Gerber Baby

Literally.  Gerber.com is looking for another Gerber baby!  The winner wins $25,000 of scholarship money!  I want to submit Rhodes....and I think y'all should submit all your babies too!!!

So I tried to have a little photoshoot with him yesterday while Olivia was at her piano lesson.

It was 4:30 and super sunny!  I did find some shade, but it still wasn't that twilight light that is so nice!

ISO 160 f/3.2 1/400

I kept my ISO low (160) then all the way down to 100 because I wanted the pics as crisp as can be.  The shutter I first set at 3.2.  Because I wanted all his face to be sure to be in focus.

Oh, and I used my 50mm 1.8 lens.  Because we all love the fuzzy background.  ;-)

ISO 160 f/3.2 1/400

When I shoot on manual I also glance out through my camera to see what range of shutter speeds its says will need - by looking at the light meter.  With so much light, they were going to be pretty fast.  And I needed it fast because Rhodes was wiggly. 

ISO 100 f/3.2 1/320

But the photo that I want to submit is definitely one where you see the sparkle in his eyes.  I would go back and get one from my archives but the picture you submit has to be taken within the last 30 days. 

ISO 100 f/2.8 1/400

Here I opened up the aperture a little wider...again going for the blurred out background look. 

ISO 100 f/2.8 1/400

He was squealing and crawling around on this little platform.  Boy, he just wouldn't sit still for long.

ISO 100 f/2.8 1/400

ISO 100 f 2.8 1/320

But I still couldn't capture that sparkle in his eye that I know he's got!

ISO 100 f/2.8 1/320

Slowed the shutter speed down a notch to see if it would get his eyes any better.  Just blew out the background a little. 

ISO 125 f/4.5 1/250

THEN, I bumped my aperture up to f/4.5 so I could get even more depth of field - increases the area that will be in focus.

ISO 125 f/4.5 1/200

In closing up the aperture this much, I had to bump up my ISO to keep the shutter speed fairly fast.  And still in the ones where he claps, 1/200 wasn't fast enough to freeze them.

ISO 125 f/4.5 1/200

I think the hardest thing for me when switching over to shooting in manual was to train my eye to keep checking the meter inside my camera.  While still making sure my focus point was focusing where I wanted it.

I feel like I'm getting fast at making the adjustments and not missing the shot, but not always.

ISO 125 f/4.5 1/200

I'm pretty sure my meter was telling me I was overexposing this a good bit.  And that's where shooting in manual is good.  Because if I had taken the shot with it at "0", then you wouldn't have been able to see any detail on Rhodes' face.

ISO 125 f/4.5 1/200

See in these shots, it looks like from the back of his ears all the way to the front of his lips are in focus.  That's the f/4.5 aperture. 

ISO 125 f/4.5 1/200

Definitely going to keep trying to get the photo that I want to send it.  I'm sure I'll know when it's the one.

IF I could send in a pic right now, and it didn't have a 30 day limit on it, I'd send this one:

Those little sparkly eye are gonna help pay for his college!  Well, we hope!!!