B&W verses Color and impact of photo

[cmrardy]

This pictures was taken this summer at a memorial for my cousin that died 1 yr ago. My family had asked me to take photographs during the memorial and it was a graveside moment I was able to capture.

I like both images, but for different reasons. I feel the wrist bands are important because they are in memory of my cousin. They have the birth/death dates on them, his name and a short line "We Continue his song". In the B&W version, the wrist bands get lost, but the tone of the moment is captured i think. In the color version, the wrist bands stand out more, but I am not sure the tone of the photo has the same impact as the B&W.

Suggestions, comments would be very helpful.

[Daisy Mae]

Hi Jeanne.

A totally non technical question sptings to mind first.

What mood do you want for the shot..High Impact or a more gentle feel...which is more how you envisaged it? When you have decided that then there are w ays to make either shot 'speak' for you.

I am very sorry for your loss.

[cmrardy]

My Aunt was comforting her grandson. I think it is a moment of grief and comfort at the same time. I am struggling because maybe I am just too close to the moment and the subject.

[Mike Buckley]

It's very admirable that you are trying to make a photograph about a situation that is so emotional for you.

If you want the lettering on the wrist bands to stand out more, filter the black-and-white conversion through a different color. I used software that doesn't have a channel mixer. Instead, it allows filtering through one hue and I used a hue that was in the area of red and yellow on the spectrum. If you have Lightroom, I'll try to replicate it using its Channel Mixer and I'll provide the values if that will be helpful. On the other hand if you want me to remove the photo, please don't hesitate to mention it.

[Daisy Mae]

I totally understand that Jeanne.

It's a powerful and important shot and i am sure you will do it justice.

[cmrardy]

Mike - I do like what you have done. I use LR4 and i have an old version of photoshop also. I am still learning LR.

Sharon - Thank you for your kind words.

[chauncey]

Mike stole my thunder...I quite often make selections of various parts of an image and PP them differently, would have been a simple matter to select the bracelets and apply the B&W conversion differently on the bracelets.

[Mike Buckley]

I quite often make selections of various parts of an image and PP them differently, would have been a simple matter to select the bracelets and apply the B&W conversion differently on the bracelets.

I actually converted the entire image to ensure that the numbers and letters on the bracelet stood out. I could have converted parts of the image using one filter and the other parts using a different filter, but that would have been more time-consuming.