Poll: please help me choose a silhouette entry

eoren1

It's been quite a productive week (probably because I've been playing hookey from work for the better part of it:wink). I managed to get all of my ideas for this round nailed down and now need help deciding on the best of the bunch. Greatly appreciate your thoughts.
E

1. Current entry - Set Sail


The contender(s) - these are of my 18 month old son. Title still in the works. I narrowed it down to 5 shots with nice silhouettes emphasizing the fun he is having. Can't decide amongst them though....

2:


3:


4:


5:


6:


7:
EDITED: Cloned a bit to enable straightening without loss of fingers.



I think I favor #7 personally.

Only PP in above was a bit of contrast and levels to make a stronger silhouette. I didn't want to throw him completely into black as I like have just a hint of detail in there.

Any thoughts on the shots, processing, etc? Like I said in another thread, I've been able to win over one judge on the past few contests and am really, really hoping for a top-10 this time (duh...aren't we all:dunno).
Thanks again,
E

ps - don't you wish you were 18 months old again????

Note: Edited to replace entry 7.

richtersl

5:

The ones of the little boy are delightful!!!!

Is he the same little fella who's in your avatar photo?

eoren1

3:

richtersl wrote:

The ones of the little boy are delightful!!!!

Is he the same little fella who's in your avatar photo?

Yup - that's my boy! He is also responsible for 1448 photos in my public smugmug account!!!

Here's a recent shot not in silhouette:


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eoren1

3:

Add 5 more votes for #3
Informal polling at work - preferred his smiling profile in that shot.
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eoren1

3:

Down to the Wire
So it looks like a tie between #3 and #7. Really torn here.
3: I like the fact that you can see details like eyelashes and the expression shows he is very happy. Not sure if I should boost the blacks a bit more to hide the diaper (faint blue on my monitor).
7: This one screams out PURE JOY to me and I love that! But the actual silhouette doesn't have quite as much fine detail to it.

For comparison:


Thoughts?
Thanks!
E

ps - sorry about the link not working for his real photo. forgot to enable external links until just now.

LiquidAir

3:

I prefer #3 beacuse his hand in the fountain tells a story and provides a clear center of interest. In contrast I find the fountain behind him in #7 distracting--the convergence of lines on the right stronly draws my eye out of the center of the picture.

richtersl

5:

eoren1 wrote:

Yup - that's my boy! He is also responsible for 1448 photos in my public smugmug account!!!

Here's a recent shot not in silhouette:


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He's a real cutie!!!

BTW, I think you made the right choice for LPS #5.

eoren1

3:

LiquidAir wrote:

I prefer #3 beacuse his hand in the fountain tells a story and provides a clear center of interest. In contrast I find the fountain behind him in #7 distracting--the convergence of lines on the right stronly draws my eye out of the center of the picture.

Thanks LiquidAir. Excellent point about the focal point in 7. #3 is sitting in the LPS5 entry thread but just wante to be sure for this last chance at getting into the semis...
Anyone else nervous or is it just me???
E

indiegirl

3:

Good choice! I like it a lot. I have an inordinate number of pictures of my children, too. They grow so dang fast!

Jesse

eoren1

3:

Thanks for the vote of confidence Linda and IndieGirl!

Ristyz

3:

#3. It places his face real close to the rule of thirds, the water lines don't pull you out of the pic, the face clearly shows the emotion and the wet diaper butt sag doesnt scream at you.