Remember when I did the original chasejarvisLIVE photo shoot way back in winter? If you recall, I was shooting the album cover image for alt/punk country band Brent Amaker and the Rodeo. We also did post production and editing on the images LIVE as well a few weeks after the shoot. Well now it’s time to print these suckers on a limited edition run of vinyl and there is somewhat of a debate on which image is better.
Simply put, and with no further explanation, I thought I’d ask for your thoughts. So which is better, A or B?
Vote in the comments. Also love to know ‘why’ if you care to explain. 500 px wide images after the jump…
[ also, reminder that if you like music and you like chasejarvisLIVE, I’m hosting rising hip hip star RA Scion (of Common Market and Victor Shade) TODAY in 90 minutes at 10:30 pacific/1:30 eastern (GMT – 8). Interview with RA and Village Voice/Time Out/Stranger cultural critic Charles Mudede, plus RA performs LIVE at the end of the show. Hope to see you http://www.chasejarvis.com/live today….]A. With the foreground lady laying down…
OR.
B. With the foreground lady standing up…
Love to hear your thoughts.
Don’t particularly care for either of them, but if I were to choose then it would be A. Simply because the upright model in B is too dominant of a subject and sucks in too much of my attention. However, if the dude in the white couch wasn’t holding anyone, and there was only one woman positioned like in A, a little bit more arched without the wind and a bit more in the middle, like a sacrificial “virgin”, then that comp. would be truly compelling.
A would be my pick. More drama. More mystery. Love the light. There are elements of B that I like compositionally that contribute to sense of story. I like the 2 cowboys at the back leaning against the wall. There is a sense of weariness rather than an intensity to B. But the woman at the center looks too comfortable in B, to neatly splayed across his lap.
I love the intensity of A. Love the way the light draws you in to the scene. Richer shadows. More texture.
B is bad composition and not in the sense of “making it interesting”
A is nicely balanced. Intruiging. Story waiting to happen.
Both images have their strong qualities. A has a more balanced, curved composition and some sort of mystery in it. B is more active and leaves a bit too much empty room here and there, but the standing feminine figure vs background gives strong unique rhythm and recognizability to the photo. And the feeling of the male characters seem more sympathetic to me, also their strong rhythm as a group, which reminds a bit Spanish classical painting. So, I’d vote “B”, especially if it would be necessary to add some texts somewhere in the design – the upper left wall surface e.g would be suitable for that.
I definitely think B is better.
The composition is a little more dynamic… I like how the girl in the foreground is cut-off at the top and bottom of the frame. And that she falls pretty much right on that rule of thirds line.
I also like the negative space on the top and bottom of the photo. It makes for a good balance. The sitting cowboy is DEFINITELY better than when he’s standing in A. I also like the 2 bookended cowboys in B a lot better, they are lit better and have better expressions. I also like the extra girl in photo B. And the background cowboys in B have slightly better poses and I like that they’re standing together.
The negative space really sells me on it though. Not just compositionally, but you’ve also got to think that this is a record album and you need space for text, possibly a UPC sticker. Maybe not important for the “artistic” aspect, but the record label sure cares.