# Just picked up a Canon SL1



## emmam83 (Mar 10, 2016)

How does this look? 







It was edited with Instagram lol 


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## Derrel (Mar 10, 2016)

I think the little tyke with the brand-new top teeth is pretty adorable. On this shot, I think cropping it to the older Instgram 1:1 (square) aspect ratio would improve the image, so lopping off pretty much the right side third would elevate the shot. The biggest issue is that large "X" patetrn on the rug, and also at the very far right edge is a very attention-steaking half of a yellow ball. The pale, tanerine fabric toy is also distracting. Instagram has a lot of good fiters and editing tools. I would test-edit it with IG to get a filter than has a fairly strong outer edge vignette, to darken his arm and the white cushion a bit. This portrait definitely would look more powerful, and have more impact if it were to be cropped  to a square image aspect ratio.


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## Designer (Mar 10, 2016)

You might have to move/shorten your watermark so it doesn't get chopped off.


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## emmam83 (Mar 10, 2016)

Derrel said:


> I think the little tyke with the brand-new top teeth is pretty adorable. On this shot, I think cropping it to the older Instgram 1:1 (square) aspect ratio would improve the image, so lopping off pretty much the right side third would elevate the shot. The biggest issue is that large "X" patetrn on the rug, and also at the very far right edge is a very attention-steaking half of a yellow ball. The pale, tanerine fabric toy is also distracting. Instagram has a lot of good fiters and editing tools. I would test-edit it with IG to get a filter than has a fairly strong outer edge vignette, to darken his arm and the white cushion a bit. This portrait definitely would look more powerful, and have more impact if it were to be cropped  to a square image aspect ratio.




Thank you! I'll try it 


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## emmam83 (Mar 10, 2016)

Any better? On the right track, maybe? I'm a total noob so please bear with me [emoji85]







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## Designer (Mar 10, 2016)

That's it!


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## emmam83 (Mar 10, 2016)

Designer said:


> That's it!



Yay! Lol he's who/what I'll be photographing most, so I'd like to do the best possible  


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## Derrel (Mar 10, 2016)

Yes, the squre rop makes it better, more focused on _*his royal tiny-ness*_.


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## emmam83 (Mar 10, 2016)

Derrel said:


> Yes, the squre rop makes it better, more focused on _*his royal tiny-ness*_.



Thank you!


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## TallDude (Mar 11, 2016)

So much fun at that age! Mine are starting to drive #@&$$.. Help... 
I'm only a little less of a newbie as you. I notice a few things that you might want to pay attention to. 
Questions:
1. What setting are you using?  Full Auto, Portrait, Close-up...
2. Does the flash pop-up when you take your photo? More than Likely. It's not always the best result when doing close-ups. 

These are a few things to play around with. Try different settings and make a mental note of what works better. 

Try using *Av* setting on the dial. If you have the kit lens (the one that came with your camera), set your aperture to *f3.5. *This will give you a shallower depth of field and a blurred back ground. A higher aperture like* f22* will allow everything near and far to be relatively in focus. The lower *f3.5* gives you more available light so you might not need a flash. The *f22* cuts the available light, so you would probably need the flash. 
Kids move around A LOT! You sometimes need a faster shutter speed to stop them in their tracks...... The *f3.5*  with the *Av *setting should automatically give you a faster shutter speed. 

Play around with these settings, and I bet you'll surprise yourself  with the results


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## emmam83 (Mar 11, 2016)

TallDude said:


> So much fun at that age! Mine are starting to drive #@&$$.. Help...
> I'm only a little less of a newbie as you. I notice a few things that you might want to pay attention to.
> Questions:
> 1. What setting are you using?  Full Auto, Portrait, Close-up...
> ...




I just used Auto in this one since it was like one of the first pics I took lol I've since been playing with the settings but have LOTS to learn. My aperture won't go less than f5.6, idk how to make it lower.

ETA: Pic of Av settings 






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## TallDude (Mar 11, 2016)

What lens are you using? I'm assuming it's a telephoto.  Is it the 18mm to 55mm   1:3.5-5.6 ? It should go down to f3.5?


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## emmam83 (Mar 11, 2016)

Yes that's what I'm using, I played with it a little bit and got it down to f4.5 but I can't get it lower than that. 


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## Designer (Mar 11, 2016)

The aperture on that lens is variable, so when you zoom the lens, the aperture changes to what the lens can do, and no more.  If you want to see it at 3.5, go to the wide-angle setting.  

Personally, I don't always shoot for the widest aperture.  It depends on the effect that I want.


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## TallDude (Mar 11, 2016)

Just try taking some shots with the f4.5  (or f3.5 if you can figure that out) in various lighting conditions. Take some close-ups of fixed items to moving creatures near and far. See what happens. Another setting that effects the light and quality of a photo is the ISO. If you don't want to use or can't use a flash in low light situations, you can turn the ISO up higher than 1600. The problem is you get noise or grain in your photo. Lowering the ISO will get you a better quality photo, but it might end up under exposed.


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