Either or Neither.... ?

[christilou]

First Leica M DNG file processed with Nik/VSCO, second with my trial copy of Alien Skin Exposure.

 

[Lightmancer]

Totally different mood between the two... The second almost verges on melancholia, while the first speaks of fresh mornings and a day of happiness ahead. Thus #1 for me.

 

[christilou]

Ok, thanks I was going for the more "natural look" with ASE as opposed to my usual bright and breezy style. I'm rather liking ASE for a totally different look and as a "one stop" plug in. I'm finding that VSCO requires a lot of fiddling to get skin tones right and it's difficult to replicate the same "look" each time using the same filter.

 

[gryphon1911]

I'd go with the first one as it gives the feeling of being happy and upbeat - more so than the second edit

 

[tilman]

colour- and tonewise I definitely prefer the second one. (skintones feel much better to me and the contrast in the dog's fur isn't as strong)

But the strong vignette on the second feels very artificial to me (looking at how bright the background is just under her forehead versus the background at the edge of frame right next to it.)
Could you get the same feel of the first one just by losing the vignette on the second one?

 

[SnapDawg]

First one for me too, Christina, by a mile. The dark vignette in the second version almost seems to suffocate Lil' B. BTW most images I've seen from you so far really resonate with your usual, brighter or 'sunnier' way of processing, including your softening vignettes IMO.

 

[Covey22]

I like the ASE one better. I just prefer more contrasty photos if given a choice. Very nice!

 

[Luke]

I would choose the second if the vignetting wasn't so strong

 

[Ripleysbaby]

Prefer the first. Softer.

 

[Ray Sachs]

I like the first, but that might be just because that's more the style I'm used to from your photos, so I've developed a filter/assumption that this soft look is what your world actually looks like...

I suspect if I saw them out of the blue without knowing who made them I'd probably like them both about equally...

-Ray

 

[Luckypenguin]

The vignette in the second needs a gradient from edge to centre rather than the sharp transition currently shown.

 

[christilou]

Thank you so much for your replies. For anyone who hasn't fallen asleep yet, here's my last edit. I took off the vignette and increased the blur a little more. Added some clarity to the eyelashes and the dog's eye with the LR Radial Filter. I'm happy with this.

 

[bilzmale]

I like where you have got to.