Taking photos of Santa

[scott1120]

We are going to take the kids to see Santa at the mall tomorrow. I am wondering what are the best settings to use (i.e shutter speed, f/stop)? Also, should I take off my UV filter?

[Stephen H]

What camera? Using flash? What ISO/ film speed? and don't the mall people do the photographing? I thought that was how it worked.

As sort of generic rules, figure minimum shutter speed as 1/focal length (so for 50mm, use 1/50 second or faster). If light allows, increase shutter speed and close down aperture from there.

Using flash, set shutter speed no faster than flash sync speed, and adjust aperture to match flash output- which requires some sort of automation or knowledge of how the flash works.

Probably 3/4 of the cameras in the world either don't allow you to make settings like that or else have automatic functions that don't require you to do so.

[scott1120]

Originally Posted by Stephen H

What camera? Using flash? What ISO/ film speed? and don't the mall people do the photographing? I thought that was how it worked.

As sort of generic rules, figure minimum shutter speed as 1/focal length (so for 50mm, use 1/50 second or faster). If light allows, increase shutter speed and close down aperture from there.

Yes the mall does offer to take the photos, but they are about $27.00 for a couple of 5X7's. They allow you to use own camera, which I have done for years (just always used a P&S). So I will be shooting under their umbrellas and lights with no flash (because I only have on-board flash).
I will be using my Canon S1 on manual. It only allows to me to go to f/8. So would shutter speed of 1/1000 and f/4 be enough? The focal length will probably be around 20mm (that is digital)

[Stephen H]

If you're using available light, you probably can't go as high as 1/1000- so you'd be looking more likely at 1/60 and f/4 or so. If you're using flash, you'd need to refer to the camera manual to see if there's a maximum shutter speed that can be used with flash.

But more to the point, it appears that camera has "Program AE" as one of the exposure choices, and that sounds like the way to go with general shooting. If you don't get some more specific answers here, time to check the manual for more details.

[Breezy]

Not sure about there but here you get 2 shots per family period :(
I have 3 kids and that pisses me off lol
Good luck with them though

[Breezy]

Oh and I usually play around while the kids in front of mine are up there to get a general idea of where my settings need to be
HTHs

[scott1120]

Originally Posted by Breezy

Oh and I usually play around while the kids in front of mine are up there to get a general idea of where my settings need to be
HTHs

Usually I do the same thing, but this time there was no one in front of us. In fact we let the kids play a little at the play area (it was right next Santa) and when we left Santa had gotten up from his couch.
Am I allowed to post what I was able to get?

[Michelle Allmon]

yup

[scott1120]

Here is what I ended up getting. I used the "P" setting. 1/60 f/3.1 62mm (35 film eq)
My youngest would not sit so I only got the one of my oldest. I did a few adjustments in Picasa.

EDIT: I don't know how to link from my TPF gallery

[jmoore01]

Santa looks a l'il dopey. I'm sure that's not your doing though.

Don't know the mall, but I would've maybe stepped to the right a little to get more of what looks like a huge Christmas tree and none of the food court. Probably would've also bumped up the shutter speed some or dropped the ISO (little overexposed, but not blown). Just one shot to get it right though makes it more difficult for most, including me, to nail the perfect photo.

[scott1120]

Originally Posted by jmoore01

Santa looks a l'il dopey. I'm sure that's not your doing though.

Don't know the mall, but I would've maybe stepped to the right a little to get more of what looks like a huge Christmas tree and none of the food court. Probably would've also bumped up the shutter speed some or dropped the ISO (little overexposed, but not blown). Just one shot to get it right though makes it more difficult for most, including me, to nail the perfect photo.

I am still learning to watch my surroundings. When I did a little PP I probably overexposed it, still learning that too. Here is the original only re-sized for posting.

[Daniel Bates]

Yeah... the original picture is well exposed for the highlights. A little PP can bring the shadow detail out without blowing the whites.

[jmoore01]

Originally Posted by scott1120

I am still learning to watch my surroundings.

I had a more experienced photog tell me once (actually more than once) that you should pay more attention to the edges of your photo than to your actual subject(s). Possibly overstated a tad, but the point is clear.

We're all learning though. Thanks for contributing.

BTW, Santa still looks dopey.

[scott1120]

What kind of adjustment(s) did you do? Shadows/Highlights?

Originally Posted by Daniel Bates

Yeah... the original picture is well exposed for the highlights. A little PP can bring the shadow detail out without blowing the whites.

[Daniel Bates]

Levels on five layers: one for the background, one for the trees, one for the couch, one for the people, and one for the white highlights. Then layer masks on all of them to blend everything together, and a duplicate of the "people" layer set to "soft light" and Gaussian-blurred (and reduced to 50% opacity) for the soft glow effect.