Decisions, decisions.  I’ve been putting prints together for the upcoming New England Photo Review and this has made me take long hard look at what images to print in color vs monochrome.  Generally I follow the rule that images with strong graphic elements work well in monochrome.  I’ve heard it said that “color is the enemy of shape” meaning that strong forms often work best in monochrome and multiple colors can distract from strong graphic shapes.  This image of ChloeAnn’s back is a great case in point.

 The flow of her body creates a curving form that is recapitulated in the blurry reflection.  It works beautifully in black and white and that is how I have it on the website.  It also prints magnificently!  This is a version I could see on the wall.

But when I began putting my portfolio together, the image seems to fit best within a sequence of color prints.  The result was, in a word, odd.  The black and white version looked out of place.  So I printed a version in color.

 It is still a strong image and now the flow of the port works better, but I’m torn between that and the monochrome version which works so well.  Would a reviewer see the same disconnect? And would it matter to them?  This may just be a case where I need to look at the portfolio sequence longer, or reconsider the arrangement of images.  For now I have the color and the monochrome versions up on a sorting board so I can swap them back and forth in the portfolio sequence.