Best settings for capturing portraits and small groups

Moose

I was talking with a fellow T2i owner over on my Facebook page and she was wondering which settings are best for capturing portraits and small groups. I thought it would be beneficial to share our conversation with all of you...

Hailey's Question: What settings on the Canon T2i would you say are best for taking lots of pictures for example at Christmas while everyone opening presents? Just barely got my camera a week ago loving it so far but lots of learning to do!

Moose's Answer: Right off the bat, I would rotate the mode dial (on top of the camera) to portrait mode. This will automatically adjust the settings inside the T2i to capture portraits and smaller groups. If you can, try to turn on as many lights as possible (open up blinds for natural light) before everyone starts opening presents. Take a few test shots without flash. If your subjects appear to be well lit and sharp, then stick with no flash shooting. If you're experiencing some blur or your subjects are too dark, then rotate the mode dial to 'Night Portrait' mode (square shaped icon with a person and a star inside it). This will illuminate your subjects with flash, while also increasing the shutter speed which will brighten the background...giving you more balanced and natural looking flash shots indoors.

If you have room in your budget, I highly recommend looking into a starter external flash like the 270EX. This will allow you bounce light off the ceiling which spreads the light evenly and greatly improves the look of indoor shots. It works really well with the T2i and you'll be blown away at the difference between the built-in flash and the 270EX.