Newbie help needed to take baby photographs

[arun_ramachandran]

<p>Hi All,<br>

I just joined this wonderful forum today (and also posted an introductory post in the "New User Introductions" section so sorry for the somewhat similar cross-post). I recently took to photography as my wife and I just had a baby a few weeks ago! I'm a complete beginner when it comes to photography though, and am hoping to learn from the other members of this forum.<br>

In a burst of enthusiasm, I recently bought a used Nikon D90, a 35mm 1.8 Nikon prime, and a used Tamron 28-75mm 2.8. The equipment far exceeds my skill so I would really appreciate if anyone can give some pointers on taking half decent baby photographs with all this stuff. I also hope the equipment I bought will be suitable for taking baby photographs!<br>

Any help, pointers, or guidance would be really appreciated! I tried going through the Learning tab on this site as well but could not find anything specific to taking baby photographs. I'm not even sure which category to look under (I looked under portraits and macro).<br>

<br />Many thanks!</p>

[jim_j2]

<p>Arun,<br>

Congratulations, . . . to you and your wife on your newborn, and welcome to PN!</p>

<p>Absolutely no expert here (me) on baby photography. However, it appears that both lenses you have should be adequate for some available light indoor photographs of the newborn, although you may have to place the subject near a window to get "better lighting."</p>

<p>I would suggest that you review and study the User Manual for the D90. If you didn't get one with the used purchase, you should be able to find one online for the Nikon. (I'm a Canon user) Most User Manuals will provide many "tips" that can be very useful for both a beginner and advanced user.<br>

Learn from the manual how to set the ISO and the difference in user setting of ISO compared to Auto ISO settings. I would maybe start with an ISO setting of 200, or just set it on auto. Most User Manuals will contain a "getting started" or "basic shooting" section.<br>

Don't be afraid to use the "Auto" settings. So as a start I would use as many of the full auto settings or the "P" mode and just start shooting.<br>

Learn or be aware of the backgrounds, compositions, etc., etc., as a start but don't miss out on the opportunities while the newborn is just that!<br>

Again, Congrats!</p>

[goldbergbarry]

<p>Congrats on both the baby and taking the first steps learning photography. I have the D90 and it is a great camera.</p>

<p>As a starter, I highly recommend picking up the book Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. Although it is not geared specifically for taking baby pictures, it will teach you how to take great pictures.</p>

[newmanuk]

Welcome to photonet Arun, On the main page you will find the blue "Learning " tab. drop down to online textbook... the principles outlined cover all the areas of using a camera to get a result you would be happy with. I second JJJ comments... so take some shots.... post them here in the beginners section .. and enjoy.. take some of both of you enjoying the moment.. i took loads of my youngster but not of us both together .. Hope that helps Miken

[john_deerfield]

<p>Lets see if we can start you down the right path... your camera is simply a light recorder. That's it. It's job is to record an exposure, to record a certain amount of light. In the auto mode, you have no control (or very little) over how much light the camera records. As you move out of auto, you can tell the camera to record more light (brighter image) or less light (darker image). And then in the manual mode you are simply controlling the amount of light being recorded. But here's the thing: your camera CANNOT control the <em>quality</em> of your light. If you don't like the light, there isn't anything the camera can do about it. One easy example: a backlit subject. If you record enough light so that your subject is properly exposed, the background (which has <em>more</em> light) will be too bright. If you record the background properly, your subject will be dark, underexposed. You <em>camera</em> cannot control the lighting, only record it. Here is some lighting stuff to get you started:</p>

<p>http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/portrait-lighting.htm</p>

<p>http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/natural-light-photography.htm</p>

[simon_hickie1]

<p>All good advice so far. Your lenses are fine, especially for available light photography. If you can avoid using the on-camera flash, so much better. Things to consider: 1. At wide apertures, you will not have much depth of field (the amount of the image that is in focus). At slow shutter speeds with no tripod and a lens with no image stabilisation, you risk blur from camera shake. The 35mm f1.8 should be fine at 1/50th second or faster & slower with some bracing (walls, furniture etc.). The 35mm at f4 and a shooting distance of 1 meter will give you about 12cm of depth of field with a subject width of 65cm. In terms of ambient light, at ISO 200 (the camera's base ISO setting) in an averagely lit room (night time) you will be at around 1/4 second at f4. At ISO 1600, that can be pushed up to around 1/30th at f4 (but see below).</p>

<p>Try downloading Barnack http://www.stegmann.dk/mikkel/barnack/ - it will help show some of the stuff I've mentioned above. Also, take a look at Fred Parker's ultimate exposure computer http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm.</p>

<p>So, the key things are to understand the relationships between shutter speed, aperture and ISO settings, how different shutter speeds and F stops affect the image, how the quantity of light (and quality) affect the image and how higher ISO settings impact on the image (reduced colour saturation, less dynamic range (the ability to record light + dark tones)) and more noise (grain).</p>

<p>If I was to suggest an additional purchase, it would be an SB600 (used) or SB700 flashgun plus Demb diffuser and learn to bounce flash of walls and ceilings (big light sources give soft lighting, small light sources - e.g. direct on camera flash - give hard lighting.</p>

<p>Shoot in RAW or RAW + JPEG - that way you can so some fixes if needed (you can convert in Nikon View NX (free)). Finally, experiment and shoot loads. Computer memory & hard disks are cheap, memories are priceless. So back up all you images.</p>

[jim_manganella]

<p>To make a long story short and to get you going now... using the f/1.8 prime lens, set the camera to Aperture Priority with a low setting of 1.8 to 2.8 to blur the background. Everything else such as shutter speed will fall into place.</p>

[jordan2240]

<p>Congrats Arun. I've personally found that the best way to get cute baby photographs is to have a cute baby. <br>

All good advice, but Simon gives great advice about flash. There is a world of difference between using your on-camera flash and an accessory off-camera flash. Also, I really like John's wonderful simplification of what a camera actually is. Never thought of it in that manner, but it's a great way for a rank amateur like myself to think as I work my way back into the hobby.</p>

[simon_hickie1]

<p>One more set of thoughts on baby photography!<br>

My own experience (three now grown children) is that they change very quickly over the first couple of years. So as well as 'whole baby' shots, look for the details - hands, feet, hair, etc. As well as baby shots, take pictures include surroundings, toys (first teddy bear etc.), meal times (these get messy and 'entertaining'), bath time, prams, pushchairs, trips out to the local park etc etc. For example, we have a record of birthday cakes going back to first birthdays.</p>

[arun_ramachandran]

<p>Wow, thank you so much for your detailed replies, Jim, Barry, Mike, John, Simon, Jim M, and Bill! I'm definitely going to try out the suggestions you have all given. I've already started reading the D90 manual and the Cambridge In Color tutorial (which is quite nice!). I will also try out the Aperture Priority setting and the exposure/shutter speed settings that you have suggested, Bill and Simon.</p>

<p>I should be able to post some pictures of my experiments in the next few days.</p>

<p>I've been experimenting different settings in manual mode for the last several weeks but it was "trial and error" experimenting with only rudimentary knowledge of how the settings affect picture quality. Then, I finally gave up and started taking pictures in auto mode with the flash disabled. I never really thought about it in terms of exposure and light quantity/quality.<br>

P.S. The Nikon image editing software that came with the camera doesn't work on Windows 8! Due to this, I'm unable to edit raw pictures.</p>

[simon_hickie1]

<p>Ah, Windows 8! I still like XP. Therefore, shoot RAW plus FINE JPEG and wait for the software to catch up. I would expect Adobe Camera Raw to be updated but you probably will need either Lightroom or Elements 11 for it to work.</p>

<p>UPDATE: Nikon is testing View NX for compatibility with Win8. I've seen some threads saying it works OK, so try downloading the latest version (free) from Nikon.</p>

[jaydesi]

<p>Congrats on both! To follow up on Simon's great points, I made an effort to take a picture of my daughter every month on her "birthday" to show her development, for her first 2 years. Of course, I also took many other pictures, but these were as formal as I could get them for her age. It makes for a very interesting series of pictures. She was my initial inspiration to get back into photography, so while she is now a common subject, I shoot a lot of other types of things, too.</p>

[arun_ramachandran]

<p>Thanks, Jay! The birthday month idea is a good one.<br>

Simon, I will try View NX again tomorrow.</p>