Alrighty. Regardless of the fact that this A or B series (here, here, and here) has been really interesting for us, helpful, and popular with you (the last such post received over 1000 comments in 24 hours)…
This time it is of even greater interest for us. You see, we’re doing some image editing around here and we’ve stumbled into a little internal debate about which one of these two images is actually better, A or B. [You might remember these shots from the Nikon D7000 campaign…]
Hearing from you will help really help us. No qualifiers, don’t worry about our objectives, or the “assignment”. We want to know which one of these shots you like better. And please tell us in the comments below, not via twitter. Raw preference. Period. If you can add some “why”, that would be nice too. Full 600 pixel wide images after the jump. Hit ‘continue reading’ below [and btw, I’ve got a $1 gentlemen’s bet riding with Erik about which one will win, so don’t let me down!]…
After you all weigh in, I’ll tell you which one I like, which one I thought you’d like, and why.
This is image A, below:
This is image B, below:
So which photo is better? A or B?
I like the color of
A
but the composition of
B
B.
I like the mood of A, but the shadow on the ground spoils the artificial nature of the lighting.
B though I like the color aesthetic of A better than B.
I like B more for a number of reasons:
1) B has a story. She is leaving the group in the background, this is more intriguing.
2) A feels awkward wrt to the woman. She’s just standing, in a fairly unflattering pose.
3) B provides more details as less is lost in shadow (i.e. the group in the background is more identifiable.
4) The lighting in A doesn’t really “flow” to me. It’s too artificial, making me wonder why because it doesn’t look like it’s coming from a street light or any “normal” light source.
-A-
I like the composition better in B but A is much more dramatic and holds more detail in the highlights. If it were up to me, I’d crop A down to similar a composition as B (maybe cut the models legs out), and that would have my vote.
B!