Thursday, April 8, 2010

Like this, or like this?



You know how editor Mike Davis is asking people to send in two images to choose between? I've started on a new project, but it's just at the very beginning. I spend a lot of time looking at other people's work, and it's easy to be decisive about work when you have some distance from it (and Matt, I'm straight-up talking about you!)-- not so much when you're in the middle. I'm at that point where looking at my pictures and toning them and lining the up in neat rows and shifting them around is mostly about deciding what to look for next. Editing isn't always about finding a final sequence-- right now it feels a little like being a hunter-gatherer. You spread out what you found on the table, and head back out to find whatever fits, or advances the story, or surprises you. That being said, which one do you prefer?

14 comments:

katie said...

max likes the first one (composition). i like the second (moment - feels much less camera aware). oh boy.

p.v.y. said...

the first one! composition. and i like the look on her face more.

Tully said...

what is her story and what are you trying to say because each photo says two different things? In my opinion.

Jeronimo Nisa said...

as Katie above.
Sorry. I'm of the indecisive kind...

andrei said...

Perhaps you can tell us more first?

Thomas Simonetti said...

I like the first one. Hand on the slide... the boy's face...

Amanda said...

Tully, congrats on Concord. Tully & Andrei, I'm going to wait to write about the story until we get to publication. I was interested in photos as things in themselves, apart from the stories they're a part of. I suspect that to exist outside of its context, an image has to be superlative. That the context doesn't determine whether it's good-- it just is, in itself.

Cait said...

the first one, i like seeing both of their faces.

Tully said...

With that said, out of the two photos I would say the first one because of both facial expressions, the posture of the girl with her hand on the slide and her hip slightly popped out, almost like she's got attitude. But I think it shows a sort of forced confidence, and strength (not physical) in the way she's holding the younger kid. Also, the distance isn't that different between the first and second, but being a little closer really draws me in to the two people and that posture. The second photo feels distant to me, but it all depends what you want to say.

Greg Linch said...

Another vote for the first one. I too like seeing their faces and like her expression in the first one more (without more context, the expression also seems to fit better).

I also like how her hand is holding the slide as she leans on it -- it gives the image a better feeling of unity among the kids and the slide than her just standing next to it.

Greg Linch said...

Actually, looking at it again, the detail of the towel rag in her hand is much less obvious in the first one. Is it in other photos/is it important to the story? Seems like it might be and that might trump my previous comments.

Matt Eich said...

I'm a sucker for the body language in the first image.

Ryan Sholin said...

First one.

Ryan Gladstone said...

first one