Colour or B&W for this picture: Hi all, our camera club's theme this month is hard promises so after thinking about it, I thought the the Boy Scout promise is one of the toughest...

happy sailor Loc: Ontario, Canada

Hi all, our camera club's theme this month is hard promises so after thinking about it, I thought the the Boy Scout promise is one of the toughest promises out there so I thought a photo of the Scout Salute might be a good idea. I have two versions one in colour and one in B&W. Which one do you think conveys the message better.

Thanks for any comments and feel free to critique as well.

Colour Version

(Download)

B & W Version

(Download)

DaveMM Loc: Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Colour. I don't think there is nearly enough contrast in the B&W image - the hand should, IMO, be darker.

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

I prefer the color rather than the B&W. In the B&W the hand blends too well into the background.

The idea for the photograph seems sound but I believe the photograph would be improved by better focus on the hand. The exposure duration was 1/3 of a second and the focal length was 93mm. Unless you used something (tripod) to steady the camera, camera shake or motion blur may be evident. Another idea would be to use a flash.

Hope this helps. 8-)

happy sailor Loc: Ontario, Canada

DaveMM wrote:

Colour. I don't think there is nearly enough contrast in the B&W image - the hand should, IMO, be darker.

Thanks Dave, I agree I would have liked the hand darker but I am next to useless with Elements, lol.

jeryh Loc: Oxfordshire UK

Definitely colour- the BWimage is flat and lifeless

infocus Loc: Australia

happy sailor wrote:

Hi all, our camera club's theme this month is hard promises so after thinking about it, I thought the the Boy Scout promise is one of the toughest promises out there so I thought a photo of the Scout Salute might be a good idea. I have two versions one in colour and one in B&W. Which one do you think conveys the message better.

Thanks for any comments and feel free to critique as well.

In this instance I prefer the colour only because the B&W lacks tone and contrast IMHO.

photophile Loc: Lakewood, Ohio, USA

happy sailor wrote:

Hi all, our camera club's theme this month is hard promises so after thinking about it, I thought the the Boy Scout promise is one of the toughest promises out there so I thought a photo of the Scout Salute might be a good idea. I have two versions one in colour and one in B&W. Which one do you think conveys the message better.

Thanks for any comments and feel free to critique as well.

I like the black and white for this-puts all the attention on what the hand is doing.

Ched49 Loc: Pittsburgh, Pa.

Black & white looks good in certain situations, faces, scenes with good contrast or to set a mood. I see no reason to make this one black & white.

Lens Cap Loc: The Cold North Coast

happy sailor wrote:

Hi all, our camera club's theme this month is hard promises so after thinking about it, I thought the the Boy Scout promise is one of the toughest promises out there so I thought a photo of the Scout Salute might be a good idea. I have two versions one in colour and one in B&W. Which one do you think conveys the message better.

Thanks for any comments and feel free to critique as well.

Color has more contrast and makes the hand standout, but the hand apears to be out of focus or has movement.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

DaveMM wrote:

Colour. I don't think there is nearly enough contrast in the B&W image - the hand should, IMO, be darker.

Color, but you should try to brighten up the hand.

redpepper Loc: Central NY

I prefer the b&w with bumping the contrast or clarity a bit.

ebbote Loc: Hockley, Texas

B&W definitely, has way better contrast than the color pic.

RichardQ Loc: Colorado

happy sailor wrote:

Hi all, our camera club's theme this month is hard promises so after thinking about it, I thought the the Boy Scout promise is one of the toughest promises out there so I thought a photo of the Scout Salute might be a good idea. I have two versions one in colour and one in B&W. Which one do you think conveys the message better.

Thanks for any comments and feel free to critique as well.

Because the b/w version lacks appropriate contrast and texture, the color version is better. But I think your idea might have more impact if you have two hands in the image, one in front of the other. The front one would be a 12-year-old's hand, the back one the hand of a much older man. This would reflect the idea of keeping the promise. Just a suggestion.

wlgoode Loc: Globe, AZ

happy sailor wrote:

Thanks Dave, I agree I would have liked the hand darker but I am next to useless with Elements, lol.

Looks like straight from the camera. BW straight from a digital needs a lot of tweaking.

happy sailor Loc: Ontario, Canada

wlgoode wrote:

Looks like straight from the camera. BW straight from a digital needs a lot of tweaking.

Thanks all for your comments, I still like the idea and will reshoot it with some different settings and light.

Thanks again for your input