What’s Your Preference?

NimishC · #1 (**permalink**) 01-25-2010, 06:58 AM

Hi..I am not a photographer by profession and pursue it just as a hobby..i am planning to take some snaps of a friend's baby who is just 3 months old..any tips and suggestions would be helpful regd. composition, camera mode, etc. This is going to be an indoor shoot in the evening. I own a Nikon P90.

sybren · #2 (**permalink**) 01-25-2010, 08:34 AM

Indoor + in the evening = dark, so add lots of light. Be sure it's indirect, bouncing off ceilings, walls, floors even. A baby is sweet and soft, so often a shallow DOF brings that across quite nicely.

NimishC · #3 (**permalink**) 01-25-2010, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sybren

Indoor + in the evening = dark, so add lots of light. Be sure it's indirect, bouncing off ceilings, walls, floors even. A baby is sweet and soft, so often a shallow DOF brings that across quite nicely.

Thanks. To get shallow DOF, i will have to shoot in aperture priority mode with a big aperture i.e. small f-value. Is it so? Any input on shutter speed/ISO?

sybren · #4 (**permalink**) 01-25-2010, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NimishC

To get shallow DOF, i will have to shoot in aperture priority mode

My personal favourite is manual. It really helps you get consistent shots. Think about it - it'll be in the evening and the lights will all be constant, so once you nailed your exposure it shouldn't change. With those semi-auto modes, your exposure will change depending on what you're shooting. Put a dark hat on the kid, and the camera will alter its exposure, even though the lighting is exactly the same.

Quote:

with a big aperture i.e. small f-value.

Yup.

Quote:

Any input on shutter speed/ISO?

As usual - get as low an ISO setting as possible, but keep an eye on your shutter speed. You probably don't want motion blur.