it's VERY close but B&W does more for his face color makes the hat pop, overall the color just has more emotion to it and tells a story. The red cheeks, red nose, and slightly sad face tell a story of coming home to the warmth of the indoors after being in the cold. Where as the B&W looks more like a dazed kid who was woken up before going out in the cold. The first one tells a better story and they say good photos tell a story so I go with color.