First time posting pics of my daughter!

Hello! My husband and I just recently became interested in photography and we are both really eager to learn! We purchased a Canon 50D, a Canon 50mm 1.4 which I use most of the time, and a Tamron 70-200. Now we just need to learn how to use it all but we are having fun taking pictures in the meantime! We are EXTREME beginners but would love any type of CC from all of you!
I really want to take softer looking pictures, does anyone know why they are turning out grainy? Is it the lighting or something Im doing? Thanks!
Here is our daughter Lauren, she is 3 years old and the most amazing little girl in the world! We love her more than words can say!

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A couple more!

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wow that first picture is AMAZING! I do not understand what you mean by grainy (at least not in that pic) if anything it has an awesome BOKEH, and what i always strive for...although, if I had your equipment to shoot with, I am sure it would make my life easier with that haha...but that first pic is really nice....with the 2nd one, it is a little blown out so watch your light source, looks like it was a super bright sunny day, also watch out for cropping out fingers/hands etc...that is one area i need to get better with too...i have a 2 year old and feel lucky to just have captured her making a decent expression lol!

1 and 3 are lovely.

What settings are you shooting on?

Try setting camera to AV and changing the aperture to suit what you want. Low lighting, lower f, brighter lighting, higher f. Start at around 5.6 and go up or down from there and experiment. That's what I've found to be the biggest help learning wise.

Your photos are pretty good though =) Very cute wee girl!

Welcome! You are doing a great job...that first photo is wonderful. If you want to dial down the exposure a tad in the first 2 shots, I would have a little broader DOF so that the focus is also improved.

Very nice shots...keep reading and keep practicing

I love number 3.. but it could use a cropping

of coarse #1 is spectacular also

izy wrote in post #9923930
1 and 3 are lovely.

What settings are you shooting on?

Try setting camera to AV and changing the aperture to suit what you want. Low lighting, lower f, brighter lighting, higher f. Start at around 5.6 and go up or down from there and experiment. That's what I've found to be the biggest help learning wise.

Your photos are pretty good though =) Very cute wee girl!

I always shoot on AV. I JUST learned what aperature even is so Im still always a little confused on what setting should be on what number, you seriously can't get much more beginner than me right now! Thank you so much for you comments and advice!!

LylasMama wrote in post #9923917
wow that first picture is AMAZING! I do not understand what you mean by grainy (at least not in that pic) if anything it has an awesome BOKEH, and what i always strive for...although, if I had your equipment to shoot with, I am sure it would make my life easier with that haha...but that first pic is really nice....with the 2nd one, it is a little blown out so watch your light source, looks like it was a super bright sunny day, also watch out for cropping out fingers/hands etc...that is one area i need to get better with too...i have a 2 year old and feel lucky to just have captured her making a decent expression lol!

THank you so much! The second pic was done in a lot of sun but I was also playing with my speedlite flash which I have NO IDEA how to use so I was basically just pressing buttons and changing its direction lol!
I have definitely noticed that I cut off her fingers and toes a lot! It is definitely hard to capture them! Thanks so much for your advice!!

Maureen Souza wrote in post #9923960
Welcome! You are doing a great job...that first photo is wonderful. If you want to dial down the exposure a tad in the first 2 shots, I would have a little broader DOF so that the focus is also improved.

Very nice shots...keep reading and keep practicing

Thank you! I know DOF is Depth of Field but I have no idea how to improve/change it! It that an actual setting on the camera or does it have to do with how close I am to whatever Im taking the picture of?? SO sorry, I realize I have a lot to learn so I feel bad asking these types of questions that are probably ridiculous to most of you! Like I said, I just started reading my Field guide to my camera and have been watching a lot of photography videos on youtube!

Doc Fluty wrote in post #9924042
I love number 3.. but it could use a cropping

of coarse #1 is spectacular also

How exactly would I crop a pic like that? Wouldn't it cut off the main parts of the pictures too much? I realize there is probably a lot more to cropping then what I am aware of, again - sorry for my ignorance! Thank you!

bobbytannehill wrote in post #9924063
Thank you! I know DOF is Depth of Field but I have no idea how to improve/change it! It that an actual setting on the camera or does it have to do with how close I am to whatever Im taking the picture of?? SO sorry, I realize I have a lot to learn so I feel bad asking these types of questions that are probably ridiculous to most of you! Like I said, I just started reading my Field guide to my camera and have been watching a lot of photography videos on youtube!

The DOF is basically how much space you have in focus. the AV (aperture) that you are shooting on will control your DOF. A small aperture number, like 2.8, is actually a large opening for light. But it also gives you a narrow DOF. When I shoot kids, I am usually close to them so I close my lens down and try to shoot 5.6 up to 8.0 so I can get them all in focus. The bigger your aperture number, the less light you let in so watch your shutter speed and ISO. Of course, kids tend to move a lot so I keep my shutter speed up to at least 125. Then I need to rely on my ISO to help with lighting.

BTW, if you go into your sig and turn on the Image Editing OK sign, folks will be happy to show you how to crop and edit if you are having difficulty with it.

if you are unfamiliar with post processing and dont have any programs to do it with.. the web offers many free programs that make cropping your photos very easy.

You can download picasa from google for free and it has a very easy interface. here is a quick crop i did of your photo. hope you dont mind

you're off to a wonderful start! And you have a speedlite too???!!!!! I am beyond jealous right now...

Maureen Souza wrote in post #9924123
The DOF is basically how much space you have in focus. the AV (aperture) that you are shooting on will control your DOF. A small aperture number, like 2.8, is actually a large opening for light. But it also gives you a narrow DOF. When I shoot kids, I am usually close to them so I close my lens down and try to shoot 5.6 up to 8.0 so I can get them all in focus. The bigger your aperture number, the less light you let in so watch your shutter speed and ISO. Of course, kids tend to move a lot so I keep my shutter speed up to at least 125. Then I need to rely on my ISO to help with lighting.

Thank you so much for your help!! I will definitely experiment a little with the different aperatures!! Shutter speed is one thing I havent really figured out yet but it is next on my to-do list