Girl in the Orange Top

[John 2]

Selective colour isn't for everyone but ………………. The rectangle of the window is repeated in the picture frames. I thought that the absence of colour would emphasise this.

[rpcrowe]

I am not normally keen on selective color but, it works just fine in this case...

[Tom Barry]

I've done this on occasion. I like this one better than the ones I've tried.

[Shadowman]

Reminds me somewhat of a "living art" shot I did recently, nicely done.

[billtils]

Forget whether the treatment is "in" or not - this is great and works exactly as you intended.

[Manfred M]

I agree with what the others have said about the selective colour; it is very effective in this shot. I suspect that the image would likely work better without the window. I find it just overpowers the scene and adds unnecessary complexity to the shot.

[John 2]

Thanks all for the comments. There is an alternative crop but it is in portrait format. However, it needed to be quite a tight crop in order to prevent the corner line splitting the comp in two. Both versions achieve that but I guess I just preferred the posted version.

[NorthernFocus]

I am not normally keen on selective color but, it works just fine in this case...

Ditto. I think due to the simplicity of the scene.

[FootLoose]

I agree the selective colour treatment works in this scene but also wonder if that bright orange shirt would have stood out anyway. Regardless of that, you caught the woman at a good moment. Her pose looks like she is talking back to the person in the picture, and I think that is what makes this image successful more than the treatment.

[John 2]

Thanks Dan, Thanks Greg. Greg, Your right. The colour version works as well. The mono BG just gives it a bit more pop.

[Cantab]

I agree with eveyone else. The image works well. Interestingly, my initial reaction was not that this was artificially manipulated.

[shreds]

I agree with eveyone else. The image works well. Interestingly, my initial reaction was not that this was artificially manipulated.

Yes I can see your point of view in that respect.

Disliking selective colour for the sake of it is a rather blinkered even if it was over done at one time. Most photographic techniques run in and out of favour over time.

It is only the passage of time that mellows such views.

However the mass use of a techniques, be it tobacco filters, star filters, polarisers, selective colour or HDR, just shows how much like sheep, many photographers are, and how they do not use independent thought and experimentation to advantage.

Going against the grain can undoubtedly show true endeavour and individuality.

I do think this one has merit.

[billtils]

... I suspect that the image would likely work better without the window. I find it just overpowers the scene and adds unnecessary complexity to the shot.

I wonder if John cropped the image to place the girl on the left vertical third? That would require the space to the right and it's probably better to have the window there than to clone it out and have a blank white wall.

[John 2]

Thanks all for the continued comment.

[Manfred M]

I wonder if John cropped the image to place the girl on the left vertical third? That would require the space to the right and it's probably better to have the window there than to clone it out and have a blank white wall.

Possibly. When framing / composing a shot, we are always trading off one aspect of the scene for another.

In my view the window disturbs the balance of the scene as the window is so much larger and darker than the other rectangles. Is that more important than placing the women on one of the third lines? In my view, no but then I did not make this image.




I've always found it quite interesting when comparing the images of a number of different photographers who are photographing the same subject at the same time. The images are always different. My crop results in a totally different image than John's image.