V-ball poster

I started out with a white background & then thought a dull red that matched the court walls might work out better.

What do you think?

BTW, this will look better in a color managed browser. It should look a tad dark in others.

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idk, it's a real toss up for me. I really like the classic white bg look...but the red bg looks good as well. I guess for me i'd still have to say white bg. but I guess really depends on what you're going for. if you really want the team colors to show more then definitely red. otherwise go white. hope that helps a little.

That is nice Frank. I like the second best. did you try a black bg?

I like the red bg. Also, watch the color temp and white balance of each photo... it can throw off some of the photos

I like the red much better but if you use the red make sure to change the style of the text. The red stroke around the text on a red background doesn't look good at all. Either change the stroke to the same color as the word "St Louis" on the shield and keep the text color black or maybe change the text color to the "St Louis" color and add a black stroke.

Something I did for a poster last year was to add texture to the background to make it a bit different. My background was also red and it looked too plain. I used a "crayon" texture in photoshop and adjusted the scale to suit my taste and it looked great. The texture added more character and depth to the poster. Don't over do the texture... just make a subtle change or it will overpower the photos and you don't want that.

One final critique... you have some great volleyball photos on that poster, (the top left is my favorite), but the largest photo you are showing is IMHO the most boring of the lot. It's the focus of the poster and there is too much background in the photo and not enough action. It's wasted real estate on the poster. The largest photo that grabs your attention should be one of the best. I would crop that photo to a portrait format with just the two main players and either add another photo or two to take up the space or enlarge and shift around the photos you already have to make a better collage. The top left photo and the one directly under it are great and they should get more attention.

Just my thoughts. I hope they help.

That's what I was thinking & I couldn't make up my mind either!

I thought about it, but then my drop shadows wouldn't work & I just couldn't give them up! (I know, not a good reason!)

Part of the problem is the color temp of the gym "lighting". Every part of it doesn't have the same light, as in #1 in the original thread where you can see that the ball is white, but the vertical tape by the antenna isn't. Part of the problem is that I slightly biased in some magenta because I don't care for yellow skin.
I plan to make a full size test print to see how that will work & will tweak the individual images before I deliver the 12X18" print.

I totally agree with you & I'm still thinking about adding another image to the top-left corner of the net.
My problem is that I didn't think it through before I shot & then decided I needed to try & include shots of everyone on the team & I just didn't have all of them, so I used this shot. As they say, PPPPPP!

From what I see here, I also agree with you on that. But in the full size image, the stroke looks pretty good, so I'll wait to see how the proof comes out.

I'll take a look at that, too.

One of mine, too. I wish I could have had all of her face in it.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to comment on this. Doing single images is easy compared to trying to get a group of them to work together!

I thought about it, but then my drop shadows wouldn't work & I just couldn't give them up! (I know, not a good reason!)

Change it to a white Drop Shadow Just a thought.

No Smily there, so I wonder where you saw that? It's a pretty cutting edge concept for an old shooter like me!

Here's an update. I added two shots to the wasted real estate in the larger image. I also decided to cover my butt & add a drop shadow to the red text.
I don't seem to have the "crayon" texture in PS7. Maybe I looked in the wrong place. or it was an add on effect?

Here's a crop of just the top half of it. (Not looking all that good at 146KB, is it? I think I had to use Q4 to get the size down.)

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Update: I picked up a 12X18" print today & it looks great!

Thanks for your input!

Much better use of space PhotosGuy. I still don't like the red stroke on the text though. (I'm a stubborn SOB).

I'm using CS2 and I found the wax crayon texture under "Layer Style, Pattern Overlay".

I absolutely love textures! A subtle texture on your poster background and I think your photos would jump off the paper even more. Just MHO. What really counts is that your customer likes it.

Cheers!

Oops! Something else I just noticed... your top and bottom text is kinda close to the shield. The top text looks like it might actually be touching the shield. You might want to resize the shield a bit smaller to allow a better clearance.

Oh... and did I mention that the stroke on the text should match the stroke on the shield? LOL I just couldn't resist!

Me, too! It does look good on the print, though. Really.

Thanks.

I'll play around with them & maybe use one next year. Gotta' keep showing something new.

I thought the shadow from the "p" added a 3rd dimension, but it's probably too subtle & looks like a miSteAk. Again, It looks OK on the print if anyone even notices it.

That's the design of the shield. No stroke on my part.

Thanks for taking the time to comment! Your comment on, "too much background in the photo and not enough action." was a big help. I knew it needed something but couldn't put my finger on what it was.