DefinitelyDressage.com

In the spirit of posting more often, I'm going to shamelessly post a couple photos. This is a horse I photographed a couple weeks ago. Which do you prefer? Color or black and white? And you have to say why. If you would like to see larger versions, you can click the image and it will take you to the website.

Color:


Black and White:


I also want to find out what type of horse image products people actually buy these days. Do you still buy horse related t-shirts? Does anyone still use notecards? There are so many products available you can put an image on. Everything from key fobs and phone covers to yoga pants and shower curtains. Just wondering what trends are popular.

As an art piece, I prefer the black and white. If it were a portrait of a horse I owned, I would prefer color.

Me? I like the color one better. My personal preference on B&W is more contrast and "stark". This B&W doesn't pop for me. For me, not even enough contrast within the actual horse coat.

Having said that, and I can't quite put my finger on it, the background seems to detract from the horse in the color picture. Not quite sure what changes I'd make to the background but just seems to detract from how pretty the horse is.

If I would buy, maybe notecards, maybe a wall calendar, prints (I like metal prints and faux canvas).

What I usually buy is Snapfish on sale

Color! But I know the horse (not mine) and the color is much more who he is

I like both, but if I were buying note cards (which I do buy!), then black and white. As the person for a (white) grey horse, I'm pretty much a sucker for cards with grey horses on them!

I like the highlights on the horse which are present in the BW and which, on my screen, the color does not have.

The background on the BW,however, feels a bit wrong for this shot. I think the background feels too busy in BW and sort of detracts. In color it highlights the horses own color very well.

I always lean towards a good black and white

curious about the old shoulder injury

I am not much for buying stuff but yes, people do use gift /note cards and that would be my choice.

The color one lets me see more of who he is.... His strength and the flexibility in his body.
He's awesome! Thanks for sharing him.

I like the colour because I like the texture of the background in the color, and do not like the wierd wrinkly splotch behind his shoulder which is more pronounced in the black and white. Just me.

The colour one is so pretty!!
I love colourful skies etc so I think it's beautiful.

WheresMyWhite wrote:...

Having said that, and I can't quite put my finger on it, the background seems to detract from the horse in the color picture. Not quite sure what changes I'd make to the background but just seems to detract from how pretty the horse is.

...

I like the B&W better. I see so much texture, nuance in the picture in his coat and in the sky. But I don't know the horse. I think if I knew the horse I might like the color better, but maybe not. I love B&W, but not for everything.

I would buy notecards, I love nice notecards and always need them.

I like the color one. It just pops more to me. Agree with the comment that there isn't enough contrast in the B&W; maybe if the background was faded out more? Gorgeous photo of a gorgeous horse!

I like the black and white, but I tend to lean towards black and white naturally, and, as WMW pointed out, the background of the color photo bugs me for some reason. It's the pinkish color, it gives me a really weird feeling when I look at it and I just can't get past the mood it creates for me. It feels really unpleasant for some reason..lol. Not that the photo is unpleasant, nor the subject, as both are lovely.

I went to your site,. You should offer a set of notecards.

I like the color one better because the b&w screams "wyld stallionz" to me. Also, the color one looks more dressage-y (IMHO).

I still buy notecards and other things with horses. But only things that feature greys.

I like both but were I buying, I would buy the color one. I like the color of the background....and color in general. Especially for critters that have varied coat colors which lends to deeper textures. The B & W is interesting but the highlights on the horse give him a grayish...old looking...vibe in my mind.

Susan

I like the color photo. It just seems warmer and more vivid to me. I would buy notecards and calendars.

Thank you for all the input. I am thinking of offering a card package with various photos. I'm also thinking of offering a couple calendars later this year. One would be just barns and the other would be horses. Having a terrible time deciding on WHICH photos I would include though.

PaulaO wrote:I like the color one better because the b&w screams "wyld stallionz" to me. Also, the color one looks more dressage-y (IMHO).

I still buy notecards and other things with horses. But only things that feature greys.

This is actually his "wyld stallionz" shot. :

I actually like this last B&W better than the first. More contrast (and for me, good B&W is "contrasty". Is that a word???).

If you need opinions on barn or horse photos, you know where we are...

Cards, I'd probably pick 4 and go with a 4 card "set".

Where are you thinking of offering them?

I vote B&W, there is something with the background in the color shot that seems to "edited" and non-natural, to be honest? Maybe a different color would be better for me.

I like the B&W better. I might like it better if the clouds were blurred out a bit. To my eye, they are a bit distracting.

I feel a imbalance in the color portrait; the pink clouds seem to be fighting that beautiful neck, pulling my eye down. I wonder how it would look with more clouds left in at the top edge.

But, what do I know?

I buy cards, often giving them as gifts to horsey friends. It's so important that the horse stuff be right when giving to horsey people! Anyway, I like 16 card sets with 4 of each photo. If that kind of input matters to you at all.

boots-aregard wrote:I buy cards, often giving them as gifts to horsey friends. It's so important that the horse stuff be right when giving to horsey people! Anyway, I like 16 card sets with 4 of each photo. If that kind of input matters to you at all.

Yes, things like this do matter to me because I'm just fumbling along finding my way. I throw stuff at the wall, including suggestions and advice, and keep what sticks.

Good point on 16 card set with 4 cards each print. I like having a choice but maybe also a 5 or 10 card set of a really "special" photo??

Color because it gives the pic a richness and I love Bays. The B&W, to me, looks almost skeletal.