Beautiful! I too am becoming more enamored with monochrome. As you have illustrated, it gives most photos the look of fine art. I love the symmetry, flowers on either side, the glass surrounding the door, the steps and railing leading up to the door. Both the house and photo are very nice!

I think this photo is great. To give you some feedback, the crop is a little problematic for me. There is more room on the left than on the right - but if you cut off more on the left it looks like that would cause other problems.

Additionally, I am not sure about the branches on the right side - I don't know if they give the photo character or are distracting. If I had not seen the original I am not sure I would know what they are.   Posted: 07/09/2025 20:07:03

Douglas, I like the original version if cropped as you did with the B&W but I prefer the B&W conversion more. I'm immediately drawn to the design elements of the door with its detailed six panels. Your conversion was done well here. The smaller rectangular glass windows surrounding the door and the hanging light fixture above and centered within the arch and pitched roof really adds character and interest to this image. I think the crop is good when eliminating the foreground as you did. I like the flowerpots and handrails which I think add balance to the image. The window shutters above and to the left of the door are a bit distracting to me, but I understand it would be challenging to remove. The branches protruding into your image from the right side and in the lower corner are also a little distracting. I'm undecided if the reflections in the glass around the entrance door are a distraction or if they add interest to this image. In any case, a polarizing filter attached to your lens might have removed those reflections. This is a very pleasing image, and I think you succeeded nicely with the B&W conversion.   Posted: 07/10/2025 13:35:37

Doug, "Front Door" has a lot of interesting clean lines. I actually like the original with the brown door against the white window frames and black shutters. However for monochrome, I'd suggest adding more contrast. I tried by using one of the black and white adjustments in Photoshop.   Posted: 07/14/2025 19:41:23

Douglas, I can well understand your idea of converting the color image into a reduced black and white image; the many lines and structures, the symmetry are just perfect.
The crop you have chosen shows your intention, but it is not easy to maintain the symmetry. If you let the railings run into the lower corners, the distance on the right side of the roof is smaller than on the left. The problem can be solved by extending the right-hand side by 0.5 cm using Photoshop. The annoying branches were mentioned in the comments. I removed these with the copy stamp in the same way as the upper windows.
Finally, I increased the contrasts.
I'm looking forward to your opinion.
  Posted: 07/15/2025 19:41:42

Douglas, I like your idea to convert this to black and white. I also see symmetry in this photo but I think the window shutter on the left side of the image throws off the balance, unfortunately.

I do, however, like the original image with the bench at the foot of the stairs. It is a very welcoming entrance, I think. As such, I have a different suggestion for the image. I also kept it black and white and cleaned up some of the branches in the upper right hand corner. It's just another idea to a nice image.   Posted: 07/16/2025 21:41:45

Hi Douglas, Really like how you centered the door-it brings out the symmetry beautifully. The monochrome edit adds a timeless, slightly dramatic feel. I might like to see slightly deeper contrast, especially in the darker greys, just to give it more depth. But overall, it's a really clean and striking architectural shot. Nice work in Lightroom!   Posted: 07/18/2025 12:39:07