In Motion

[xXBehindTheLens]

Camera: Sony DSLR-A300
F-stop: f/5
Exposure: 1/1000
ISO: ISO-200
No flash used.

I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions on shooting moving subjects such as toddlers. Any advice is welcomed though.

[picklesalt]

Great picture and great expression

I shoot toddlers often and find that shooting with a fast lens - like the cheap 50mm f/1.8 - is a good way to go. I often take them outside, as you have here, and get all the light I can, because you have got to have a fast shutter speed to avoid the blur that comes often with shooting kids.

and, as for personal advice, i hate seeing portraits of kids done indoors, in a controlled studio! bleh! get a kid out there in his/her natural environment - a playroom, a playground, with animals, toys, etc, and you'll get the real essence of a child coming through in your photos.

just my opinion i took a few shots of kids of a similar age recently, they're on my blog (address below). great job!

[RichardTaylor]

I shoot motor sport & birds with Canon DSLRS however for shots like this I would shoot with
(1) continuous autofocus AF-C
(2) Continuous Shooting mode
(3) If you can - make the centre focus point only active.
(4) Initally try a smaller aperture like around F11, even if it means bumping up the ISO.
When shooting start tracking the child early with the shutter button partially depressed (this will give the camera/lens time to lock on) then fire of a burst when focus lock has been achieved.

Once you start to get some keepers you may want to open up the aperture a bit more to blurr the background.

If the F1.8 lens focuses faster then the lens you are using now then try it.