here's the deal: chris and i have a large, empty wall to decorate. and i just bought 2 livingsocial coupon thingies to print out 16"x20" photo prints. perfect, right? except AUGH WHICH TWO PHOTOS HELLLLPPP MEEEE.
i have several photos i'd LIKE to print out, but it seems like no two of them GO together well enough to be on the same wall. here's the one i'm nearly certain will make the final cut:
that's from amsterdam a couple of years back. i like it.here's one of chris's top picks, which i also like:
except! not really super-going-well with a graphic b&w print, you know? so chris was like duh, just make that one black and white as well.
except! not really super-going-well with a graphic b&w print, you know? so chris was like duh, just make that one black and white as well.oh. ok.
so here's where i desperately need someone else's guidance. i need to know:
so here's where i desperately need someone else's guidance. i need to know:a) does that photo lose all its impact when it's desaturated?b) do those photos look too ridiculous together ANYway?c) if yes to a) or b), can you please come over to my house and look at some photos with me and tell me what to print?
aaaaaand go!
(there's SO MUCH else going on, which i am failing to blog about, like, you know, moving in with my boyfriend and dying my hair bright red and stuff but PHOTOS THESE ARE CLEARLY MORE IMPORTANT PLEASE SAVE MY SANITEEEEEEE.)
*UPDATED*
attached now please find a highly professional skilled rendering of the wall the prints will be. all that crap on the left side are various weird vents / switches / whatevs that are built into the wall (though painted same color as wall, at least) which prevents anything normal from going over there AND from anything being centered on the wall, as a result.
1. I think making the photo black-and-white takes away it's beautifullness and also makes it look a little scary and creepy instead of idyllic, and
ReplyDelete2. I think I LIKE the contrast of the two photos. I don't know how I'd feel about them up on a wall (because I'm bad at visualizing, not because I'm using "I don't know" to mean "I think not"), but looking at them together on the blog page I like the way my eye wants to go back and forth between them.
I agree that making photo #2 b/w takes away it's breathtaking-ness. I love both photos though.
ReplyDeleteWe went with b/w photos in our family room and when I've tried to integrate a color photo in the mix, I don't ever like how it looks. I am far from a decorating genius, though.
Just b/c you use both of these photos for the blow up, doesn't mean you have to put them right near one another, though, right? Can you use them in different areas? I mean, I know you said you had one large wall to decorate and that's the dilemma at the moment.
Also, can't wait to hear details on the rest. Living with Chris! Cat moving! Red hair!!
I like both photos. You have to keep the second one in color. I'm not sure how well they would go together though. I've lived in my house for over two years and not a single piece of artwork has been hung. So I am of no help. Why then did I even leave a comment? I don't know.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely no to the b&w on the second picture. SO much more breathtaking in color.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to say, without knowing the room, walls, decor in general, if they wouldn't go together.
I love both photos in b&w. I might be biased though, because our living room only has b&w pictures. Some were purchased that way, and some were ones we or family members took and desaturated. We put them all in black frames and they look fantastic. As long as there's good enough contrast, b&w can be just as beautiful as color.
ReplyDeleteI was about to be like "Chris!? Moving in!?" ok we need to hear all about what ELSE is going on in your life too! Sounds exciting!
ReplyDeleteAs for the pictures I say go with both black and white. They'll go with more stuff in case you change up your decorating, colors, etc.
You definitely need two black and whites, but the second photo doesn't look quite as good in B&W. Maybe you could play with the contrast a bit? Or just find yourself a new picture. :)
ReplyDeleteHey, I love the photos but I think we can do better. :) Email me both of them and I'll see if I can make them pop a bit more in Photoshop.
ReplyDeleteI am agreeing with the second one looking better in color. Ocean colors are way to vibrant and beautiful to make black and white. I do LOVE the first one in b& w though. Absolutely stunning.
ReplyDeleteI don't know that you could do a color and a b & w on the same wall? But I'm more nit picky and matchy-matchy than some folks so it's all in the eye right?
I am a sucker for ocean scenes though.
I think the photos are great! But I don't like the 2nd one in b/w the way that you have it there. If Carrie can fix it, then I think you are in business!
ReplyDeleteBoth pics are great. But I *love* the Amsterdam pic with bikes... although I may be slightly biased here.
ReplyDeleteThe pic I love and have never been able to find is the "kiss", when WWII ended. Do you know which one I am referring to?
oooo exciting stuff! the move-in and hair-dying i mean...im very very sorry but am not super excited about which pictures you choose ;) good luck and cant wait to hear more updates!
ReplyDeleteI have that Amsterdam photo, although mine is a HUUUUGE print from Ikea in b/w with a red bike in the middle.
ReplyDeleteOceans should be blue, not b/w, so I agree with others. You have thousands of gorgeous photos, so if you really want b/w I'd use a different one.
Congrats on moving in!
Wow, exciting!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely don't b&w the ocean shot - it loses the impact. They work together in the theme of "beautiful places that are not here."
I'm not going to be any help here so I apologize.
ReplyDeleteI don't love the colour print when you make it black and white. It looks so beautiful in colour and in black and white it's sort of meh.
I also do not love the pairing of the first print with the second print in colour. I feel like you need 2 black and white print or 2 colour prints (but I don't know anything so really, you shouldn't listen to me.)
I love LOVE the first picture but it's so detailed and gorgeous that I can understand why you're having a tough time pairing another print with it.
See? NO HELP AT ALL. Sorry.
a) Yes. Keep the color, it's gorgeous and gives the brain a mini-vacation just to look at it.
ReplyDeleteI would hang them on different walls, probably in different rooms. What kind of color do you have going in the room you diagramed? What kind of mood are you going for? Maybe it wants the B&W from Amsterdam (which I also love, but it's kind of moody maybe?) or maybe it wants the color and warmth from the "mini-vacation-for-the-brain" poster.
I'd be happy to come over, but I'd probably try to talk you into printing out about 10 posters.
I do like the color print in black and white, but not nearly as much as when it's in color. I love the bicycles, too - is there any way you could add color to that one? Just a thought (although, I do like the nostalgic black and white look of that one...)
ReplyDeleteWow, I am no help at all.
Hmm. I like the first photo, but not the second. You definitely need two black and white photos, but the second photo just doesn't work - it's pretty with colour, but nowhere near as striking as the bikes.
ReplyDeleteWhen you're picking your second photo try getting a layout that mimics the first one a bit - so lots of action on the bottom third, with maybe a little bit of curved white space at the top. That way if the image SUBJECTS don't quite pair up, at least the images will still look right together.
Just my two cents as a qualified.... erm... Well nothing really!
I think there's an echo in here, but I'll speak anyway. Keep the second in color and hang next to the black and white. Too much matchy-matchy would make your place look like a catalogue anyway. =)
ReplyDelete