Inside Fatherhood

Tips for photographing infants in low light

by Bill on December 11th, 2007

Since the arrival of our little one I have literally taken hundreds of digital photos of him. One of the largest challenges to getting good shots of him is dealing with low-light situations. I can’t use a flash when photographing him because he’s often sleeping in the photos, besides which, I don’t think a painfully bright burst of light is the best thing for a 6 day old child.

As a result, I’m left with a situation where shutter speed and aperture value have to compensate for low-light situations. Whether or not you have a camera with which you can change these settings, or if you’re using a point and shoot digital, you can still take great photos of a baby in low-light. As you may know, the longer a lens is open, the more susceptible you are to blurry images. Every little move the subject makes (a turn of the head or a waving hand) and any movement from the photographer (every hand shake or breath) appears in the final image. So, to help

Make sure the subject is stationary, photograph them while sleeping.

A sleeping infant makes a perfect subject as they are not only still, but edibly cute. You have relative freedom to frame the shot as you wish and take your time with a sleeping baby. You don’t have to worry as much about the errant movements of an infant and can get the shot you want. Of course, it can’t be in a completely darkened room, but doesn’t have to be a brightly lit area.

Use a tripod to keep the shooter stationary.

A tripod keeps the camera solid and shake-free. It lets the shutter do its thing at a slower speed without resulting in blurry images. You can get a cheap one for $20 at most big box stores if you’re just looking for an inexpensive way to get started.

Convert your photos to black and white

Most digital cameras have the option to shoot in black and white, but I would suggest shooting in color and converting to black and white after the fact. Free image processing programs, such as Google’s Picasa provide a quick and easy way to clean up your images and convert them to black and white. Black and white tends to make photos appear a little more timeless and helps the appearance of skin blotches or bruises that may have occurred in the process of labor. When done, you can lighten the image to compensate for low-light conditions with less worry about distorting colors.

If you’re more advanced and would like more tips on photographing babies, check out Digital Photography School’s 10 Tips for Photographing Babies.

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