I failed miserably.
But I didn't.
I DID learn to shoot in manual mode, which was the purpose of the project (that and to expand my photography skills).
On one of the sites I read that you should keep your shutter speed above 1/125 for clear pictures of kids. I took this as such a hard and fast rule that I was diappointed when I didn't have enough light for that shutter speed so I often resorted to using my light scoop and my flash.
I've never been a fan of 'flashy' pictures, but I went with it thinking I needed to do it for my shutter speed. Lately I've seen some pictures at speeds around 1/80, and even slower, and you know what? Even with the blur, I prefer them. I love the softness and dimension natural light gives. I took these two pictures today and SAW the difference.
I reminded myself it's ok if my pictures aren't 'prefect'- so I'm giving myself the go ahead to use slower shutter speeds- so if you see a blurry hand, or fast moving foot, know that it's worth it so you can really see the expression, the light in their eye, and the roundness of those chubby cheeks!
Photo friends- what say you? Is there a certain speed you won't shoot below? Does blur bother you?
And the rest of you- which picture do you prefer. First or second? Feel free to be honest :)
I pretty much always have to use the flash inside. We did just move and have a huge sliding glass door, so I'm hoping that on sunny days I won't have to use it. Anyway, I usually keep it at 1/125 because this joker I have is always moving so fast. :)
ReplyDeleteI take photos of moving objects below 1/125 all of the time! My camera doesn't have a high enough ISO to do better than 1/80 lots of times. I wish I had an external flash though... that would help so much!
ReplyDeleteHi, Katherine! I've taken many many pictures of my boys at really low ss. Often they come out blurry, but sometimes the kiddos are still enough to where it actually looks okay. I'm with you - I would much rather have the natural lighting to a flash-y look.
ReplyDeleteYour boys are so cute!