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Flying airplanes

Johnny with his paper airplane

We swap babysitting with friends about one Saturday every other month. Mike helped the kids build and fly airplanes last time. Everyone had a blast, and I discovered that I do not know how to take photos of flying paper airplanes – those things fly (frequently crash) fast! Any tips?

MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.

11 thoughts on “Flying airplanes”

  1. @Natalie – excellent point! =)

    @Beverly – It works out really well for us – we’re very lucky to have friends who are willing and able to look after our three kids in addition to their own!

  2. I agree with continuous mode recommendation, but I think the picture of a kiddo delightedly holding an airplane is better than an airplane itself :)
    .-= Natalie´s last blog ..Science Sunday – Gravity =-.

  3. @Jessica – Thanks so much for these tips, they are very helpful! I’m going to try your suggestions next time, and see if I can get some proper action shots =)

    @Susana – I’ll check out that site – thanks for the recommendation! And I agree, my camera is AWESOME!!! Which is why I really need to learn how to make the most of it!

    @Elisa – I definitely need to learn how to use the settings on my camera better… and Jessica’s tips were super helpful – I’m going to try her technique next time!

  4. Elisa | blissfulE

    I liked Jessica’s tips.

    I use “sport mode” on my camera to catch quick movement. I also use the “continuous” shooting setting (sorry, no technical terms here!) to take a lot quickly. Bright lighting helps, too. But still a lot of my photos are blurry, so these ideas may or may not help!
    .-= Elisa | blissfulE´s last blog ..month in review and August goals =-.

  5. Jamie likes building paper airplanes for the kids too:-).

    I wish I had tips for action pictures, but that’s something I need to work on too! There are some good tutorials on it at http://www.manicmother.com. You’ve definitely got the camera for it–LOVE your camera:-).
    .-= Susana´s last blog ..Our Curriculum for the 2010-2011 School Year =-.

  6. I am by no means and expert but I have learned a few things from chasing after my munchkins. The main thing with taking pictures is practice. I imagine your adorable kiddos will not complain about making more airplanes to fly for you. You might take 100 pictures and only have 5 or 6 you love (the blessing of digital). You will want to to press your shutter button half way to lock the focus so your camera will snap the picture with less delay. Stand further back and/or shoot from an angle (stand directly in front of your little pilot and then move about 30 degrees right or left. This way you can get the pilot and the plane in the same shot. You can also try panning where you try to move the camera at the same speed as the plane. This is hard to do but when you do it right you will get a blurred pilot and background to show speed and the plane in focus. Good luck!

  7. I always wish I could take better photos. I think one of the biggest drawbacks to digital is that, unless you can shell out for a super nice camera, it is hard to get photos of moving objects because of the delay. We can all use our imaginations, though!
    .-= Mom and Kiddo´s last blog ..Friday Do-Over- Target Practice =-.

  8. Hi…really enjoyed reading your blog…your kids are gorgeous too.
    Sorry, I’m not too good with a camera…but flying paper aeroplanes sounds like fun..hope you have some luck in finding how to take moving photos….Patricia

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