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jaydubbs15

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What is the best way to capture pictures indoors without a flash? I am trying to prep for newborn in-hospital shots -- my wife won't let me use a flash. I've been experimenting in my office under fluorescent bulb lighting but my results have been pretty poor. I set ISO to 1600, but it didn't help. I am using a 50 mm, 1.8 lens. Nothing seems to work very well. Perhaps I have to resign myself to simply brightening up the in-hospital newborn shots with post production. But if I can brighten up the shots in camera then that would be preferable. Thanks.

Jay
 
jaydubbs15 said:
What is the best way to capture pictures indoors without a flash? I
am trying to prep for newborn in-hospital shots -- my wife won't
let me use a flash. I've been experimenting in my office under
fluorescent bulb lighting but my results have been pretty poor. I
set ISO to 1600, but it didn't help. I am using a 50 mm, 1.8 lens.
Nothing seems to work very well. Perhaps I have to resign myself to
simply brightening up the in-hospital newborn shots with post
production. But if I can brighten up the shots in camera then that
would be preferable.
Click to expand...
Hi Jay,

What settings were you using? The 50mm 1.8 lens is one of the fastest lenses around, you should be able to photograph in low light with it and no flash if you have steady hands. I'd go for Av mode at say F2.5 or 2.8 (just to avoid using the lens wide open). Try shooting at ISO 800 and see if you can get enough light at that aperture.

Hand holding in low light is a challenge in itself, but once you start getting good results you will actually enjoy the freedom from the flash. Bear in mind, of course, that not only camera shake, but also subject movement comes into play at low shutter speeds. For that perfect shot you will have the added chore of detecting not only a gracious moment, but also one that the subject is reasonably still.

If you have memory card space to spare it could be a good idea to shoot in raw mode so you can tweak the white balance later. Otherwise, remember to set the WB manually to the lighting conditions specially if it is incandescent, as those slow shots under this kind of light will often turn out very warm if the camera is left to rely on its auto WB.

I'm sure more people will chime in with more ideas.

Good luck and post the results.

--
Best regards,

Bruno Lobo.



http://www.pbase.com/brunobl
 
Brunobl said:
jaydubbs15 said:
What is the best way to capture pictures indoors without a flash? I
am trying to prep for newborn in-hospital shots -- my wife won't
let me use a flash. I've been experimenting in my office under
fluorescent bulb lighting but my results have been pretty poor. I
set ISO to 1600, but it didn't help. I am using a 50 mm, 1.8 lens.
Nothing seems to work very well. Perhaps I have to resign myself to
simply brightening up the in-hospital newborn shots with post
production. But if I can brighten up the shots in camera then that
would be preferable.
Click to expand...
Hi Jay,

What settings were you using? The 50mm 1.8 lens is one of the fastest
lenses around, you should be able to photograph in low light with it
and no flash if you have steady hands. I'd go for Av mode at say F2.5
or 2.8 (just to avoid using the lens wide open). Try shooting at ISO
800 and see if you can get enough light at that aperture.
Click to expand...
Thanks! I tried what you suggested and it worked like a charm, although admittedly I don't know why. Using your advice I used Av, with F2.5 and ISO 800. I also set the WB to Tungsten light, whatever that is -- was that the right thing to do? Should I have done something different?
Brunobl said:
Hand holding in low light is a challenge in itself, but once you
start getting good results you will actually enjoy the freedom from
the flash. Bear in mind, of course, that not only camera shake, but
also subject movement comes into play at low shutter speeds. For that
perfect shot you will have the added chore of detecting not only a
gracious moment, but also one that the subject is reasonably still.

If you have memory card space to spare it could be a good idea to
shoot in raw mode so you can tweak the white balance later.
Click to expand...
I am shooting in Raw + Jpeg (L)
Brunobl said:
Otherwise, remember to set the WB manually to the lighting conditions
specially if it is incandescent, as those slow shots under this kind
of light will often turn out very warm if the camera is left to rely
on its auto WB.
Click to expand...
How do I do that?
Brunobl said:
Bruno Lobo.



http://www.pbase.com/brunobl
Click to expand...
 
I'm not sure why you’re struggling with incandescent/fluorescent @ ISO 1600. Are you shooting in Av mode? If not, try Av mode with aperture set to 2.0-2.8. If that's not enough, try 1.8. You should be able to get relatively sharp photos at a shutter speed of 1/60th or faster. I like at least 1/125th. My hands aren't super steady. You could use a tripod but I wouldn't let your shutter speed get any lower than 1/15th with 2 sec timer and make sure your wife and newborn are very still. If the baby comes during the day, let outdoor light into the room. With north style window light you should be able to shoot ISO800, f2.8-f4.0, 1/125th+.

As a last resort, if you don't already have one, buy an inexpensive swivel head flash. Here's the one I use: http://www.ritzcamera.com/product/QTB9550CN.htm

Instead of blinding momma and the baby, simply point the flash over your shoulder at the wall-ceiling corner and bounce light onto momma and baby. I would use ISO800, f4.0, at 1/125th-1/250th. Turn up flash compensation +1 - +2 depending on how reflective the wall/ceiling is. This kind of flash is very unobtrusive and yields great results. That is.....if momma will agree to at least that.

I took up serious photography a while after my last of 3 boys was born but from what I can remember the hospital room was pretty well lit if you turn all the lights on. Baby may not like it after being in the dark for so long and you certainly don't want pictures of the new born crying.

My primo low light setup for 40D would be ISO1250 (optimum noise/sensitivity)
50mm 1.4 @ f2.0, very sharp, descent dof.
Shutter speed at 1/60th to 1/125th sec. (if higher, lower ISO)

Shoot in RAW + jpeg. If jpegs are good great, but RAW gives you more dynamic range and more ability to optimize shots later.

EV compensation of +.3. (shoot to the right) it helps noise if you need to lighten in post processing. If you need to darken in post this will really help cut the noise down. It will look better than ISO800 at 0EV!!

Try not to under expose. Boosting high ISO images in pp really exagerates the noise.

Hope this helps,

Chuck

--

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding,... (Prov 3:13 NIV)
 
Thank you. I'd feel a bit odd lugging a tripod into the hospital and I don't think my wife would appreciate that either. She wants me to be more of an active participant than photographer (although obviously she will be the most active :) I plan to be both.

Jay
 
Wow Chuck! Thank you for such a comprehensive post! I only understood a fraction of what you wrote, but so as not to be accused of being lazy, I am researching the terms you used.

I have a 430 EX and I also have a Gray Fong Lighsphere II Cloud which I love for the soft and even skin tones it helps produce. I pointed the flash straight up with the diffuser on and I didn't think it would be unsettling for a newborn but my wife disagrees. Were you suggesting that point the flash away from the newborn and over my own shoulder? That I think I can sell to my wife. :)

I am always amazed by the patience of the veteran photographers out there. Thank you again for taking the time to provide me with such good advice!

Jay
 
To answer your second set of questions, if you are shooting in raw+jpeg, just leave the white balance to whatever type of lighting you are working. This way, your jpegs will look decent in color balance. With raw pictures, you can adjust the white balance to anything on a computer, so that doesnt matter as much.

To set your white balance manually, you already figured it out. As you mentioned earlier, you set it to tungsten, right? Just look at the lighting around you and see which is most prevalent. If there are lots of fluorescent lights above you, try the fluorescent light white balance. If there is lots of sunlight coming into the room from outside, try the shade white balance setting. With lots of light sources, it may be more difficult to find the correct white balance setting, but since you are shooting raw, you can adjust it later. As I said before, setting the white balance will only help out your jpegs, as less processing will be required.

First, take some shots around the room, review, and adjust the white balance accordingly. Does the red look red? Does the white look white? etc..

-V
--
My sample photos, feel free to browse
http://www.flickr.com/Andy63_5
 
If I don't use a flash and I set the camera to Av mode, besides the ISO, aperture, and image quality should I be setting anything else? The shutter speed is calculated for me, correct? And there are specialized settings that I can choose for WB, correct?

Also, I notice that when I depress the shutter button half-way one or more of the 9 focus points lights up, but I never know which one. Should I be concerned with that? Can I control that? Does it matter?

Sorry to barrage you with such basic questions -- hopefully other newbie's have the same ones.

Thanks.

Jay
 
jaydubbs15 said:
Were you
suggesting that point the flash away from the newborn and over my own
shoulder? That I think I can sell to my wife. :)
Click to expand...
Certainly; and be sure to try it out at home with your wife as the subject. If you can get her involved it may help you out. Always experiment.

The fong bowl is very nice because you get flash and fill. You know that. That's why you want to use a wall/ceiling (bi-directional). If you use just the ceiling you'll get shadows around the eyes. Of course, if momma is reclined and baby is laying back in her arms, the ceiling bounce can work just as well. The point is to pump light into the scene through what ever means you can. The more indirect, the more natural it appears.

Here's an example:



Chuck
--

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding,... (Prov 3:13 NIV)
 
jaydubbs15 said:
If I don't use a flash and I set the camera to Av mode, besides the
ISO, aperture, and image quality should I be setting anything else?
Click to expand...
You could read the manual and learn what EV compensation does and flash compensation does. Those can really help get the most out of a shot.
jaydubbs15 said:
The shutter speed is calculated for me, correct?
Click to expand...
Correct. Just remember that the shutter speed will be 1/250th of a sec or less when using flash. You can adjust ISO or apeture to stay within this speed.
jaydubbs15 said:
And there arespecialized settings that I can choose for WB, correct?
Click to expand...
A whole bunch.... Read the manual to find out how to set custom WB. You will be happy you learned this. It's not real complicated.
jaydubbs15 said:
Also, I notice that when I depress the shutter button half-way one or
more of the 9 focus points lights up, but I never know which one.
Should I be concerned with that? Can I control that? Does it matter?
Click to expand...
See what focus mode your in. Sounds like AI Focus or AI Servo. One Shot is your best and by pushing directly down on the hat button you should see only the center AF point in the viewfinder. There again read your manual, it explains all of this in detail.
jaydubbs15 said:
Sorry to barrage you with such basic questions -- hopefully other
newbie's have the same ones.
Click to expand...
Did I mention you should read the manual?
jaydubbs15 said:
Thanks.

Jay
Click to expand...
Glad to help.

Chuck

--

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding,... (Prov 3:13 NIV)
 
Thank you Chuck. Yes, I read the manual ... once. I think it will take a few more reads before I begin to grasp all of the detail. :)

Jay
 
jaydubbs15 said:
I have a 430 EX and I also have a Gray Fong Lighsphere II Cloud which
I love for the soft and even skin tones it helps produce. I pointed
the flash straight up with the diffuser on and I didn't think it
would be unsettling for a newborn but my wife disagrees.
Click to expand...
Life is unsettling. The sooner the kid learns that the better off he'll be. ;-)
 
I don't think you'll have a problem. The lighting in there will likely be more than enough. You saw the shots I took and I don't think I ever went over ISO 800.

Shoot RAW for sure and I believe you'll be fine. You'll be a new daddy and that in itself will add such a peace and joy that you'll gain 1-2 stops just seeing your newborn there :)
jaydubbs15 said:
What is the best way to capture pictures indoors without a flash? I
am trying to prep for newborn in-hospital shots -- my wife won't
let me use a flash. I've been experimenting in my office under
fluorescent bulb lighting but my results have been pretty poor. I
set ISO to 1600, but it didn't help. I am using a 50 mm, 1.8 lens.
Nothing seems to work very well. Perhaps I have to resign myself to
simply brightening up the in-hospital newborn shots with post
production. But if I can brighten up the shots in camera then that
would be preferable. Thanks.

Jay
Click to expand...
--
-tim

NW Columbus/Dublin, Ohio
http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp
 
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