color or BW

[tony Rosca]

Hi guys ,
What you think has more impact , color or BW ? Also having people incorporate in my work it is new for me . What you guys think I am doing ?

[wolfnowl]

Well, they're both good but very different.  The way you've processed the B&W gives it that HDR 'grunge' look to it, which I don't normally like but works here.  Couldn't choose a 'favourite'.

Mike.

[DarkPenguin]

Color.

[joergen geerds]

Hi guys ,
What you think has more impact , color or BW ? Also having people incorporate in my work it is new for me . What you guys think I am doing ?

color.
the black&white version has a strange HDR-looking background with some strange halo-effect that makes the background very distracting, and it is not so distracting in the color version.

[tony Rosca]

color.
the black&white version has a strange HDR-looking background with some strange halo-effect that makes the background very distracting, and it is not so distracting in the color version.

In the B&W I did the HDR on background to give it the same importance as the kid. The picture was not intended to be a portrait and when converted to B&W the image focused more on the kid.
I even printed both 11x14 and have them side by side and still I can't choose.
Thanks for the input guys

[MGutman]

I prefer color for this composition because it has a very "painterly" look.  

[erictoddjohnson]

I prefer the color version, but it would be interesting to see the B&W without the HDR on the background.

Eric

[KeithR]

To me they both have good and bad points. Given the subject, the color seems too much, especially the HDR backgound, and the B&W doesn't have the feeling that I think you were tring to get.
I would have gone a bit farther in that I would have made the B&W darker and made in more of a brown tone(more chocolate) and add a touch of a lens filter or gaussian blur, just enough to soften it. I would then drag the color version onto the B&W(now brownish), making it a layer and desaturated it to take some of the color away but leave just enough. I would then paint a mask over the background to reveal the previous background. Just a suggestion

[tony Rosca]

Hi Keith, I have other images from this project were I desaturated the colors  . but it worked better because the light was very moody . I think in this case will not be too successful . Somehow even few guys don't like the HDR background it works for me because I want that rough texture around the kid.
I am trying right now to mix the colors and the B&w  basically making the shadows sepia and retain the full colors on the image too.
Thanks again guys for your help

[popnfresh]

I definitely prefer the color version. The wonderful earthen colors add depth and a sense of place that's missing in the B&W version.