October 11, 2009 - Sunday morning coloring

1/60

f5.6

ISO 400

40mm

RAW

I really like today's photo. There may not be much technically masterful about it, but it shows two of my daughters doing one of their favorite things — coloring with their extensive set of tinted, sparkly glue. It's almost as fun as finger paints, but the colors are shimmery and fantastic.

And best of all, Emma and Morgan can really create some dazzling artwork . . . well, at least in my eyes they do.

Once again, I put the camera into manual mode and used my favorite settings for photos with a flash. I find this setting really helps the camera by taking out a bunch of guess work for it to do. Instead, it's like you're telling the camera, "Okay, here's the shutter speed and aperture. All you need to do is figure out the right amount of pop to put into that flash." And by reducing the options, the camera excels.

As for the flash, I used my dedicated Sigma EF-500 DG Super flash and pointed it up at the ceiling. I also zoomed in with the lens some to help isolate the girls and their fun from some of the distracting background in the kitchen.

In hindsight, I wish I had gotten some pictures a few minutes later when their art on the pages in front of them would be more complete. This would really help bring out the idea that they were coloring.

What do you think? What would have been better?