Photography is not my profession. I have never taken a class or read a book about photography. I have never read the manual that came with my camera. I don’t know a lot of the technical terms, I shoot mostly in automatic and I utilize only 20% of my awesome Nikon D80.
Even so, my friends ask me questions about photography and trust me to take photos of their kids. Just yesterday, my friend Melissa was desperate for some photos of her two year old. Long distance Grandma wanted to see her baby. She knew she didn’t want to drag him to Wal-Mart and get the posed ugly studio shots. She also knew she couldn’t afford to hire a fancy photographer to take candid shots.
So she called me.
I’m not fancy. I’m no professional. I don’t have Photoshop. But I can relate with Melissa because I don’t want to spend the money or the time to have someone else to take pictures of my kids. So I am learning to do it myself.
Today was a cold, cloudy, wet ground kind of January day. Taking shots outside was not an option. One might be tempted to think that because we are taking indoor photos, we must use the flash. One would be mistaken if one thought that.
The first step to better photos is all about lighting. Look around your house for the most natural, warm light. If the kid has the perfect outfit with the perfect smile but the photo is too dark, it is hard to work with, especially if you don’t have Photoshop like me.
In my house, the brightest room is our sunroom. Lined with windows and skylights, this room provides great light during most times of the day. Cloudy days are actually better, as I don’t have to worry about shadows.
If I knew more about the manual settings on my camera, I could control the light and exposure a lot better. And the photo would be better for it. There is no doubt. But I haven’t the energy, time, or motivation to learn about settings. So I put my dial on the “P” for “Program Mode” and shoot away. Sometimes when the lighting doesn’t seem quite right, I do something real fancy: I make the photo black and white.
If you don’t have a sunroom in your house, no worries. Just open wide your front door and plop the kid on the steps in the foyer.
No foyer? No front door? No problem! Find a bedroom with a window, pull those curtains back, sit your baby in a red rocker with a couple of trains and shoot away.
You may not get a frame-worthy photo every time, but you will get lots to choose from: some for you and some for Grandma. And you don’t have to leave your house or pay a dime.
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Great tips! I too have never read my manual but just love to try and take great shots!
I love the pictures by the way, esp. the B/W one.
Have a great day!
I must be like the anti-photographer because I never could figure out why people always looked half alien when I took their pictures inside the house! The FLASH, AHA!!!
Thanks for the great advice!! My son may have just signed himself up for a picture day tomorrow!
These are great photos. He is adorable. Thanks for tips!
Hmm, methinks I need to move so I live by you, become your friend, and coerce you into taking pictures of my kids. (I’m not accusing your friend of coercing–it’s what I plan to do myself.)
Love that black and white one. I too love doing b & w photos. I just got photoshop elements 7. I am soooo excited to see what i can do with it.
Ashley Nichole
Thank you so much for the tips. The pictures turned out really cute!
I have the Nikon D60 and I too have no idea what the majority of the settings do. I love the camera though. I've yet to figure out how to control my shutter speed (mostly because the manual is thick and scary looking), but for my purposes it's great. I'm also terribly guilty of making a so-so photo look super awesome by turning it b&w.
Picasa 3 (which is free, just download it) has some good editing tools that I use every now and then too. I'm a terribly lazy photographer (I think I've even mentioned this on my blog several times) so I'm so grateful to be able to make them look better.
I love this post – because I shoot the same way. My friend over at Jodie Minniear Phototgraphy is forever trying to teach me settings & speeds & blah, blah, blah. I just can't handle all the technical stuff.
Your pictures turn out beautiful (no matter how you get them done).
Great tips for me…what a cutie he is!
-sandy toe
Great job!! My photographer husband would be very proud!!
Here’s a new tip you might try. When it is all sunny and you have funny shadows, try using the flash on “fill” mode. It will pop a little light into those shadows while reserving the natural light ambience.
Your pictures are beautiful…you go the lighting just right. : )
You are MY KIND of photographer. LOL.
Great photos and wonderful tips. Thanks for sharing!
Come by and visit my new blog!
Wow, very nice! I appreciate your “ordinary person” tips… I’m no professional either, but I love to just take pics. So I really appreciate hearing these tips. Thanks!
The pics are wonderful…Melissa’s mom will be SO happy.
Hey, I love my pictures without a flash, but it’s so hard to keep the camera still for the exposure time –I’m always getting a blur. Any ideas on why? Do I need a remote button? Is it pushing the button? Maybe tell me on the next tips day.
Hi Amara!
You are getting a blur because your shutter speed is too slow. What kind of camera do you have? If it is a regular point and shoot, you may not be able to change your shutter speed. But if you have a DSLR, it is pretty simple to change. Basically, you need your camera to click faster so it doesn’t stay open as long.
In low-light, the camera wants to suck in all the light it can so the shutter stays open longer, but that causes a blur. Let me know what kind of camera you have and perhaps I can help. But perhaps not. Remember, I’m lazy.
You should start a club PAFP People Against Flash Photos or WAUF Women Against Use of Flash.
That would be fun. We could have t shirts.
Cute baby too!
Hi Emily,
I love the pictures. Why can’t mine turn out like that? Maybe I need to borrow your friend’s little boy
On a side note: I am going to ask your help in getting prayers for a four year old girl with stage 4 neuroblastoma. I don’t know her – she lives in the opposite coast. But she needs prayer and I know you are a praying woman with a big audience (you are still the best small blog, IMHO). Thanks, Emily.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/brookemulford
Thank you.
What a sweetie pie!! So grown up in his courdoroy jacket. Great tips too!
I have awarded you the Honest Scrap award! Go to my blog to find out the details!
girl, thanks for being my own personal photographer. even with all your tips, my photos would NEVER look like this!! asher really loves them, too. he sat on my lap to watch the whole slideshow go through like 3 times yesterday! and, he told river over and over, “play with lu and grrlls!” little snitch!
I am with mom in high heels. I have a canon rebell xt and have no clue how to use all the fancy features that go with it. kind of frustrating. like how on earth do I get it to take in B&W?
Sorry, this is the Photographer/Teacher in me coming out!
Seriously, you should be ASHAMED…to have a D80 and not even read the manual! There are plenty of Mom’s out there who can’t afford a camera that fantastic and would kill for one!
Great shots, but think how much better they would have been, if you HAD read your manual!
Hi Tracy,
Just because I haven’t read my manual doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate my awesome camera.
And yes, I do like the shots I took and I also know they would have been better if I’d read the manual. That was my point. But my point is also that we moms shouldn’t feel bad or ashamed to take photos of our kids that are imperfect. There will be a time in my life where I will be able to learn more fancy stuff about photography.
In the meantime, I’m going to do the best I can and enjoy the process.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOh, cute pictures. Cute baby.
Very nice job!
mary
that is great advice and that black and white pic is adorable!
great post!
You summed it up beautifully. A photographer friend just told me the same thing this week. I have a very dark home and am struggling with the application, but you are correct in your information. Great job!
I would TOTALLY join the Women Against the Use of Flash Club! TOTALLY. I am all about natural light. I actually cringe when I have to use the flash (never the on board, always the speedlight bounced off the ceiling, but STILL.)
Um, I have a D40 and I love the shots I get set on Program. I have played around enough that I am actually enjoying working in Manual, but Program takes some mighty fine shots, as you have evidenced here.
BTW, I learned NOTHING about proper shooting from my manual. I’ve learned much more from learning the basics from books like Understanding Exposure and then just playing!
wow- the black and white one does look great. nice tip!
Love this! I too am a lazy photographer…much too lazy to read the manual…and WAY too lazy to find the manual.
Thank you for the awesome tips for real people like me.
Oh my goodness! Is this really happening? Did I actually get a comment from YOU? You and your sister are totally my blog idols. Nesting Place was the very first blog I got into…and now I've entered blogland and I'm afraid there's no going back.
I have been reading your blog for months and have seriously felt like I was your twin separated at birth. It’s only been in the last week or so that I’ve gotten up the nerve to start commenting. Well, I’m so glad I did.
My life is complete. I have personally received comments from The Nester, June, & YOU…it's a blog trifecta.
Shopping with you and June!?! I'm not sure my overjoyed heart could even take it. Not to mention all the laughing…I would need to wear a diaper.
(I wonder if we live relatively close…)
Thank you, thank you for the comment. I don't know if I'll be able to sleep. (Does that sound stalkerish?)
Last comment, I promise.
My husband just told me that my comment does indeed sound stalkerish.
Oh, and I got a comment today from Kimba too (who I adore) so I guess it’s a blog quadfecta (pretty sure that’s not a word.)
I think your tips are practical and doable. And I think those photos turned out fantastic. They easily look professional. NOw to get the kids to sit still long enough!
Great tips! And great photos. I read your related links and appreciate the camera advice. We’re looking at an SLR camera in the next few months.
Beautiful portraits!
Thanks for the great ideas! Haven’t been by in a while…sorry. Is it too late to vote?
I’m absolutely loving what you did with the paint in your post below.
Beautiful. You really caught this little guy! You wouldn’t believe how much you can do with that 20% you know about your camera! Photography is about what we see, not necessarily about what we do to fix it up.
Wow…such great tips and excellent advice. Thanks so much!
Thanks I’m with you on the technical terms bit! My favorite shot is the black and white. WHAT a precious keepsake!
Really great tips! And that guy is a CUTIE.
Hey, a girl after my own heart! I’m an automatic shooter myself. Umm… that didn’t sound right. I tote a camera not a gun in case this blog is being monitored by Homeland Security. Hubby is a film school grad so… he hangs his head low to watch me randomly shoot something and “hope” I get one good shot out of the 50;)
Great pointers… I’m trying not to covet that fabulous camera. Sticking with my Olympus whatever number it is and trying to learn all of it’s settings first while I save up to pay cash for the camera. I think I’ll be able to get it when I’m about 80. Just in time to capture the “after” shots of my hip replacement and my suped up walker.
These are really great tips!!
These pics of Asher are awesome!! Thanks for sharing!!
I’m loving your blog and all of your photography tips. Like you, I’ve never taken a class or read a photography book. I’m sure I only use about 10% of the features on my camera. It’s all about trial and error for me.
I just stumbled upon your blog this morning, and I thought I’d say “Hello!” I look forward to reading more.
Thanks for the great tips!
Do you mind if I post this on my blog?
Thanks
Melissa A Lively