QUICK- HELP me get a good Xmas pic!!!

[sanstanton]

(X-posted at DST) OK, so I admit I am a total SLR newbie. I bought my Nikon D80 a couple weeks ago. Today I wanted to shoot a pic for my Xmas card. I dragged my kids outside, put a blanket down, sat the girls down (or chased the toddler) and shot about a million pics in continuous shooting mode. Many with decent smiles, but... look at this!
http://www.thedigichick.com/gallery/data/992/DSC_0248-web.jpg
all the shots are blurry! I was shooting in portrait mode. Was that my mistake? Waaaaaaaaah! :(

Toddler is now napping, and I plan to go out and try again later in the afternoon. Should I just shoot in auto when I try again? Dare I go for more manual adjustments? I need some serious advice... help me get a successful holiday photo before it's too late!

[Rynonut Mom]

It's sooo hard to catch little ones that just won't hold still - at tleast for me! Matthew still moves so much and I caught blur more often than not! :) Can your hubby or someone help stand with you and get their attention? Or maybe have them throw up the bows in the air and catch their expressions (zoom in more or crop in closer!)? Try shooting in the sport mode too and see if that helps any.
I don't have any real concrete advice, just keep shooting! The ones that I catch that are good, I have no idea what I did, I just happened to catch it! :)
You can always "crisp" the photos up in PS afterwards too! :)
Let us know how it goes!

[d2vasquez]

LOL Sandra I have a digital slr and honestly all my stuff is on auto....dh takes the leaps to adjust but it's tough. Mine are always by accident so I am curious to see what others say but I have to say I like the idea of Michelle's to throw the bows up in the air - I am very curious to see what looks you get on the girls' faces.....bet it would be cute. Good luck - can't wait to see the results!

[Rynonut Mom]

I very rarely get into of manual mode! I usually shoot in AV mode but with auto focus and all on. I'm starting to shoot in AWB, because I forget to change the white balance and end up with sunny mode indoors or flurescent mode outdoors - ugh! I only get "fancy" when I'm shooting something other than the boys and know it will be still - ROFL!

[ChristineS]

i'd go auto and run over to your local wal-mart or similar place and get a $20 tripod -- my saving grace in case it's ME doing the wiggling! Also, I can stand up and make hand motions etc and then set my camera to burst mode (3 shots in about 1 second) for freeze action. perhaps your camera will do something similar. Also, I TOTALLY bribe my kids for the group shot. Usually it's a can of pop (a rare treat at our house!)

[sanstanton]

Well, the darn thing took me all day! Two photo shoots... ga-jillions of pictures... I used a photoblast midnight color action on it to bring the reds closer to the pallette of this fab kit! Run and leave me some love, pretty please. I feel so beat up and frustrated with this new camera of mine!
http://www.thedigichick.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/39411/cat/500/ppuser/3108

http://www.thedigichick.com/gallery/data/500/Card-2-horiz-web.jpg

[jpysgrl]

That is just beautiful, Sandra!

[~Shawna~]

That's a great shot Sandra! The action on the photo makes it match the kit perfectly!! I have the same problem with my girls, its near impossible to get them to stay still! I had planned on trying to get my Christmas card photo done this weekend but with Kaylie & my niece's birthday parties that didn't happen. So I'm hoping to get it done tommorow night so I can get my cards done & printed this week!

[Rynonut Mom]

You are NOT alone in having active kids that are hard to photograph! LOL! It's not the camera, it's not the operator, it's the fact that you are on honeymoon and don't know each other yet - LOL! Give it some time!
I've had my camera for almost 2 years and I still feel like it's hit or miss with it sometimes. I did some playing with it, probally almost a year ago and have been shooting with the overall settings on like -2, so all my shots were sooooo dark! I was so upset with it and about to throw in the towel when I got out the manual and played some more and figured out what I'd done. Now I'm in love with the colors again. This shot (http://www.thedigichick.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/39373/cat/500/ppuser/391)was straight out of the camera - NO work on it (and it was a still subject - LMAO!!!)
The photo you captured is amazing! Wonderful job!!!! Off to leave you praise!

[Angela]

When using a DSLR, make sure your shutter speed is about 1/100, especially with kids! The faster the shutter clicks, the more action is captured and the clearer the photo will be. Also, make sure you're using your focus points and you're getting focus before you click the shutter.

[d2vasquez]

OH wow Sandra that was an awesome shot you got!!! I still get frustrated with my slr and I have had it now for 2 years too.....but I think I will try some of the suggestions here......

[MizAmyLou]

I haven't read all the suggestions, but I like the idea of having them throw up the boys. Put your camera on the sports mode so that their hands and the bows won't blur, get closer and crop out a lot of the background so you just have them throwing the bows up in the air and giggling. I think it would be adorable!

[Rynonut Mom]

OK, ignorance here - how do you get it and keep it at a 100 shutter speed, Angela???

Hi Amy! :)

[hollyrh]

I love what you did to the photo, your card is gorgeous!
I know next to nothing about photography and am trying to learn how to use the digital SLR I borrowed from my mom, but my understanding of "portrait mode" is that it works best when your subjects are STILL (i.e., posing for a portrait), that way you get the blurred background and in-focus subject. But that does not work with wiggly little kids!

[chloe]

That photo is just gorgeous! Take your time, I'm sure you'll learn to know each other! LOL

[ChristineS]

WOWZERS! that's FABULOUS -- and worth your effort - WTG