docrob Loc: Durango, Colorado

therapy?

ole sarg Loc: south florida

I use my Canon G10 with the flash off and ISO at 800. I set the aperture at 2.8. I do not try to zoom in. I can crop the photos and blow up what I want to be the main subject of the photo.

I find using my DSLR not practical in the kinds of situations that you are attempting to capture.

If using a DSLR use the viewfinder and not the screen. You can hold the camera steadier when it is at eye level and against your face - your face becomes a support.

In days of film there was a reason that Leica was the camera of choice in the news room. It was small, compact, had good glass, and was easy to hand hold without shake so that one could take a picture at low speeds. You can hand hold a rangefinder camera at about 30th of a sec without any trouble and as low as a 15th with just a little support.

T Loc: New York State

Cheat.

Turn on lights!

(Most families will think somebody else turned them on and won't say a word...)

WildBill Loc: South West Florida

I tend to use my P&S for family events just because it is small and I can get the candid shots. My "good" camera does not conceal well and I have to take my test shots to get the settings right, then try and come back later for photos without fake poses. Once the family sees that DSLR around my neck, they cover faces, stick tongues out, hide, or give me a "I am going to kill you" look. I don't have that same issue with the P&S and I am not scared to let one of the grand kids take it to get shots of grandma cooking.

BigBird Loc: Arlington, TX

Thanks for your question since I have the same problems indoors. I'm learning though due to the great responses.

Dennis

If there's snow on the ground pack them up and take them to sidecut, you'll have some great backdrops and the light won't be so much of an issue.

lphilp Loc: Washington

are we related? That sounds just like my family.

gsrunyan Loc: Aurora, CO

My Sony cameras allow me to turn off the "shutter" sound on the camera. This, plus turning off the flash, makes me almost unnoticed when taking family pictures.

You might also try putting your back on the same wall as the fire place or other light source-you get the most use of available light that way.

With anti-shake turned on and shooting on program, you should get, at least, OK images.

Glenn

lphilp Loc: Washington

rica Loc: Oregon and Leyte, Phillipines.

I find that using a little fill flash is very helpful. Auto mode on the camera is your enemy here. Shooting totally natural light is highly over-rated for casual setting where you can't pose the subjects. shooting wide open at f2.8 or f1.4 requires precise focusing and gives a very shallow depth of field. If you want to flatter your subjects instead of creating pictures with raccoon eyes and dark shadows on the faces you should use fill-flash. I usually use my hot shoe flash pointed up to the ceiling at a 30-45deg angle. I also use a Stofen type diffuser on the flash to get the softened light with faint shadows. They are on Ebay very cheap(as low as $1.50 with free shipping).
With the flash adjusted down to -1 f-stop you can still get natural looking photos but with shining eyes. This is done in the flash menu and just takes a second. Experiment with the camera in Shutter priority Mode(1/60th sec) and aperture priority mode. Set your ISO turned up to just below where the noise starts (ISO 800 is good for your Nikon) you can get some bright natural looking photos that flatter the guests.
If you only have an built in flash you can still set it to do fill-in (-.5 to -1 f-stop) and at least brighten the shadows and put some catch-lights in the eyes.
Hold steady! Use a tripod or brace yourself against something. Use shake-reduction on the camera.
Good shooting.
Remember if you are serious take control of the shoot, even at home.

boncrayon

Candid shots with bouce flash as needed

tramsey Loc: Texas

LisaB
That's a great shot and that's a good idea of going to your own studio. A person could set one up just for Christmas time in a about any room.
I'm curious about your camera. Is that a medium format. looks like a Hassy to me?

RMM Loc: Suburban New York

Lots of good suggestions. Careful with the flash indoors. It has a bad habit of bouncing off glass and creating glare spots. As for posing, I'd try to avoid it. I'd just move around and take lots of shots, figuring that some will be good, the rest get thrown out.

RMM Loc: Suburban New York

Of course, my daughter accuses me of ALWAYS catching her with some awkward expression on her face. I can't help it if she keeps putting awkward expressions on her face.

Truth to tell, I do catch her at odd moments, often when we're eating at a restaurant for birthday celebrations, etc.. But I also get some really good shots, she's very photogenic. So are her kids.

Leaf Peeper Loc: Ferndale, WA

I'd like to speak from the subject's viewpoint, if I may. Perhaps the reason candid shots don't come out so well is because many folks, like me, look simply horrible in them. I personally hate having candid shots taken of me as most of the time, I'm either talking with my mouth open, stuffing food in my mouth or chewing already! It's hardly flattering and downright ugly, in my humble opinion. I much prefer the photographer let me know he/she wants to take a picture so I can either swallow and try a smile, close my mouth or turn my head in another direction. Just another angle in which to view this subject!