Ten questions that should be paid attention to when filming children.

Lead: I believe that every parent will have the same trouble when they take their children out, that is, they bring a lot of things that children need, and it is really unbearable to bring large photographic equipment when they are in a hurry. Small and light EOS 100D is a very good choice. But how to take good photos is not only a camera, but also many concepts and practices that need to be understood and learned. Let's talk about how to save the important growth record of the little angel!

Ten questions that should be paid attention to when shooting children Q 1 When to use the touch shooting function well?

A: When it comes to taking pictures of children, the most common problem is their lively nature and energy, so it is not so easy for novice parents to take clear pictures. In fact, if the shooting venue is in the outdoor environment during the day, most of the problems are that when the player chooses the focus, the wonderful shooting opportunity has been quietly missed. If you believe in the autofocus of the camera, it is often impossible to guarantee whether the focus chosen by the camera is the focus we want to shoot. EOS 100D has a touch screen and the latest hybrid CMOS AF II. Just click the "Touch Shutter" icon in the lower left corner of the screen to turn on this function. At this time, as long as you tap the child's eyes on the screen, you can focus directly and complete the shooting. It is the most intuitive and simple shooting method.

▲ Using continuous shooting+continuous focusing, novice parents can also take good professional photos.

When to use Q2 continuous focusing?

A: If you want to capture every vivid moment of chasing, grabbing, running, jumping and touching more accurately, you need to use the continuous autofocus function. Although touching the shutter can shorten the time for us to move the focus, the question is whether your reaction can grasp the shooting opportunity in time, and in the outdoor environment, the brightness of the screen will affect the accuracy of our framing because of the surrounding brightness. So we can also set the driving mode to continuous shooting first, and then set the focusing mode to continuous focusing. When shooting, we can get the ideal composition we need first. When the child is running, we can easily take dynamic photos of the child by holding down the shutter and moving with the direction and speed of the child's running. In addition, the LiveView of EOS 100D can choose the focus mode of face detection+tracking, which is also a great weapon to capture children's dynamics. Readers should not forget to make good use of it!

▲LiveView's face detection+tracking focus mode is also a great weapon to capture children's dynamics.

Q3 How to shoot the tender skin of children?

A: Usually, when we take pictures, the exposure will be at the normal metering place with EV=0. However, in the indoor environment without light, or in the case of backlight, the skin will inevitably appear dull and lack luster, and it will not be able to show the delicate skin of children. At this time, the problem can be greatly improved by using the exposure compensation function and appropriately increasing the EV value. However, if shooting indoors, it is best to increase the brightness at the same time, so as to avoid the shutter speed being too slow due to the increase of EV, resulting in unnecessary blurred images.

▲ If you are not familiar with camera operation, you can use sports mode or SCN scene shooting mode to gather active children.

Q4 How to shoot in low light in indoor environment?

A: The indoor light is generally insufficient, and the flash is not suitable for taking pictures of babies under six months. Therefore, the most basic way to take a good photo indoors is to find a brighter corner, especially the natural light falling on the room outside the window, which not only makes the light softer and smoother, but also makes it easier to bring the scene light and shadow atmosphere into the photo. If it is in the backlight environment by the window, with spot metering, the child's face can be photographed. At this time, as long as the exposure compensation is slightly increased, beautiful photos can be taken. When shooting indoors, you should pay special attention to whether the shutter speed is enough, otherwise your hands may shake or blur the image because of your child's actions. To avoid this situation, you can shoot with a large aperture and high brightness, and turn on the shock-proof mechanism of the lens. You can also consider changing the indoor lighting environment and using desk lamps or other continuous light sources to fill the light for children, which will help to shoot clear and bright images.

▲ Through the guidance of toys or sounds, you can catch the attention of babies and use their curious nature to easily capture good operation expressions.

How does Q5 attract children's attention?

A: When children grow up, all changes in the outside world are fresh, interesting and worth learning. It is precisely because of this exploration instinct that other new things often distract the baby's attention when shooting. However, we can also use this property in turn to attract the baby's attention with special sounds or bright colors. In addition to making your own sounds, you can also record cartoons or music sounds that your baby is interested in with your mobile phone. As long as you play them while shooting, you can control your baby's expression and turn your head. At this time, as long as we can grasp the short golden moment, we can shoot a good and interesting picture; Colorful toys and bubbles are also good props to attract children. If you are worried that you can't grasp cute expressions instantly, you can also use the focus mode of LiveView combined with face detection and tracking. As long as the baby's face turns around, you can press the shutter to take pictures, which can actively help novice parents take pictures of the baby's lovely face.

▲ Using the soft and smooth natural light by the window, you can easily take an ideal photo.

Q6 How to prevent jitter and blur?

A: Even if the anti-shake mechanism of the camera or lens is turned on, the image will still be disturbed by jitter and blur. This is because the anti-shake function emphasized by manufacturers is mostly to correct the camera's own jitter, rather than to provide "cohesion" for moving objects. Therefore, when shooting dynamic subjects indoors, it is still recommended to use large aperture fixed-focus lenses (such as F 1.4, F 1.8) with high sensitivity and brightness (ISO 800 or higher), which can effectively improve the shutter speed and avoid hand shock and subject movement. Using flash is a more direct and effective way, but it is strongly recommended to avoid direct flash, which will not only destroy the atmosphere at the scene, but also harm the eyes of infants. Therefore, it is best to use an external flash, and it will have an ideal lighting effect by jumping lights to fill the light.

▲ In the case of insufficient indoor light source, using high-sensitivity brightness combined with large aperture can reduce the influence of hand shock or subject motion blur, and then take clear and bright photos.

Q7: How to film children running and jumping?

A: Since children can't calm down, let them run with them! There are two ways to shoot the action. One is to use a high-speed shutter to condense children's movements. Generally, in a bright outdoor environment, you can use 1/250 seconds or faster. If the light is not enough, it is best to shoot with a slow shutter. When shooting, as long as the distance between the child and himself is carefully kept, he enters and I retreat, and he retreats and I enter, plus the shutter speed of 1/30- 1/60 seconds, the background can be blurred and the child can be clear.

Question 8: How to take pictures of adults?

A: The child is short. If you shoot standing or even squatting, the child will look shorter because of the height of the adult and the perspective effect of the lens. Therefore, if you want to shoot the interesting feelings of young adults, it is best to shoot from the height of the child's waist. If you don't want to shoot from this angle, it is recommended to use LiveView with a light shutter, so that you can easily and accurately capture the child's figure from a special angle.

▲ In addition to taking close-ups of expressions, don't forget to capture pictures of children getting along with their families.

Q9: How to take more changeable photos?

A: Children's expressions are quite rich and unpretentious, so their changeable expressions are an indispensable part of their growth record. Even photos with cute smiles are quite pleasing to the eye, and it is inevitable that people will feel a little monotonous after watching them too much. Therefore, filming children's growth process, of course, including their expressions of joy, anger, sadness, joy and even silence, daze and funny ... is complete enough. These are the most authentic growth stories, so it will be a particularly precious memory to capture all the interesting expressions of children now and share them when they grow up.

▲ Put the amusement facilities into the mirror to make the photos more story-telling.

Q 10: Why are the photos taken by others so story-telling?

A: Although children's changeable expressions are an indispensable part of recording their growth process, it would be a pity if we only focus on the close-up of expressions. It has been suggested that we can also shoot things that interact with children, such as amusement equipment, ice cream or pets ... and so on, so that we can know where they are playing, why they are laughing and why they have such strange expressions when we look at the photos. In addition, don't forget to capture the picture of children interacting with their families and keep that warm and happy time. Here, we should pay special attention to whether the background will be too messy when shooting, which depends on the change of different shooting positions and angles to find the best composition, so as to clearly present the child's movements in the photos.

▲ Make good use of LiveView and light-touch shutter, which can easily match the height of children and shoot at a low angle.