Could you please choose..

Yet another experiment - involving both in-camera settings and a little processing in some cases. Could you please just choose the one image that appeals to you the most....
And thanks for your patience - all the gaps have been filled - no more cityscapes! Just flowers instead! LOL :)

[Helge E. Storheim]

Difficult, but I think my fav would be bottom left. I like the ones with darker background, it makes the orange/yellow of the flowers pop. To me the bottom left has the best balance between subject and background.

[Jerzy]

Right side...second down :-)

[Babs]

Like Helge, it is a difficult choice. I too prefer the darker backgrounds and all of the dark background ones look good but if I had to choose between them I would probably pick the centre right purely because of the way the flowers are leaning. .

[Ann H. LeFevre]

LOL I like the darker backgrounds too but I would choose the upper left! I like the contrast but you can still see some detail in the background which I think is a nice textural contrast to the flowers themselves. Be prepared to get quite a few other opposite opinions too!

[Susan Wakely]

Top left for me.

[Joan Robillard]

Top right

[Phil Howcroft]

right hand middle , the dark background showcases the orange tips better and the grasses leaning right to left is how we "read" a scene

[FBailey]

Middle right for me, more dramatic

[Corinne C]

Like Phil I prefer the middle photo in the right hand. I like the brighter orange of the flowers and the darker background.

[Carole Sandford]

I think middle right. I prefer the darker background.

[Shutterbug]

I like the middle right, with the highlights on the plant and the darker background, but I think @olivetreeann makes a good point.

[amyK]

Middle right; like the dark background and the background lines are more pleasing in that direction.

[jackie edwards]

#1

[Jane Pittenger]

Middle right…the diagonal takes me into the photo and I like the contrasts

[Rick]

Top left.

[Jen]

I lean towards the darker backgrounds, but not too dark. I like top left, though it’s a tough call!

[Diana]

So difficult as they are all lovely, bottom left for me ;-)

[Walks @ 7]

I going with the middle on the right. The colors pop and background doesn't take away from the flowers.

[Brian]

Tough call! middle right

[Laura]

I prefer bottom right but they are all great.

[Dione Giorgio]

My prefered option is the middle one on the right but they all look lovely.

[John Falconer]

For me it’s bottom left. Nice contrast and lovely colours.

[Merrelyn]

It's the top left for me Rob, but it was a tough call. I also prefer the darker versions.

[mittens (Marilyn)]

They are all so pretty. I can't pick one.

[Paula Fontanini]

I would have to say it's a close call but I'm leaning toward the bottom left.

[Fisher Family]

A tough choice, but I think middle right.

Ian

[Beverley]

Top Left

[Margaret Brown]

On my screen bottom right, I think every ones screens are different!

[Oli Lindenskov]

Lovely collage👍😊

[Olwynne]

Middle right for me, but they all have their merits.

[Skip Tribby - ​🖖]

I like the ones with the darker background better. (1,4,5) Of those I prefer the fourth one as I like the deeper color of the orange and the background is less visible

[haskar]

I choose the middle right one. Dark background, but still legible.

[Delwyn Barnett]

Middle right from me. I like the darker background and the direction of the diagonal.

[Junan Heath]

Top left

[Rob Z]

Many thanks to all of you who commented or chose a favourite. I guess you could summarize the results as follows-: The most popular image for this subject was produced using:
1. “spot metering and focus”,
2. a slight increase in contrast by using “dodge and burn” editing
3. Flipping the image horizontally.

If anybody is even vaguely interested in the numbers here are the results from over 30 responses. I’ve arranged them in order from the least votes obtained to the most votes obtained:

1 vote : 10 votes Comparing - Auto focus and metering (Top right and middle left – the lighter colours ) Vs SOOC Spot focus and metering: (Top Left and bottom right)

10 votes : 21 votes Comparing - SOOC Darker colour (Top left and bottom right) Vs Darker colour after “Dodge and Burn” editing (Middle right and bottom left)

4 votes : 17 votes Comparing Dodge and Burn darker colour reading right to left (Bottom left) Vs Dodge and Burn darker colour reading left to right. (Middle right)

Thanks again to all of you – I found this very interesting and I think it might be quite useful to me.
Cheers Rob

@paintdipper @dkbarnett @haskar @skipt07 @ollyfran @mubbur @craftymeg @beverley365 @fishers @bluemoon @mittens @merrelyn @johnfalconer @sangwann @la_photographic @briaan @joysabin @ludwigsdiana @jnewbio @rickster549 @jgpittenger @jackies365 @amyk @shutterbug49 @carole_sandford @corinnec @fbailey @phil_howcroft @joansmor @wakelys @olivetreeann @onewing @jerzyfotos @helstor365

[John Falconer]

Thanks. That was a bit of fun. Well done. John.

[Krista Marson]

i like top right

[Rob Z]

@blueberry1222 Hi Krista - thanks for your choice. That one was the sooc one using the Auto settings. :)