When shooting children.....

[sabrina860]

When shooting children indoors/outdoors when they are moving, walking & crawling...how do you shoot? Manual, aperture priority, shutter priority, sports mode or auto? I shoot in manual which is a lot of work. But today I tried out the sports mode and my shots came out sharper, but I really feel like i'm letting myself down or "cheating", and I don't have that same sense of accomplishment when shooting in any other mode than manual. So i'm just wondering how you all photograph children, and if you shoot in manual can you give me some tips?

[terri33inne]

I usually shoot in manual & then make adjustments if the lighting changes (ie we were originally inside & then went outside, etc). I tend to lean toward aperture priority, and adjust other settings accordingly... now I'm focusing more on shutter speed.

I got that feeling not too long ago... I was trying desperately to get the exposure right on my daughter (they weren't important shots) so I just said forget it & turned my camera onto full auto mode... the pics were better. It was a bit humbling, but it helped me learn what settings I should be using in that setting so I learned something.

Don't feel bad... it's really about the end result. We pay so much for our equipment for a reason!

[kristenh]

i could see trying to learn and use manual outside shooting flowers or something, but imo it is totally unrealistic with kids. i have 2 fast moving toddlers and i am usually in aperture priority mode- i have now gotten to where my photos are actually coming out better than they did in auto- for a long time, that wasn't the case, as you say. now, though, i am a better judge and i like to control the DOF and push the shutter speed around, so the aperture priority works for me. i also want to control my own iso and of course auto doesn't allow that.

indoors, i have tried with bumping iso and various lighting strategies, and i believe i'm going to give up for now and use auto and my on camera flash

i don't know what your photography aspirations are, but, for me, i keep reminding myself that my goal is to get the best shots of my kids before they grow up. and the how matters a lot less

[Diamond Girl]

Shutter priority to freeze action, for sure. Or, like you said using the sports mode. Totally works and it's on the camera for a reason. As long as you like the results, go with it!