But having said all that, some blurry photos are still worth keeping! (scroll down)
So if you want a shot of your chicklens with all of them in focus, and you can’t back up to shoot at a low f-stop, you’ve got to make sure your camera has the aperture/F-stop to at least a 4.0, maybe even 5.6. (If these numbers don’t make any sense to you, try DVD 2, and it will all be clear! Promise!)
When we do the group family holiday photos, bridal party shots or family shots at weddings, I bump my aperture up to a 5.0 or 5.6 if I can’t back up to make sure everyone is in focus just in case someone moves on me and doesn’t have their nose up against that Imaginary Glass Wall.
Try those aperture/f-stops out and let me know if this helps you prevent blurry photos this holiday! Â Post a photo or your comments on my Facebook page, I’d love to hear from you!
For an exercise that is all about White Balance settings to make Christmas trees photos look great in color (don’t freak out–White Balance is WAY easier than “they” make it sound) read my post Christmas Tree Photo Tips and White Balance!
A big thanks to the Welk Family and Jessica for letting me share their portrait photos as examples on how to prevent blurry photos! You guys are the BEST!
xo
m
[/cmsms_text][/cmsms_column][/cmsms_row]
Me Ra,
Thank you so much for all your pointers with these holiday photos. I was rolling on the floor laughing when I read your bribing post yesterday—everything so incredibly true!! I loved your description today about the glass wall. I can’t wait for my DVD 2–it is in the mail. Thanks again for staying so true to mommies and everyone out here who want to take better pictures.
I love to shoot with low aperture as well but often have trouble with not having the correct object or person(s) in focus. I kept wondering where you were going to go with the “glass wall” – BUT thanks you for explaining it so clearly – it really makes sense that way. This will really help with photos of more than one person!
Great tip as always! Makes perfect sense!
Thanks for all this, Me Ra! The glass wall is a great way to explain this to kids & families. Just wanted to know what you typically do when you have a group of 5 or more and they’re not all on the same plane (on purpose) and you want a more funky or staggered pose WITH the blur? Is that asking too much from the camera? 🙂 I love the DVD by the way.
Coolness! I will definitely remember the glass wall trick 🙂
Do you have any suggestions for getting a photo of a 15-year-old teenage boy with his 10-year-old sister…. God forbid that they actually touch each other, let alone cooperate at the same time!
Selective focus is one of my favorite tricks! Actually I think the reason I use it so much is that I like low light and NO tripod. (hate tripods!) So…you work with what you got! Actually I have always been drawn to images that have selective focus. This is a great tip that all photographers should try! Beautiful examples!