Help with Portraits in Winter season

[ahempel22]

I just started photography children and families and I try to shoot only in natural light (outside). Now that the winter season is upon me, my clients probably won't like to go outside in the snow. Not sure what I should do since most of the kids are about 1.5 yrs +. A lot of house don't have the best lighting and makes me start shooting at high ISOs.

[egordon99]

Buy a flash and/or strobes.

[ahempel22]

I have a flash, but I prefer the natural light better. The pictures come on a lot better. I'd like to take some pics in the snow, but only have a xsi and its not weather sealed.

[egordon99]

If your flash photos look like "flash" photos, you are not using the flash the right way. What flash? Are you bouncing it? What mode do you shoot in with flash?

I've done hot-shoe flash (bounced) for a few years and am now getting into off-camera lighting (OCF) with light stands/umbrellas/etc...There is A LOT you can do when you are in control of the lighting.

[ahempel22]

I have 430ex bouncing of ceiling and walls with ISOs around 800 and 1600 depending on how much running around they do and if I have the zoom lens on. It was about 4:30 when I started taking the indoor photos, and around here sun starts setting around 5:30 so a lot of different lights on. I have 70-200L f4, tamron 90mm f2.8 and 50mm f1.8II lenses. So, It cold be that I'm not using the flash properly. Any good threads on here about indoor light techniques?

[egordon99]

WHY are you at ISO1600? In a "normal" sized room, I can easily bounce my 580EXII (and probably my 430 as well) at ISO100, f/2.8 to light my subject(s). I only go to ISO1600+flash when I'm shooting in a BIG room with HIGH ceilings (CHURCH ;) )

Put your camera in M, set your shutter speed to 1/200s (or 1/250s depending on which body you have), aperture to whatever f-stop you want, start with ISO100 (or maybe 400, but you do NOT need 800 or 1600 for most houses). Flash in E-TTL mode and shoot away.

Are you using high ISOs because you are in Av mode and you are trying to get fast shutter speeds? Don't do that ;) In most indoor shooting environments, the flash provides the majority (if not all) the illumination, so the very very fast flash pulse will actually freeze all motion.

[ahempel22]

Yeah, I do shoot in AV mode. I'll test it out thanx.