2.12.2011

party of three: 6/52

Every week I swear I'm quitting this project - ahhh! and today was no exception. My "planned" picture idea this morning was a total bust. Wardrobe malfunctions, face issues, a sunglass/eye-poking incident, you name it. Later this afternoon, we headed to my parents' house for an early Valentine's Day celebration, and I didn't even have my kids dressed for pictures. When I saw Livia's new tea set (and knew I had several additional adults for backup), I thought I better snap a picture while I had the chance. The boys were so cute with Livia, so I'm definitely going to have a tea party re-do in the future.

Photobucket


I've had a little flurry of new followers lately (hello! ♥), so if you're not familiar with my Party of Three posts, sometimes I provide photography tips or tricks (read: what went wrong). If you are not interested in photography, please stop HERE. :-)

Since I wasn't planning on taking pictures, the little tea party set-up was about 25 feet away from the nearest windows. Always scoot as close to a window as possible if you're using natural light. Because we were so far away and I didn't bring my external flash), I had to adjust my settings to the following:
Aperture: f/4 (too wide!)
Shutter speed: 1/60 (too slow!)
ISO: 1,600 (eeek!)

I was aware of my settings when I snapped the shot, but I didn't want to raise my ISO any higher...so that's pretty much all I could do without a flash. Drew is a bit out of focus because he is on a different plane than Collin and Livia. A smaller aperture (f/8, etc.) would have solved this problem. And a 1/60 shutter speed when taking pictures of children is ridiculously slow. Do not attempt! ;-) My personal preference is to never be slower than 1/250. 1/500 is even better!

The color is weird because we had to turn all the overhead lights on. You can see this especially in Collin's hair. If I had my external flash, I would have turned the lights off and bounced the flash off the windows behind me since it was still daylight outside.

We're supposed to have some warmer temperatures this week, so maybe my picture for week 7 will be taken outside. YAY!

Hope you're all having a great weekend! ♥

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm always amazed by how good your boys are with her. They obviously love her very much and they all look so sweet together!

And that tea set is too cute!!

Taylor and I celebrated Valentine's Day with lunch at his favorite Mexican place and a stroll through the antique mall. I found some cobalt wine glasses, and he found a grammar book from 1855.

Unknown said...

Such a cute shot of your children! The boys are so sweet with her. :-) What a blessing that is!

XOXO Happy LOVE DAY!

Ashley Sisk said...

I actually think this is an adorable shot - your boys are so sweet to play with Livia like they do. For all the imperfections (which I don't see), it's a wonderful shot.

Karen said...

f/4, 1/60 and 1600 is making more sense! Thanks to you I have fell into love with photography. Nothing serious, but the fun of learning and hoping I can capture something fantastic. I enjoy dropping by and seeing your beautiful little girl & those handsome boys. Have a wonderful weekend and hope you take the time to have tea with Livia. :)

Anonymous said...

I LOVE it! And you can't quit... I joined the bandwagon and am posting my first two weeks tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

This photo is absolutely precious!! Awwww!

Jennifer {Studio JRU} said...

What a wonderful moment you captured! Too cute! It is going to be like a 'heat wave'. :)

Ashley said...

Great tips! The pic still came out cute, love the tea party! It's good to know that even great photographers struggle with lighting and focus when taking snap shots of the kids! :)

Natalie said...

Girlfriend you always tend to think something is wrong with your photos and I can never find it! LOL! But like I always say we always see things in our own work that 2nd parties do. I think this is SO SUPER SWEET! I love that they always cater to her and are so sweet with her. I hope you have a lovely rest of the weekend and thank you so much for leaving sweet comments for me! I did a really neat project today and posted the results, water drops on the back of a disc! It was so fun! It may be a cool project! It was for me! Have a great night!

Natalie said...

*that second parties don't see* ugh there I go not spellchecking before I post a comment LOL

happy me said...

What a darling shot! What good brothers!
I ALWAYS devour your tips and tricks. Please don't stop!!! ;)

kitten said...

This photo is wonderful! Who cares about the technical stuff right now, I think it came out great and it's such a great capture. XOXO

Melissa said...

You caught a memorable moment and it looks beautiful! You've inspired me to catch photos of my four together while they are interacting together!So thank you!

Unknown said...

Awww! Yay for tea parties! :D Hannah had her first at her Granny's house on Friday.

Great job capturing the moment. :)

Anonymous said...

Oh so sweet!!!!

Discovery School at First Baptist Heath said...

I always loved the song verse, "Life is waht happens when you are busy making other plans!" And you captured it!

Love your shot!

Liz said...

I don`t think this is bad at all. This is great. and ditto, your children really play well together. Be proud.

Jane said...

I think you are so brave taking on this project. I have so little photos of our 2 children together and nice ones are very very very rare. Maybe when the weather is better I will try to follow you for a few weeks with this project. You inspire.

Natalie said...

Very sweet. I am hoping for a little outside time soon myself!

Jaime said...

I think it is a great moment captured!

Btw - Found your blog the other day....looking forward to looking around. Just starting my first 365 myself...and yes a little challenging on some days...but am learning many things at the same time. :)

Pitterle Postings said...

Oh, I love this one. They are so cute together!

Jessica Griz said...

Bouncing the flash off a window??? I never would have thought of that! :) Love this. Your boys are just precious with Tiny T. ;)

Unknown said...

Adorable as always! I photographed my kids having a tea party today too. I don't think daddy is going to like it!

Carrie said...

This looks so good especially considering the circumstances (as you explain them... not like I was there ;) Such a cute little tea set. I hope you don't quite the project because I love seeing your photos!

Michelle R said...

AWE!! How adorable!! Girl, I don't see everything that you said is wrong with this!! Crazy! :) It still captured a wonderful moment to be treasured!!

Interesting... bouncing flash off the window??? Have I told you yet that I'm disliking my flash?? Oh, I need more help to figure it out! I have had such inconsistent results that I'm just frustrated! It's back in the box and in a drawer for now -- can't stand looking at it! lol!!

Lori Allberry said...

That is A-DOR-A-BLE! Oh my goodness how precious!!!

Please, please, please, I beg of you - do NOT stop you silly girl! No stopping of these pictures flat stomach girlie! You will thank yourself over and over and over again when they are older!

Happy Valentines Day chickie!
I am going to email you later!
Did you LOVE the weather yesterday? It was AWESOME!

♥Lori

Gabby Malcuit said...

They are so sweet! To be honest, I'm always unsure whenever I take pictures how much I should open the aperture, but I'm pretty new to photography. It warmed up here, too, and we are lovng it!

Lynda said...

Very cute shot! I love your technical notes too. I always struggle with getting shots indoors, even with my 50mm. My camera only goes up to ISO 1600 too, so I only have so many options. (I also don't like using on camera flash)

Anonymous said...

So sweet. I love it.

Jenn said...

Your bad so makes my good look awful. :) I don't see anything wrong with this shot but then again that is why your pics are so much better than mine. HA! Thanks for encouraging this because I have very much enjoyed these first few weeks trying to rally up my 4 for a group picture.

Brooke said...

This one is so sweet - I love her new tea set!!! (Hello - CUTE photo ops :D) I always laugh at the photos that you don't like. They are miles ahead of most, scratch that, ALL of us! Keep it up. You must!

Buckeroomama said...

Livia is the luckiest little girl ever with such doting older brothers like the ones she has. :) Seriously, your two boys are so awesome with her.