Tonight a friend of mine and I were discussing a recently shot photo of mine. Coincidently, the subject was on one of my favorites; black and white photography. A good friend will give you constructive critisism. A great friend will get up at 2:00 A.M and log onto his computer to talk photography with you. I think if my buddy Sherman Snyder lived any closer than the 110 miles that seperate us, he would drive to my front door to give me constructive critisism at 2:00 A.M. Sherman, never sleeps like me, and is great for troubleshooting anything photography. He has disected everything from lighting setups to assembling the 86 inch PLM from Paul Buff. He looked at the photo and immediately thought it would be more dyanmic as a black & white. While the client I shot it for love it in color. Therefore this is more of a Chase Jarvis question to the public, "Which do you prefer photo A or photo B". Hit me back and let me know. I will tell you this much, my client definitely loves the photo one particular way over the other. I am curious to know how many other will agree with that style. I will follow up in this blog by posting the client's preference only after comparing the results of your choices. So show this blog around the office, take it to Starbucks with you, discuss it at the dinner table during family time, or make it a school project. Just give me your opinions.
I think the green makes the shot. The subtle browns on the stairs help separate the darks tones. -Steve
ReplyDeleteThanks for the mention on your blog. So far it looks very promising and I will be watching and following it. I see that I am the first to comment and we both know that I like the image in B/W. I'm sure Chase would too. :D
ReplyDeleteYes I would get you up at 2AM... might have to run for cover, but you will know I am there to serve you notice of anything I see wrong. So beware.
Sherman
@ Steve...
ReplyDeleteWhy do you feel the green makes the shot? If anything the green leads the eyes towards the railing in the background. Which has nothing to do with main subject... the model in the dress. Follow the lines in the image and see where it takes you.
Sherman
As a stylist and shopper my eye is drawn almost immediately to the green in the shot. That contrasts for me, with the black of the dress...and if this is an ad isn't that what you want the potential buyer to do? Stop and look at the photo? Make me want to rip it out the book and look at the details in the dress?
ReplyDeleteIn photo A, it feels like there is too much black and I can't figure out what I'm supposed to look at: the ceiling vs the dress (which I can barely make out) or the stairs. When I enlarge it comes across as a pretty photo but I would flip the page if I saw it in Vogue or Harper's.
That's just my shopping instinct I am NOT a photographer :)
@ Butterfly
ReplyDeleteI like your shopping instincts... but since the shot was suppose to be about the dress... the ceiling is what prevails as king. It captures your eyes first and then your eyes look for the next largest item... the dress. I myself see very little details in the dress in either picture as posted. Changing the image to B/W by other means I can control the intensity the ceiling has on the dress. But it's not my image to sell. :D
My vote is for "B" (the color version). The b&w conversion is beautiful, and had I never seen the original I'd think the b&w is marvelous; but for me the alien-green ceiling provides just a little extra contrast to keep the model's hair from bleeding into the inky black background. Likewise, the brown carpet helps the black dress pop out of the background just a little bit more than what I see in the b&w.
ReplyDelete