I'm hoping to get some honest opinions of the background design used for this image. It's a bit of a departure from what I've done in the past and would like to see what others think before I move forward - either with or without it.

Thanks everyone.

James....here is what jumps out at me. Background only: It doesn't appear complete to me. It's broken into 3 segments, all various sizes and the logo itself is broken as well and draws my immediate attention right to the uprights of the logo coming out of each side of his pads. The there is multiple angles that also kinda throws things off a bit.

Frank

James: Since you asked....

I like the idea, but I don't care for the background because it has elements that we typically would try to avoid in our backgrounds. The horseshoe isn't coming out of the subject's head, but it is a distraction, all the more so for its curve that is almost the same as that of the child's face. Also, why have the horseshoes in the background if none of them will ever be visible in their entirety? Again, I get the idea, and I like the depth created, but the design of the panels doesn't work for me.

I would like the background more if the horseshoe was complete maybe in the upper-left section of the photo on a single panel. The young man in photo is nailed down though...

How about a background showing a couple of old-time Colt's -- Unitas, Lennis Moore, etc

Hey James,

Like the others stated above, I get the concept but it doesn't work for me (sorry). What if you were to use a background much like what is found during press conferences? Specifically, I'm thinking of the NHL coach's press conference where they have a solid colour background but with the team logo & one of the main sponsor's logos spaced equally throughout the backdrop. Perhaps you could use the horse shoe and the association's logo. Something like this ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jlx6u7HJ3Q&feature=fvsr.

Just a suggestion.

Brent

Thanks Brent. I've done that before - about 4 years ago. I was hoping to find something a bit more modern and cool. I had reservations about this design, which is why I posted it here. I'm saddened a bit to hear about everyone's reservations about it, but they mostly match my own.

+1 on the distracting horseshoe bg and also the 2 black vertical lines. Draws too much attention when you first look at the pic.

Can you do it without the main Colts "horseshoe" logo. The white panels have a very subtle grey Colts that repeats. Maybe clone out the blue horseshoe but leave the white panels for depth and separation. My two cents....FWIW

rddayton wrote:
Can you do it without the main Colts "horseshoe" logo. The white panels have a very subtle grey Colts that repeats. Maybe clone out the blue horseshoe but leave the white panels for depth and separation. My two cents....FWIW

The background panels were created by me in Photoshop, so I could just turn off the layers containing the horseshoes. I tried it based on your suggestion, but it didn't have that pop I like.

I'll keep working on it!

Simpler idea:

the second looks much better

Me I think they're both great. I wouldn't change a thing in either. NICE JOB!

James... I can't really judge fairly because in both examples I'm more bothered by the extra space above the head and the cutoff hand.

Paul - these are uncropped. The space above the head is to allow for magazine covers.

James: I find the second background even more distracting than the first.

I like the color scheme (more dark than light) in the 2nd more, still feels off balance. Have you looked at a pattern made with the logo elements much smaller?

danmc wrote:
I like the color scheme (more dark than light) in the 2nd more, still feels off balance. Have you looked at a pattern made with the logo elements much smaller?

Yeah - I did that a few years ago. I'm looking for something a little different, but not different enough to piss off the parents.

Might work to just lower the opacity of the logo layer.

Here is one varied slightly and cropped correctly for 5x7 (and it's of my youngest son):