Baby Photography for Beginners - How to Use Manual Setting

I used to be a camera freak. My first camera was Canon (no idea what series it was) given by my uncle for my 14th birthday. Used till broken. Then someone bought me a gadget pen drive with a small camera. Like the spy gadget one. Very use full. Used till lost. 

After I got a bit saving for doing part time job during semester break, I spent it to have a phone with camera. Cant get enough. After three month working as a banker, I managed to buy the most expensive thing I've ever bought at that time, Sony Cybershot T2 worth RM1,500. Really worth it. Last till now. But already pass it to my SIL as it has a lot of sentimental value and it is better if i dont keep it anymore. Hee..

Last year, hubby and me agreed to have a DSLR camera as our birthday present. OUR birthday present. Haha meaning that we shared to pay the bill lah. Pastu tak payah beli birthday present for year 2011 dah. The reason is to have a good photo of our baby. 

But the problem is, I am a DSLR idiot. Seriously. I dont know why I give up easily when the setting and outcome photos doesn't fit my taste. So I would ask my husband to set the camera then. No intention to learn at all. haih.. pemalas.. As I'm getting crazier with Baby Photography lately, I started to read the tips and so on. Found something informative to share here.

credit to http://www.hendralauw.com/

How to use manual exposure setting

If you are like me who prefer not to use flash, set the camera exposure mode to manual especially when the lighting is constant. Follow these steps to decide:

• do I want more of the background or do I want the background to be completely out of focus? This will determine what aperture you will use.
• after deciding what aperture to use, check if the scene can give you fast enough shutter speed to handle the subjects. If children are running and moving actively, I usually ensure that my shutter speed is at least 1/250 sec or faster depending on the speed of the children movement.
• if shutter speed is too low to freeze the subjects, increase the ISO so you can get higher shutter speed setting.
• if shutter speed is still too low after increasing ISO to the max, you may want to go back to point no. 1 and compromise by not getting more of the background. Use the largest possible aperture you can for the lens.
• if all have been done and nothing else you can do, don’t be discouraged, be prepared with your camera and press the shutter button when the children is at the peak of their movement, when there is usually a brief moment of freeze

So, hopefully I will practice all the tips listed above and stop disturbing my husband just to set the camera. : )