How to take a sharp photagraph of my baby

[ovicretzu16]

Hello,

I'm new at this so please don't be hard on me. I have a 2 months old daughter. It seems that whatever setting I adjust my camera to(Canon 550D, kit lens) I can't get a sharp photo of her. Because she moves a lot, the only part of her body that looks sharp in a photo is the part that is not moving( like her face and body, her hands and feet always get blurred). I played a little bit with the camera settings in Aperture mode and Time Value mode. I tried at different shutter speeds and aperture values but i couldn't get any better result.

Thank you for your help.

[NicoleScraps]

without seeing a photo with exif data, I would guess that you do not have enough light to use a fast enough shutter speed that will stop the motion. Have you tried putting her near a big window to get some good natural light on her? Can you post an example photo with the setting that you used?

[ovicretzu16]

Thanks for the reply Nicole,

I will post an example photo soon. The problem is that I only have time to take pictures of my daughter in the evening (or in week-ends), when I get home from work and in this time of the year at 7pm GMT+2(I'm from Europe) is dark outside, so i can rely only on artificial light from a bulb. What can I do in this situation?

[autofocus]

Have you thought about using your flash? Not always the best when used direct, but it can be diffused to soften the effect. Flash will stop action quite well. With the lighting conditions you describe, along with the limitations of your kit lens, this may be your best solution.

[dlambert]

(1) Add light -- either a lamp or a strobe (flash).
(2) Use a lower aperture. Without seeing your EXIF, it's hard to tell how low you'd need to go, but f/1.8 or lower isn't uncommon for indoor shooting. Unfortunately, at apertures that low, you'll start to run into a really narrow depth-of-field, so only a very narrow plane will be in focus.

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by dlambert

(1) Add light -- either a lamp or a strobe (flash).
(2) Use a lower aperture. Without seeing your EXIF, it's hard to tell how low you'd need to go, but f/1.8 or lower isn't uncommon for indoor shooting. Unfortunately, at apertures that low, you'll start to run into a really narrow depth-of-field, so only a very narrow plane will be in focus.

David, unfortunately F/1.8 will not be available on that kit lens

[ovicretzu16]

thanks for the replies

autofocus: I try to avoid using flash because it is said (by doctors and other people) that it can affect the baby's vision. Anyway I'll take a few shots with flash(hope my daughter will be fine with it).

dlambert: unfortunately with the kit lens (18-55mm at f/3.5-5.6) like autofocus says the lowest aperture I can get is f/3.5.

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by ovicretzu16

thanks for the replies

autofocus: I try to avoid using flash because it is said (by doctors and other people) that it can affect the baby's vision. Anyway I'll take a few shots with flash(hope my daughter will be fine with it).

dlambert: unfortunately with the kit lens (18-55mm at f/3.5-5.6) like autofocus says the lowest aperture I can get is f/3.5.

Well, I never heard of flash causing any damage, permanent, or otherwise, to a baby's vision. Flash photos of babies have been done for decades with no apparent side effects that I'm aware of, but I'm no doctor. High powered strobes are commonly used to photograph days old infants all the time..these are far more powerful units than your pop up camera flash.

[ishafizan]

i understand the feeling ... as parents, we'd want to capture every funny/interesting moment. i'm afraid the kit lens won't perform very good in low-light conditions, and knowing that, i purchased a faster lens, the nifty fifty.

here's my daughter at 11 months trying out my headphones. priceless!

Not afraid by ishafizan, on Flickr
point n shoot, fz28, flash on. result not so good

recommend the 50mm f18. cheap and performs well. very good to capture portrait ... bright and low lights

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (taken from her 'facebook' album. natural light. no flash)

splash! by ishafizan, on Flickr

lost in thought by ishafizan, on Flickr

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by ovicretzu16

autofocus: I try to avoid using flash because it is said (by doctors and other people) that it can affect the baby's vision. Anyway I'll take a few shots with flash(hope my daughter will be fine with it).

Originally Posted by autofocus

Well, I never heard of flash causing any damage, permanent, or otherwise, to a baby's vision. Flash photos of babies have been done for decades with no apparent side effects that I'm aware of, but I'm no doctor. High powered strobes are commonly used to photograph days old infants all the time..these are far more powerful units than your pop up camera flash.

When I started doing newborn photography, I actually asked my kids' pediatrician about this; I'd heard others say it, too. He actually laughed and said it's an old wives' tale.