Ugly Hedgehog Newsletter

Hi I just recently purchased a sigma 10-20mm wide angle Len for my canon rebel xs camera. I was wondering will I be able to take Christmas. Photo of my kids like they do in a photo studio or I need special lights.

Louie

jdtx Loc: SA, Tx.

they use lights in a photo studio and control the settings such as background etc..kids at Christmas..not so much control, but that is the fun of it, use your flash and as much ambient light as you can get from a window or door, and a flash, an off camera flash diffused or bounced off a ceiling or wall will do wonders also..one thing that may throw you off is different "qualities" of light, so learning about white balance and how to adjust it will be a plus also..good luck..you have plenty of time to practice between now and Christmas

RonaldLewis Loc: Chicago, Illinois

Photography is all about light. If you have a decent flash with an off-camera shoe cord, a flash diffuser (such as stofen) and can balance the ambient light with the flash light (white balance) you can do an adequate job. Remember you can also go into Photoshop, Elements, or Lightroom and clean up your mistakes as long as your exposure is not too far off. Take as many images as you have time to take while bracketing exposures as long as the children are patient enough for you to do it. If you can use a tripod you can use your self-timer and get into the picture.

jdtx Loc: SA, Tx.

and shoot in RAW. so you can tweak them if need be

CO

An ultra wide angle lens is the wrong lens to use for people photography. Wide angle lenses will exaggerate distance front to back.

For indoor photos, you can use bounce flash. Canon came out with a remarkable flash not long ago. It's the Canon 470EX-AI auto intelligent flash. It maps out the room and finds the ideal bounce flash angle for you. See this video on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpHhB0Vywjs

Compare the 24mm shot with shots done at longer focal lengths

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Direct flash left, Bounce flash right

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