one stop until all baby is in focus. Main focal point should be on the babies eyes.

[PhotoPlay]

Hello All

I might be fishing for some basic information here.

Just the other day, I was trying to do portraits for a 6-month baby boy.
I was using my Nikon D5100 + Nikkor 500mm Fixed Prime (Hand-held)

I was shooting using the Aperture priority mode at f/1.8, ISO 100.
The shutter speed was working perfectly fine.

Now when I say the shots were coming out right was when the baby was pretty still and not waving his hands or legs or head.
But then, even the slightest of a 6-month old toddler would ruin my shot, because then I got blurs and shakes.

How do I get rid of the shake/blur/movement of the babies when I try to photograph them naturally? It's hard to make them sit still for obvious reason ))

Cheers
Samy

Best way to shoot them naturally without flash is to set an environment where more light comes in your setup. Avoiding to use lower shutter speed.
You can also achieve it naturally using strobe light. Remember flash can freeze action.

[Doug]

Hello All

I might be fishing for some basic information here.

Just the other day, I was trying to do portraits for a 6-month baby boy.
I was using my Nikon D5100 + Nikkor 500mm Fixed Prime (Hand-held)

I was shooting using the Aperture priority mode at f/1.8, ISO 100.
The shutter speed was working perfectly fine.

Now when I say the shots were coming out right was when the baby was pretty still and not waving his hands or legs or head.
But then, even the slightest of a 6-month old toddler would ruin my shot, because then I got blurs and shakes.

How do I get rid of the shake/blur/movement of the babies when I try to photograph them naturally? It's hard to make them sit still for obvious reason ))

Cheers
Samy

Hi Samy,

I suspect you may have a typo in your post ... perhaps it's a 50mm lens, not a 500mm lens? Aside from that, increasing the shutter speed using either increased ISO, a wider aperture, using a stronger light source or a flash should do the trick for you as noted by previous posters.

Doug

[Korry]

I know absolutely nothing about making baby photos, so sorry if the question is stupid. Is it ok to use flash when shooting babies? Won't the flash annoy and bother them too much?

[Barbara G.]

By the way - welcome to the forums Doug!

[Doug]

Thank you Barbara .

[calvin]

I know absolutely nothing about making baby photos, so sorry if the question is stupid. Is it ok to use flash when shooting babies? Won't the flash annoy and bother them too much?

use off flash, not camera flash, n bounce ur flash off of ceiling or walls.

[Gil Cox]

Tricky little devils aren't they? It certainly sounds as though you need more light for two reasons - first working at f1.8 doesn't give you very much depth of field (and that 500mm was a typo wasn't it?) 50mm is O.K. but 100mm would be preferable. You say the shutter was working O.K. but you don't say what the shutter speed was. If you're getting movement from the baby's arms and legs then you need a faster shutter speed at least 125th. So the only way is to up your ISO (this equivalent to using a faster film with a fim camera) ISO 800 is equivalent to having 3 stops more light. As others have said electronic flash will freeze motion for you and allow you to stop down a bit. By the way flash doesn't hurt the baby or its eyes at all - if you're concerned that the flash could explode (I've never known it happen) then tie a handkerchief over the flash. Flash on camera won't give you good modelling so don't use it but use an off-camera
flash and bounce it from walls or ceiling. For better lighting bounce into a white umbrella or simply aim the flash at the ceiling and wall behind the baby if it's laying down or if it is sitting up then aim the flash at the wall in the direction that the baby is facing. Hope that helps.

[samyshah]

Great inputs all around!

I think it's time for me to invest some money and get an external flash for my Nikon D5100. The in-built flash is hardly effective when it comes to doing bounces, covering with clothes or other tricks.

Any one know of good external flashes for a Nikon d5100 body?

Cheers
Samy