Composition question

[KC1]

If you judge the quality of a photo by the number of likes it gets from people on the internet, you will have a lot of bad photos that you think are good.
Judge them by what you like and decide what it is about them that makes it one you like and then attempt to produce more that you like.

 

[table1349]

There is only one "Like" that matters..........................................Yours.

 

[dennybeall]

The title of the post being Composition, I'll comment on that. Looking at the first one the flower looks kinda evenly distributed in the photo while the second has a focus point on the right side of the center that pulls my eye in.
Neither is a great photo but comparatively speaking the second has more of a subject.

 

[wfooshee]

My preference is the first one. The subject is the entire flower, not just the center, yet the center is still more interesting, with a larger portion of the center being more clearly focused.

They are both very shallow DOF images, but enough of the first one is clear to make an interesting thing to view. The second one is just blur except for that edge of the yellow center.

 

[chuasam]

I prefer #1

 

[407370]

Thanks for all the replies.
I am not a social media person but I was curious as to why one was much more liked than the other and I wanted to see opinions as to why.
I love both pics and plan to do a few more wild flowers in the same vein and have them printed for my wall.

 

[Tim Tucker]

A few points for discussion.

First I do not see or understand your flow:

The in focus to out of focus bits of the pic run in opposite directions in each pic.

They don't, as from left to right they both show in focus-out of focus-in focus . I was discussing this in another thread, we as photographers tend to see images in terms of the logic and metrics that we understand We then tend to judge images in relation to that logic. In this case it's front focus to back focus and is more a logic that you attach to the image, not one the viewer really sees.

When discussing composition also the images have only been assessed through the metrics that are understood by photographers, and not through the eyes of the viewer. Two very important considerations have been largely missed, namely colour and the relative nature of vision.

With the relative nature of vision you have presented them both to us together, to compare against each other at the same time:

1) Which is not how they were presented on Instagram. The first image, was presented first, at a time when there were more viewers on-line. At the time of presentation it was fresher, newer. The second is more of the same at a later time when fewer viewers were on-line.

2) We see in relative values, not absolute. When you present the two images together, at the same time, our impression of what we see is largely governed by the differences between the two and less so by the absolute values of each. For instance many are probably drawn by the warmer colour balance of the second image when viewed together. It is warmer than the first and the first looks cooler in comparison. But it only looks cooler when directly compared to the first. Which is not how you presented them. When seen in isolation the first has quite a warm balance which you will see when compared to a slightly cooler version because you notice the differences:

The original is on the bottom and seen like this it has a slightly warm and better colour balance than the other image you posted later.

Viewed in isolation the first has better balance in composition and colour, it is more complete as an image with better tones and textures. It was also a fresher idea when it was posted to a larger audience.

Just some thoughts.

 

[407370]

Ah, I understand. When you do photography with a cell phone, it controls things. My comments would have required you to control things. Nevertheless I prefer the first image.

I must sell my house and spend 50 grand on a macro set that I will use 3 times a year. I will post up some close up pictures of my divorce papers and the tears of my children when they have nowhere to live.
Control is an illusion.