Photo Challenge with Me Ra Koh Recipe 6: Color or Black and White?

I love how black and white draws attention to the emotion or a single expression. Everything else in the world fades away, and all we see is that little guy's eyes.

Do you think the expression is more powerful in black and white or color?

There isn't a right or wrong answer really. It seems like the decision is based on preference more than anything.

Hudson is a toddler, and if you've spent much time with toddlers, you know they are "on the move". Finding something that grabs their attention, whether it's a simple activity of letting them sip from Dad's BIG glass (since that NEVER happens) or playing on the playground, will give you moments where the toddler becomes so focused on their activity that he stops and-wait-oh!-CLICK!-you get a precious picture! But to ensure this happens, you want to technically be ready too.

The settings below apply to ANY moment you want to capture, regardless of the subject's age. 

Point-and-Shoot Users: Since you don't have as much flexibility with camera settings, make sure you have plenty of light. If your goal is to freeze the action, try setting your PS to the Running Man icon. Your camera will automatically pick a faster shutter speed for freezing action. But if you want a blurry background, you will want to choose the Lady's Head icon. This will automatically soften your background...but your little one may not be as sharp. Upgrading at some point to a DSLR will give you the freedom to get both the blurred background and sharp action.

DSLR Users / My DSLR Settings: 

ISO: 400 (I couldn't get away with a lower ISO for two reasons. It was an overcast day, and Hudson was on the move. Since he was a fast mover, I needed to make sure my Shutter Speed was fast enough to freeze his action. The higher ISO gave me freedom to have a faster Shutter Speed.

Aperture: f/2.8 A low aperture/f-stop for those buttery, blurry backgrounds that I "oh-so-love!"

Shutter Speed: 1/800th of a sec (or displayed as 800). The fast Shutter Speed allowed me to catch this little guy when he paused.

Don't worry, there's no wrong way to do this, so go ahead and try it! Post your results here and be sure to come back on the 16th to see if YOUR photo was chosen for a personal critique!

Note from CafeMom: If you haven't signed up for this challenge, you can do so here so you're automatically entered to win a copy of Me Ra Koh's book Your Baby in Pictures!

If you like this Photo Recipe, Like Me Ra Koh on Facebook! In fact, don’t stop there! Consider entering your photo in her new Gathering’s Photo Contest and win a trip to her CONFIDENCE Photography Workshop—flight provided by Southwest Airlines!