Blurry shots of my two and a half year old son

clbeckster

Hello everyone. I have a 2 and a half year old who is constantly on the move. I've tried to use the Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens, but I still can't capture him without some blurry spots. I use AF Servo, but it seems to be a bit on the slow side with focusing and the 18-200 kit is way too slow. I've been thinking of taking the plunge for a USM or L lens, but wanted to see if there was some technique I could try before shelling out tons of dough I don't have!

Moose

Howdy @clbeckster - I'm guessing most of your blurry shots occur when shooting indoors. Blur can be attributed to...
1. Slow shutter speeds - not fast enough to freeze subject movement or eliminate camera shake
2. Inaccurate focus - focus locked on the wrong subject
3. Depth of field too shallow - the area of focus is so small that if the subject or the shooter moves (even a little bit) the subject could move outside the focus area

Before upgrading to a new lens, I would try experimenting with the following setup...
1. Mount your 50mm f/1.8 lens
2. Enable Manual mode (M on the mode dial)
3. Set your aperture to f/2.8 - This will lengthen the depth of field a bit
4. Set your shutter speed to 1/250 - This will give you a fast enough shutter speed to freeze most toddler movements
5. Set your ISO to Auto - This will ensure an accurate exposure

If your toddler is sitting or motionless...
1. Set your AF mode to ONE-SHOT - see page 76 of the manual (60D PDF manual)
2. Set your AF point to center - see page 78 of the manual
3. Set your Drive Mode to High-speed Continuous Shooting - see page 81 of the manual
4. Half-press the shutter, focus on the eyes, recompose the shot for better framing and then fully press the shutter and hold it down...this will rattle off a series of shots in quick succession

If your child is moving about, then...
1. Set your AF mode to AI Servo - see page 76 of the manual
2. Set your AF point to Automatic Selection (all 9 points) - see page 78 of the manual
3. Set your Drive Mode to High-speed Continuous Shooting - see page 81 of the manual
4. Half-press the shutter to continuously focus on your child and when you're ready to take the shot, fully press the shutter and hold it down...this will rattle off a series of shots in quick succession

This should get you going in the right direction. Happy shooting! :)

clbeckster

You are the man Moose! I'll give it a try tomorrow and let you know how it worked out!