DSLR Photography Forum

Most of my recent photography hasn't exactly been viewer-friendly, so I've had to shoot some new material for an upcoming charity auction. It has an Easter/Spring theme, and my goal is to create a framed 11x14 print that will raise as much money as possible for the foundation. Flowers seem like a good subject with broad appeal and decorating uses. My tastes usually aren't the best predictors of success, so I'd really like to hear opinions about which of these would be more salable.

I'm not convinced that either treatment of this photo is going to be my ultimate choice, but it's the strongest so far. I'll do some beauty retouching on the final image, once I know which one it is.

I much prefer the black and white one.

Thanks, RP. I'm also liking the B&W, and think it would be a more decor-friendly choice than the strong yellow. I think my final choice will have to depend on the composition of the final image: the yellow might be too much in this image, but might work well when there's more negative space. Decisions, decisions...

Here's another candidate, shot earlier today:

Wonderful black and white conversion Matthew. I strongly prefer this over the yellow.

Hi, Matthew! I like your 3rd image the most. Composition wise, I like the shape and angle (and detail) of the stem, together with the placement of the flower's head in the frame. I believe that it is more artistic and less overwhelming than the other two. This arrangement is quite attactive to my eye.

Regards.....Dennis

Black and white for me too! I think it's the absence of colour that makes it striking - you almost expect there to be an explosion of colour but there isn't any...

Thanks for all of the feedback. I'm really surprised at the endorsement of the B&W version, because it's my favourite as well. Usually my preference is a good counter-indicator of what I should do. In this case, though, I did finally decide to go with the third photo, which is the flower from the side and in colour. The frame that I wanted to use for the B&W print came home from the shop with a big scrape along it, so I needed to use a backup frame that worked best for the colour photo. Sometimes it's the little things, right?

why does there have to ba a favorite? They are all brilliant. Sell them all.