Help Needed!

[kentlass]

I am very much a beginner, all the gear and no idea pretty much sums me up! I am very keen to learn though and am taking every opportunity to use my camera.

I have been given permission to take photographs at a baby sensory class tomorrow and I am unsure of what settings to use. I am tempted to ISO 400 and P mode. The class is held in a church hall but it is a light room with large windows. The babies will be playing with toys, but also doing activities in a circle [on their mum's knees] such as using a brightly coloured silk parachute.

I have a Canon 5D mk 2 with the 24 - 105 kit lens.
I also have a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM.

I spent some of my retirement lump sum on my 'kit' now I need to learn how to use it! This seems such a wonderful chance to get some informal baby photos I really want to get the best pictures I can so any advice would be really appreciated.

[AndyStevens]

It would seem a shame to use P mode on such a nice camera - but I hear what you're saying about being a beginner... Having a toddler myself, and seeing some of his expressions during a baby sensory session, I'd be tempted to use Av mode and select a wide aperture - probably as wide as you can go so f/4 on the 24-105 or f/4.5 on the longer lens. This will allow you to focus on the child's face and through a lot of the background into a colourful blur - and give you a decent shutter speed.

When you get to the hall, take a few test shots and experiment with ISO speeds - obviously you need a reasonably high ISO rating to give a fast shutter speed but you need to keep it fairly low for optimal image quality. Try some tests at ISO 400 to see what shutter speed you get - if it's 1/125th or faster (or maybe even 1/60th) you should be fine. If that's giving you 1/500th then drop it to ISO 200 or even 100 - there will be a certain amount of trial and error. Hopefully you'll have it worked out before the session starts as they seem to fly by!

That's the approach I've taken with my munchkin so hope that helps.

Cheers
Andy

[chris-p]

I'd agree with Andy about exposure settings. Keep your aperture wide and adjust the ISO to make sure you're getting sharp shots.

However, on a full frame camera with a wide(ish) aperture, you're going to need to focus carefully. Personally, I'd force the camera into using it's central focus point and it's single shot AF mode (I can't remember what Canon call it off the top of my head) rather than the AI servo or constant AF. Then you can be completely accurate with your focus. With that sort of camera and those lenses you should be able to get some lovely photos.

[kentlass]

Thank you both very much for the advice. I shall try to get to the hall early to take a some test shots, very good suggestion! Also the advice on using the central focus point and one shot.
i had tried using Al Servo to get some photos of my dog playing in the snow, most were out of focus! Still that is one of the joys of digital, the delete button!

[riddell]

I don't wish to be rude when I say this, but I so often see questions on 'what settings should I use?'

We can give you guidelines, but no way can we give you settings, you need to work that out when you get there and see how much light you have.

Paul.
www.photographybyriddell.co.uk

[AndyStevens]

Good advice there Chris about using the central focus point only - kentlass, it's One Shot in Canon speak. AI Servo works ok for distant moving objects (like planes at displays etc) but I've never really used it as I find it unreliable.

[KeithT]

I would try AV (Aperture Value) You then have the option to set your aperture to its optimum (usually 2-3 stops up from its widest aperture) which for the 5d mkii and 24-105 is f8 or f11 and get good front to back focus, or you can go wider, say f5.6 or f4 and thus increasing your shutter speed. With f4 your depth of field becomes narrower and you need to be more precise with focus spot, but you can get a reasonable bokeh if you get closer to your subject. I use the 5dmkii and predominantly the 24-105 and shoot most things at f8. I always use a minimum of 400 ISO up to 800 ISO for indoor stuff and usually f5.6 for good all round focus. But as said, you need to check out the lighting when you get there. Contrary to popular habit, there is nothing wrong with using P mode and I often do when shooting candids and other times I want to keep my eye on the subject and not on the technical aspect.

Yes +1 for central focus point only. Never use anything else. If you want the shot off centre then focus and recompose the shot.

A good way to judge if your shutter speed is fast enough for hand held shots is to think 1 over the focal length of the lens eg if using 50mm focal length the hand held safety net is 1/50 second. As you get better with holding technique and IS you can even do better than this.

[chris-p]

Originally Posted by KeithT

Yes +1 for central focus point only. Never use anything else. If you want the shot off centre then focus and recompose the shot.

+1 - thats how I shoot. Focus, lock, recompose, shoot. It's more accurate and faster than fiddling with bloomin AF points all the time...