I was just recently commissioned for a campaign and shot about 1000 images to capture final image for this well known sports company. In the end, it came down to the two images above. As is usually the case, the final image is tough to choose, with lots of factors under consideration, lots of stakeholders picking their favorite. There was much debate.
I’ve posted stuff like this before and was really excited by the resulting discussion, so I figured I’d throw it out there again… WHICH IS BETTER, A or B?
Vote in the comments. Love to know ‘why’ if you care to explain your thoughts. 600 px wide versions of each image after the jump…hit [‘continue reading’ below]. After you all weigh in, I’ll tell you which one was used and why.
This is PHOTO A, below.
THIS is PHOTO B, below.
I prefer A. The flare is too much in B, imho. It obscures so much that it’s less clear what the subject really is. Maybe it’s just the flare.
I prefer B because the larger lens flare pushes my eye to the runner. Drives what I believe is the point of the photo.
I think A is a bit better, the sunlight in B absorbs a little bit too much interest… Very nice shots by the way!
Photo A, purely for the fact that flare is getting to be a bit too cliché now-a-days. A has just enough.
First I was to choice A but I think it’s true that it’s really cliché. So I agree to B but the flare is a but huge in the picture.
B has my vote.
Photo ‘A’ is my preference… Maybe because the composition seems cleaner. The post in the middle breaks it up and divides the scene well…. Plus I reckon the flare is just a little too much. I don’t like deconstructing images too much. So its fair to say I just prefer photo ‘A’ better too.
I like photo A better for the runner is not blown out by the sun. It is clearer. Not sure what the advantages of photo B would be. But I am a novice.
I agree with Daniel that A is better, because to me I feel that the subject is the runner and with A, the runner is what I would notice. B just takes my focus to the center light, and away from the runner.
B for me… It’s as if she’s running out of the light which makes it more interesting if not aesthetically better. At least to me
A. I find the flare in B too distracting. It’s almost like the flare is the story.
Advertising; the first rule is to interrupt, second to engage. What your saying is bad is exactly what will draw the attention of the ads audience.
A. I find the flare in B too distracting. It’s almost like the flare is the story.
None.
A – too ordinary
B – distracting flare
I’d work on B some more – reduced flare a bit and done something with the black blob (a car) on the left
From a Client perspective I would say A – more energised image, fresher, less romantic, more real. B looks like she’s being hurled forward by some sort of nuclear blast. She also looks tired. You can’t make out any detail in her clothing/shoes. Location also looks too exotic – this should be every woman, running at her own pace, in her own life. Normal but a better version of normal.
However, the decision was probably B.
….. B
It depends on what the client is looking for. If I was selling sporting apparel to women (which this photo is clearly for), I would go with B. The woman in B looks like she is running fast and with a sense of power due to the flare. In A she looks static which is the opposite of energetic, which is (theoriticly) the point of running apparel. In addition, B has a warm and fuzzy feeling which the target audience (young women) would find appealing. They will have a positive identification and connection to B and that is what will get.them to buy the clothing in it.
A is my vote, Picture B looks like the runner will be vaporized 3 milliseconds later from the thermonuclear blast behind her. You as the photographer may be gone in 4 milliseconds 🙂
A. Too much flare.
I can’t believe there was much debate over this. Unless the sports company is selling a mist that follows you when you run, the obvious choice is A. When I saw B all I thought was that photo was either way over exposed or photoshopped really poorly. That is one huge circle of confusion.
I have to say Photo A, simply because the flare, although artistic, takes away from the theme ‘Runner’. Photo A is a safe choice, clearly obvious. Also the runner’s stride in Photo B seems off and Photo A shows the runner smiling which would definitely be a good selling point for the client.
Is it possible to mix both?
In A, I like the clean image, but I’m not a fan of what it seems like the athlete looking at the camera (though I do like her smile; kind of like, “I’m running my ass off, and it feels great”)
BUT (the inevitable but)…
This is a photo for a sports company, and I imagine they wouldn’t want to necessarily have the model giving so much attention to the camera. The image should be about her, and her alone — not her interacting with the audience (of course, this might depend on the context of the ad; I’m guessing here). While the flare in B is distracting, I’m a big fan of how her head is slightly tilted back while she drives her body forward.
So, if you could combine the cleanliness of A (and perhaps the positioning of her back leg, too) with the pose of B, then I think you’d have your winner (then again, you guys are damn good in post… you could swing it :D)
VOTE FOR PEDRO…errr i mean…
I VOTE B – everyone has stated the obvious about A, but their is so much focus on the runner in B vs. A. Even with the Sun Flare. Plus her shadow in B is much more pronounced vs. A which blends in with the shadows of her surroundings which makes her part of them not separate from them. Plus the whole premise is the “jump” right? She doesn’t look like she is jumping in A vs. B where you captured a jump.
peace n bacon grease
I believe that photo A does a better job of selling the apparal, and if that’s what the client is after, then I’d go with A. Photo B might catch the eye more, but with photo A, you still get the “sunset, running at dusk” look and looks cleaner.
Pic A! Too much flare on B.
Photo A for sure. Was looking at what made A so appealing and the flare in B means you lose all those things which make A so great.
B represents a style that speaks to certain time period… Today.
I expect a hip (guessing) company would lean towards B.
A
A! Because the models face looks prettier and withwout flare i can see more “deepness” along the sidewalk.
For me, I choose B over A
Yes, B too much flare and distracting but for me, B looks more natural than A. You can see her face in A like looking at the camera just like a posing picture. For most of the clients,they will prefer A because it looks normal. Come on, this is 2014 and we need some creativity and throw away all the old stuffs.
The flared area would allow for copy and also draws more attention to the photo, but I like A better !
A….flare is distracting in B.
It’s really a toss up for me because I don’t know what the company in question is trying to communicate to their potential customers. A.) feels to me like leisurely morning stroll from the common soccer city soccer mom and slightly tense and planned where as B.) says to me something like an exciting burst of release. Her head looks like it’s tilted slightly back (more than A anyway) and feels almost like she’s just gonna throw herself into the light letting go of everything. So if your marketing to soccer moms or tightly wound people I would go with A if your marketing to a more creative let loose kind of group I’d go with B. Something like the difference between Windows and Apple you know?
I prefer A. B makes me want to look away from a flare. A makes me want to run outside.
B,B,B
….because we are not able to fully recognize her so she can be every woman and the spectacular motion created by the massive flare makes her look like she has been shot out of a cannon and is flying…….even though we all know Chase prefers Nikon to Cannon, very politically correct on his part, lol.
Possible promotional tag line: “Do you just want your athletic gear to support you? or do you want it to propell you!”….let’s go for a ride!
I like B. The runners feet are both off the ground and she appears to be propelled by the energy
depicted by the flare.
I Prefer B. Maybe we distracted on the light of the sun, but if you notice the color & shadow of a woman that seems run fast.
I prefer A, the runner is clearer, her face is nicer, and the reflection from the lens gives a nice touch. Photo B instead is more dramatic, but I feel it is excessively blown out, with the huge circle of light in the middle. The expression in her face is also less compelling.
A gets my pic. It is the more cleaner shot, It just feels more like a more natural shot. You get the hint of lens flare that adds to the shot as well.
B looks like a forced blown out shot with a lens flare added to it. I’m a vfx film artist and to be it just has that fake feel to it. The shot just doesn’t look organic and it feels forced. Someone mentioned that you see the face better, I completely disagree. Half her face, and her body for that matter, is washed out and has less detail. I mean if they wanted to have a ridiculous flare disturbing the image, they should have added in some jj abrams anamorphic horizontal flares as well.