First Attempt

[cklostermeyer]

IMG_7342 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Camera Canon Rebel XS
Exposure 1/400
Aperture f/5.0
ISO Speed 800
Flash No Flash

This is my first post to DPS so please bear with me!
I took my friend's daughter out for a little photo shoot for her 1st birthday. This is one of the pictures that I got.

I was taking pictures in the shade so they all had a cool cast to them and I had to warm them up afterwards in photoshop. My white balance seems to be ok, but varies from picture to picture. I did not use a flash in any of them. Would an external flash be helpful?


The rest can be viewed on Miss "A" - a set on Flickr

I appreciate any feedback. I have a Canon Rebel XS. I was shooting the pictures in Shutter Priority Mode with the shutter speed ranging from 1/320-1/400 and the Aperture ranged from 4.0-5.6. Is there a trick of the trade to get clear pictures of kids? I feel like I have to set the shutter speed fast enough to catch them because they're always on the move, but then my pictures turn out a little dark and I have to lighten/brighten them up in photoshop.

As you can tell, I'm quite the newbie! But wondering how I can improve. Taking photos outdoors in the shade, how do you keep the exposure correct to minimize corrections in photoshop? I also feel like they could be sharper. I use auto focus set in the center and recompose often. I only have the lens that came with the camera, along with a 22-250mm lens. This is the lens that I used for these photos. Are there any photoshop techniques that could make the eyes/face sharper?

I could ask a million more questions, but will stop here... and probably post again in the future!

THANK YOU in advance for any information provided! I truely appreciate the feedback!

[britthuffman]

I think the only trick to getting sharp photos of little ones is just A LOT of practice. I like to shoot tons of frames when I'm shooting such little subjects just because they move so much and so quickly I know most of the shots won't be sharp enough, and hopefully if I shoot enough at least one will be good enough. I checked out your Flicker set and you have some really good shots there. With little kids the expressions are what make the shot, and you got the cutest faces from her. I particularly like the one with her in the chair. The eyes could be sharper in most of them, but the shots really are very good.
In the image you posted, I think maybe it was from post, but her hair has this sort of orange tinted spot. Its hard warming up the parts you need to without going to far with the rest of the image. My only advice is practice shooting so you require less work in post. There are tons of articles here as well as elsewhere online and plenty of books with different lighting techniques you can try. You can try bringing in some reflectors to bounce some warmer light on your subject or even experiment with different light setups to create the lighting you need for the shot. If you get it the way you want with the camera you won't have to do much in PS (or whatever program you use.)
These are really adorable pictures. I look forward to seeing more of your shots posted.