Attepmt at baby pics (what can i do to improve)?

New to dslr, got a d90 last week, tried to snap some pics of daughter yesterday, id say 80% were junk but a few looked ok, yet none had that super crisp look to them i see in many other photos here.

I did try manual focus as well as auto focus, and turned off my VR on the lens, tried a few different focus modes as well just none came out "crisp" focus wise.

I also went into the picture mode and turned up the sharpness and contrast a few notches, still end up with a somewhat "soft" image vs other D90 pics i have seen posted around the forums here and online.

Any comments on what else i can do?

One of the best (to me) and still not great was this one,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33421023@N06/3128318170/



The rest can be seen at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33421023@N06/

Thanks for any input.

Bill

I am using the kit lens 18-105mm btw I also have a gary fong puffer diffuser i tried with and without that, just got harsher edges without it, didn't seem to take away from the lighting too much tho, is my iso set too high?

That pic above is portrait mode, manual focus (did best to focus in on face) iso 800, F4.5, 1/60, 40mm

This whole dslr thing is new to me so heck I am glad the shot even turned out to recognize my daughter, i know its user error not camera error so hopefully down the road ill start taking better pictures with more education, experience and trial and error.

Thanks again,

Bill

Too slow of a shutter.

There's a lot of motion blur on all the limbs. VR doesn't stop subject motion.

The picture looks underexposed too.

You need more light/flash and/or larger aperture and/or higher ISO.
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Did you bounce the flash?

If you are using flash there is no point in setting the ISO so high as 800. This only introduces additional noise into the image.

Auto focus is normally very accurate, much more accurate than manual. Don't use manual focus unless the auto can't cope.

Don't turn off VR unless you have a reason for doing so, e.g. you are using a tripod or panning.

The image is improved by sharpening in Photoshop. Applying some local contrast sharpening (Unsharp mask 10-20/60/0) also adds some punch to the image and I think that it is worth brightening the shadows.

It is almost always better to sharpen and adjust contrast in post processing than in the camera.

I note that you have the JPEG compression set to "Normal". Although I don't think that it has affected this image too much, it is normally best to use the lowest possible compression setting.

The image isn't really crisp but it isn't bad. I don't think that the furry blanket that the baby is lying on helps the "crispness". It would be worth trying again and then posting in the D90 forum. Ask whether the sharpness of the image is normal for the lens that you are using.
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Chris R

Apart from other remarks, this picture would benefit from PP as well.

Especially levels (when you check the histogram you'll see there's a gap on the right side), but I did a bit of curves and a bit of red-reduction as well.
A before and after of a 30 seconds PP:



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All in my humble opionion of course!

(I might get a preposition wrong -or any other word for that matter-. English is a nice language, but it's not mine)

Thanks so much for the input here, being new to dslr im learning as i go, higher shutter speed, lower iso, ill turn on autofocus again (i was using a tripod) so i had turned off the VR (others had said if you use a tripod turn off vr cuz it can effect the outcome).

I was using the room light and the popup flash only with a gary fong diffuser, my next thing on the list is an sb600 flash with diffuser that will no doubt help too.

I do have photoshop but haven't messed with it editing photos really but will start trying soon here.

Bill

First, for indoor baby pics with lots of great lighting, ditch your kit lens. I'm sure Nikon is like Canon and has a cheapy fast quality 50mm f1.8. Yes it does (I'm a Canon guy), here is one for $105 at B&H in New York: [You wanted an excuse to buy a new lens anyways...LoL... we all do!]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/247091-GREY/Nikon_2137_Normal_AF_Nikkor_50mm.html

You need a "speedy" lens, low f stop to get those great shots - without flash. Flash washes out pics and removes any "life" from it. Your baby pic in terms of light is boring; the light is flat and uniform all over. You want more "Rembrandt" lighting, to add depth and mood to your pics.

Secondly, your picture is static, baby lying there - how boring. Get mom to hold the baby, taken sitting in a chair next to a light. Remember white balance - set your WB to "tungsten." Get various shots of the baby, not just laying around. You don't want static shots.

Here are three photos - none of a baby - but all taken with a Canon 50mm f1.8 without flash, you will see they look sharper, the light is very moody, and none of them are static:

My wife cooking Thanksgiving day:

http://picasaweb.google.com/rsn4807/LowLightExamplesOfCanon50mmF18#5184476691162099490

Man dispatching a model railroad:

http://picasaweb.google.com/rsn4807/LowLightExamplesOfCanon50mmF18#5184476708341968690

Brother in law mooching dinner from us:

http://picasaweb.google.com/rsn4807/LowLightExamplesOfCanon50mmF18#5184476678277197586

So camera set up, shoot in Av (aperture) mode at f1.8 at the highest resolution of ISO you can get away with, 800 - 3200 which ever works best. The minimum I shoot at is 800.

I'm sure you've blown all your money for Xmas, but do get the Nikon lens as soon as you can and join the world of low light photography.

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Merry Christmas all & a Happy New Year.
Rationally I have no hope, irrationally I believe in miracles.
Joni Mitchell

A little post processing and cropping will help the shot a lot.

Here is a shot I just took of my latest grandson after a little PP and cropping. This was taken with a 50mm f/1.7 lens and available light.

Yeah the more i read about lenses sounds like i will want to invest in a good fast lens for indoor portraits like the one mentioned above there for my D90, i think that might come before the flash unit actually, then the flash, (so many things on my want list) hehe..

Thanks again to everyone here for the input and advice i really appreciate it.

Bill

The thing is with fast lenses, DOF is a real problem unless you're going for arsty shallow DOF work.

Just buy a decent flash and bounce it off the ceiling, you will get great results from your kit lens this way.

FTLOSM said:

Yeah the more i read about lenses sounds like i will want to invest
in a good fast lens for indoor portraits like the one mentioned above
there for my D90, i think that might come before the flash unit
actually, then the flash, (so many things on my want list) hehe..

Thanks again to everyone here for the input and advice i really
appreciate it.

Bill

Click to expand...

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***********************************************
Please visit my gallery at http://www.pbase.com/alfisti
Pentax Lens examples at http://www.pbase.com/alfisti/images_by_lens
Updated August '08

Thanks on that, i think the sb600 pointed up with a diffuser cam on tripod faster shutter lower iso with auto focus (maybe single point mode and aim for face) should give me a much nicer picture to work with end result wise.

For what I have here i will play in photoshop a bit with it but it will for sure make grandma smile

Thanks again for the help, tips, advice etc.

Bill

Nah you won't need a tripod. Just point the thing at the ceiling so it bounces and use your kit lens stopped down at least two stops (so mid zoom about f/8 would be good) and ISO 400 to 800 outta do it.

FTLOSM said:

Thanks on that, i think the sb600 pointed up with a diffuser cam on
tripod faster shutter lower iso with auto focus (maybe single point
mode and aim for face) should give me a much nicer picture to work
with end result wise.

For what I have here i will play in photoshop a bit with it but it
will for sure make grandma smile

Thanks again for the help, tips, advice etc.

Bill

Click to expand...

--
***********************************************
Please visit my gallery at http://www.pbase.com/alfisti
Pentax Lens examples at http://www.pbase.com/alfisti/images_by_lens
Updated August '08