the image. Both features are highly useful, especially
when specific detail is needed in the final image, like the
highlight detail of a white christening dress.Battery Power.
Since you don’t need motorized film transport, there is
no motor drive or winder on DSLRs, but the cameras still
look the same because the manufacturers have ingen-
iously designed the auxiliary battery packs to look just
like a motor or winder attachment. While most of these
cameras run on AA-size batteries, it is advisable to pur-
chase the auxiliary battery packs, since most systems (es-
pecially those with CCD sensors) chew up batteries like
jelly beans. Most of the auxiliary battery packs for DSLRs
use rechargeable Lithium-ion batteries.Camera Settings.
ISO. Digital ISO settings correlate precisely to film
speeds—the slower the ISO, the less noise (the digital
equivalent of grain) and the more contrast. Unlike film,
however, contrast is a variable you can control at the time
of capture or later in image processing (if shooting RAW
files). Digital film speeds can be increased or decreased
between frames, making digital capture inherently more
flexible than shooting with film, where you are locked
into a film speed for the duration of the roll of film.
Shooting at the higher ISOs, like ISO 800 or 1600,
produces a lot of digital noise in the exposure. However,
many digital image-processing programs contain noise-
reduction filters that automatically function to reduce this
problem. Products, such as Nik Multimedia’s Dfine, a
noise reducing plug-in filter for Adobe Photoshop, effec-
tively reduce image noise post-capture.
Contrast.As mentioned earlier, professional-grade
DSLRs have a setting for contrast. Most photographers18 CHILDREN’S PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY HANDBOOK
TOP—Tim Kelly is not only a fine artist, but an equally fine tech-
nician. A believer that digital was an inevitability, Tim is obsessed
with perfect exposures, saying, “Exposure is everything. In digi-
tal, exposure must be more perfect than ever.” When exposure is
critically perfect, the file reveals great detail and an amazingly wide
dynamic range. Each Tim Kelly portrait is retouched digitally with
the goal being a timeless and unforgettable portrait.
BOTTOM—Even thought this image looks like it was taken on day-
light film under tungsten lighting, it was actually made digitally
with a custom white balance setting. The photographer used
bounce flash and set the white balance to shade, which is about
7500°K, warming up the image. Photograph by Anthony Cava.