Composition question

[407370]

I took the following pics and posted them on various forms of social media but not together. One pic had a significantly better response than the other.
I am interested in opinions as to why 2 very similar pics would have such a different response. My personal opinion is that each pic has a different flow, one is from left to right and the other from right to left.
See if you can guess which one was more popular.

 

[waday]

My guess is the second one got better "likes".

Were both posted at the same time? If not, at the same time of day, same day of the week? "Likes" and views can be highly dependent of time of day and day of week.

I get more "likes" if posted near the end of the workday (between 4 and 5 PM EST), and most of those people are from the East Coast USA. If I post later than this, say 7 to 9 PM EST, I get more "likes" from the West Coast USA. I guess it gets down to knowing your audience and when they are viewing social media.

In fact, I remember reading an article where people put together the best times to post on Instagram based on day of week and time of day. Here's The Best Time To Post A Photo On Instagram

 

[Rye]

Interesting. If I had to guess I too would think the second one got more response. But yeah the days and times posted could be a factor as well.

 

[Designer]

I'm anti-social, so I have no idea how they voted or why.

My favorite of the two is #1. More of the flower is in the frame, more of the flower is in focus, and the light is more interesting. I don't see the "flow" that you are seeing, whether l-r or r-l beats me.

 

[ronlane]

What they have said. I would say that #2 would probably have gotten better response.

 

[407370]

My guess is the second one got better "likes".

Were both posted at the same time? If not, at the same time of day, same day of the week? "Likes" and views can be highly dependent of time of day and day of week.

I get more "likes" if posted near the end of the workday (between 4 and 5 PM EST), and most of those people are from the East Coast USA. If I post later than this, say 7 to 9 PM EST, I get more "likes" from the West Coast USA. I guess it gets down to knowing your audience and when they are viewing social media.

In fact, I remember reading an article where people put together the best times to post on Instagram based on day of week and time of day. Here's The Best Time To Post A Photo On Instagram

Good point I will check and see what times I posted.

Interesting. If I had to guess I too would think the second one got more response. But yeah the days and times posted could be a factor as well.

Thanks for the response but the first one got 5 times as many likes.

I'm anti-social, so I have no idea how they voted or why.

My favorite of the two is #1. More of the flower is in the frame, more of the flower is in focus, and the light is more interesting. I don't see the "flow" that you are seeing, whether l-r or r-l beats me.

The in focus to out of focus bits of the pic run in opposite directions in each pic. The first one got loads more likes.

What they have said. I would say that #2 would probably have gotten better response.

The second one is my fave but not everyone else it seems.

 

[fmw]

I don't like either image but I would prefer the first one if I had to choose. I think the center of the flower would be just as prominent with the petals in focus and would make the image more natural.

 

[limr]

I also would have thought that the second got more likes. It does seem to control the leading lines a bit better than the first one. Though I do prefer some elements of the first better than the second, I would have thought the second had a bigger impact.

But as Wade said, it might also have had something to do with when each was posted.

 

[JacaRanda]

#1 Left to right thingy in my brain.

 

[407370]

I don't like either image but I would prefer the first one if I had to choose. I think the center of the flower would be just as prominent with the petals in focus and would make the image more natural.

Thanks for the input. Bear in mind that this flower is only about 1.5 Cm wide so quite difficult to get in that close and keep it all in focus with my limited equipment (phone + add on macro lens).

I also would have thought that the second got more likes. It does seem to control the leading lines a bit better than the first one. Though I do prefer some elements of the first better than the second, I would have thought the second had a bigger impact.

But as Wade said, it might also have had something to do with when each was posted.

I checked and I posted the first one around 11 pm GMT which is 7 Pm East coast time, is that a good time?
I posted the second at 7 Am GMT which is around 3 Am East Coast time.

#1 Left to right thingy in my brain.

Which I suspect is actually a basic reason for the preference.

 

[waday]

I checked and I posted the first one around 11 pm GMT which is 7 Pm East coast time, is that a good time?

When did you post the second? It's hard to compare if you only have one data point.

 

[407370]

I checked and I posted the first one around 11 pm GMT which is 7 Pm East coast time, is that a good time?

When did you post the second? It's hard to compare if you only have one data point.

Yep, good point. Fixed the post now to show both posting times.

I posted the first one around 11 pm GMT which is 7 Pm East coast time, is that a good time?
I posted the second at 7 Am GMT which is around 3 Am East Coast time.

 

[waday]

I checked and I posted the first one around 11 pm GMT which is 7 Pm East coast time, is that a good time?

When did you post the second? It's hard to compare if you only have one data point.

Yep, good point. Fixed the post now to show both posting times.

I posted the first one around 11 pm GMT which is 7 Pm East coast time, is that a good time?
I posted the second at 7 Am GMT which is around 3 Am East Coast time.

While the difference in "likes" can be due to any number of things and I'm going to focus on the US, I'm guessing it was the time difference. At 7 PM EST (11 PM GMT), there will be a lot of people on their way home from work, or at home lounging around, so they'll be on their phones or computers. At 3 AM EST (7 AM GMT), most people in the US are asleep or going to sleep on the West Coast.

In the UK, I'm assuming at 8 AM BST (3 AM EST) people are already at work or commuting to work and don't necessarily care about looking at photos on social media. Even at 12 AM BST (7 PM EST), you'll probably have a few people awake in the UK.

These are just thoughts.

 

[limr]

^^ This.

 

[fmw]

I don't like either image but I would prefer the first one if I had to choose. I think the center of the flower would be just as prominent with the petals in focus and would make the image more natural.

Thanks for the input. Bear in mind that this flower is only about 1.5 Cm wide so quite difficult to get in that close and keep it all in focus with my limited equipment (phone + add on macro lens).

I also would have thought that the second got more likes. It does seem to control the leading lines a bit better than the first one. Though I do prefer some elements of the first better than the second, I would have thought the second had a bigger impact.

But as Wade said, it might also have had something to do with when each was posted.

I checked and I posted the first one around 11 pm GMT which is 7 Pm East coast time, is that a good time?
I posted the second at 7 Am GMT which is around 3 Am East Coast time.

#1 Left to right thingy in my brain.

Which I suspect is actually a basic reason for the preference.

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.