1 yr old twins shoot

amscout8

I need some advice on taking photos of a set of 1 yr old twins. Mostly, about camera settings. I'm not a professional, but I love photographing everything and everyone, and I want to do it right! I have a Nikon D80. I've had it for years. I love the pics I've taken so far, but I want to do even better. Thanks!

amscout8

I should also mention that the shoot will be outside.

ziggy53

Photography, in general, is mostly about light and lighting. Make sure that the ambient light is coming from an interesting direction and avoid direct sunlight from 10 AM through 2 PM. That time is good for open shade, however.

The Nikon D80 has a built-in flash, so you can use it for fill light, to keep shadows from being completely closed. Fill light is generally 1-2 stops below ambient light in power.

Open shade tends to be pretty good light, so try to find a location which provides open shade. Use RAW capture mode of the camera and choose Auto White Balance. Try to keep ISO at 100 or 200 with the D80. Try to use the largest aperture of your lens, although if you're using a "kit lens" stopping down one stop generally improves sharpness. Use Aperture Priority mode, for exposure, and let the camera choose the shutter speed. Chimp (review the image in the LCD display) a lot, until you get the subject exposure correct using the Exposure Compensation of the D80, that +- button near the shutter button. Keep the "blinkies" on to try to avoid over-exposing important details in the scene. Metering mode should be 3D Color matrix metering II or Center-weighted metering (somewhat lens dependant).

Look for a location with a simple and distant background behind the subjects. One-year-olds may be pretty active, so a large single-colored blanket may work for a bit, but plan on a location which allows them to roam too. Avoid blanket colors which are not conducive with skin tones. (The blanket will reflect some light onto the kids, mostly showing in shadow areas of their skin.)

A location with open shade and a closer but "interesting" background works too, and allows you to stop down the lens further (ambient light permitting).

Plan on getting down to their level to shoot them. This makes for a more interesting vantage.

I strongly suggest testing locations beforehand, so you know what to expect before the twins are in the scene and the action makes your life interesting.

If you have a more cooperative subject, like a doll for instance, that allows testing camera settings and lighting beforehand.

Good luck and have fun.

Mitchell

How did it go? Post some pics.