Photographing a Toddler?

[Queenie]

Hi all,

I need your tips on getting good shots of constantly moving toddlers! My nephew is 1 in a couple of weeks and just doesn't stop moving, especially since he learnt to crawl a few weeks ago. I took over 100 shots of him yesterday but only got a handful that weren't blurred. I'm really struggling to get good shots without using the flash which really distracts him from whetever he's doing.

One of my biggest problems is that I only ever really see him at his grandparent's house where we're in a reasonably small, dark room full of people and very little natural light. I don't want to be constantly firing the flash when people are trying to talk but I can't find any settings to compensate for an excitable child!

Camera is a Canon 300D with the standard lens it comes with as I can't afford a better one yet. Any suggestions?

 

[Master Mason]

What mode are you shooting in?

Go to AV mode, bump the ISO as high as it will go, use the lens at it's 18 end, and open the apeture all the way up. The reason you want it at 18 is that it gets you a wider apeture, you can always crop afterwards.

this will get you the fastest shutter speed your going to be able to achieve without using the flash.

 

[handicap18]

50mm f/1.8 will work nicely at f/1.8 and ISO 1600, though your focus is going to have to be right where you want it because of the shallow depth of field at that f/stop. Best part about the lens is that it can be had brand new for about $80.

Until then, go with what Gregg said.

 

[Suburbanmom]

I'm going to take a different approach. When my younger son was 1 year old, I wanted to take his photograph sitting next to a full-sized posterboard party invitation. It was bigger than he was and I thought it was a cute way to invite the family to his first birthday party.

Would he sit still for the photo? NO WAY!!!! So, mom had to get resourceful! At that time, we had a small motorized back massager that vibrated when you applied pressure. I set the massager on the floor and sat him on top of it. He started to giggle and SMILE and sat still for almost 5 full minutes. It is still one of my favorite photos of him of all time. And I have a little secret as to why the photo was so good.

So my advice is to first find a creative way to get him to sit still for a few minutes. You can get those back massagers cheap at Bed Bath and Beyond. Then, follow Gregg's advice on ISO, aperature, and shutter speed. Good luck!