focal length: 50 mm
shutter speed: 1/50
aperture: f/2.2
ISO: 1000
flash: none

You may notice that I shoot at high ISOs such as in the image above. For indoor settings where there isn’t much light, shooting at a high ISO is one way to prevent motion blur, which is something parents always struggle with when photographing their children! With high ISO comes more noise or grain. There are ways to reduce the noise using software but I don’t mind the grain so much. I prefer grain over a skin tone that looks like that of a plastic Barbie doll. Keeping it real! If you have a noise reduction software, be careful not to go overboard or you’ll get that fake skin tone look. That is, unless you like your kids to look like a blow-up doll.

I shouldn’t have given her that chocolate chip cookie. Less for me to eat!

Laura is a Vancouver wedding and portrait photographer. Visit laurahana.com.