Which one? (Model: Yours Truly)

[JamesD]

The eternal argument: Black & White or Color?
This photo hasn't been cropped, and I probably won't crop it, just because I composed it by peering through the front of the lens to see the light through the viewfinder...

For those who are interested... Self timer, 100mm, F/8, 1/90 sec, Kodak 400UC film (I love the stuff!). As you can see, I was standing in the shade (sun had been up less than an hour), but the stuff across the lake was in the sun. Metered off my palm, opened one stop, then hustled to get in the frame at the proscribed distance.

Anyway... Which one?

 

[darin3200]

I like the B&W one more. In the color one, the green in the background is competing for attention. In the b&w shot, the trees and lake are lighter, which draws attention to you because of the darker coat and hat.
Good shot by the way :thumbup:

 

[JonK]

I think the colour version is oversaturated. The skin tone in the BW is much more pleasing and that, IMO, is the main thing to look for in a portrait. If the skin is gone its all gone. Next thing to look for would be sharpness, particularly in the eyes, you got that bang on.
anyway.....BW for me.
Nice job. :thumbup:

 

[Marctwo]

I guess those that generally go for B&W will go for B&W and those that generally go for colour will go for colour. But how would you rather people saw it? Inviting, empathetic colour or detatched, sympathetic B&W?

 

[JamesD]

Thanks for the replies! I, naturally, prefer the BW, myself. And I do agree that the color is highly saturated... that's UC film for you.

As for sharpness... that's a fair degree of luck. I focused on a tree, paced off the distance, turned the camera, paced off again, marked the spot with a rock, then metered and so on. I was hoping that F/8 would give enough DOF that I'd be mostly in focus. Overall, this is actually one of the better photos of myself that I've taken... which is to say that some will never again see the light of the enlarger.

Thanks again!

 

[elsaspet]

I much prefer the black and white version.