Weekly Photo Contest (19 Aug - 27 Aug) Topic - Expression(s)

[Razeus]

Lol. No flash was used. Hair in focus? Really? Do you think that her hair is significant overall to the photo? Or would you say it was more of the eyes and face? The shot is clean and clear overall with great color and lighting; the blown out portions of the background are irrelevant to the overall feel of the photo. You don't know what her expression is? Any parent can recognize the expression that displays a look of when they know they are in trouble and at the same, a child's innocence. The POV is intended to show a parents perspective.

First and 3rd place winners are clearly snap shots that belong in a family album. Certainly not something that goes in a photography book or one's portfolio. Is a child's face covered with food that original for this "brilliant shot"? The kid left hand is a distracting element in the photo.

The 3rd place winner, the girls face is not lit and hides her expression. Her face is in the shadows so to speak Not to mention the tight crop making her proportions with the background...off.

2nd place winner is the best photo of your "top 3".

Of course, this is subjective and I don't expect many to tell great photos from merely snapshots of the family album, but for a "photography contest", I'd expect better judging and much better entries to rank in the top 3.

 

[acearchie]

Lol. No flash was used. Hair in focus? Really? Do you think that her hair is significant overall to the photo? Or would you say it was more of the eyes and face? The shot is clean and clear overall with great color and lighting; the blown out portions of the background are irrelevant to the overall feel of the photo. You don't know what her expression is? Any parent can recognize the expression that displays a look of when they know they are in trouble and at the same, a child's innocence. The POV is intended to show a parents perspective.

First and 3rd place winners are clearly snap shots that belong in a family album. Certainly not something that goes in a photography book or one's portfolio. Is a child's face covered with food that original for this "brilliant shot"? The kid left hand is a distracting element in the photo.

The 3rd place winner, the girls face is not lit and hides her expression. Her face is in the shadows so to speak Not to mention the tight crop making her proportions with the background...off.

2nd place winner is the best photo of your "top 3".

Of course, this is subjective and I don't expect many to tell great photos from merely snapshots of the family album, but for a "photography contest", I'd expect better judging and much better entries to rank in the top 3.

Right, where to start. Firstly, I stated that no flash was used.

I realise that the eyes and mouth are the centre point of the photo but for me the hair being in focus at the back of the head and not at the front is distracting for me.

I agree that it's a good photo but to say that the blown out areas are irrelevant to the photo is not right in my opinion as they are there and are therefore distracting when I view the photo.

I'm no parent therefore from what you have said I am perfectly able to say that I don't know what her expression is.

This is considered a consumer forum and therefore a lot of people on here do this for a hobby and not for money. I'm sorry if some of the photo's wouldn't sit well in your portfolio but personally I think it's quite rude to instantly dismiss everyone else's photo's because they do not meet your rigorous high standards.

I am no professional but there have been contests where I feel that I could have made the top 3 instead of some other photo's but I have kept my mouth closed because I realise that this is a subjective contest and therefore there will be several different winners in several different judges eyes.

Can I ask where you think my judging lacked? What would you have changed? I feel that your post is actually quite aggressive and the first real non-constructive negativity that I have received on these forums which on the whole have really helped me out.

I'm sorry that I couldn't match the high standards that you require but I did state right at the beginning of the contest that I would focus slightly more on the expression and how it effects me. Also at the bottom of my judging I state that I am in no way qualified for the "judging" roll and to take all my comments with a pinch of salt yet you still come out to clearly bash the way I have done things.

 

[fitshaced]

Lol. No flash was used. Hair in focus? Really? Do you think that her hair is significant overall to the photo? Or would you say it was more of the eyes and face? The shot is clean and clear overall with great color and lighting; the blown out portions of the background are irrelevant to the overall feel of the photo. You don't know what her expression is? Any parent can recognize the expression that displays a look of when they know they are in trouble and at the same, a child's innocence. The POV is intended to show a parents perspective.

First and 3rd place winners are clearly snap shots that belong in a family album. Certainly not something that goes in a photography book or one's portfolio. Is a child's face covered with food that original for this "brilliant shot"? The kid left hand is a distracting element in the photo.

The 3rd place winner, the girls face is not lit and hides her expression. Her face is in the shadows so to speak Not to mention the tight crop making her proportions with the background...off.

2nd place winner is the best photo of your "top 3".

Of course, this is subjective and I don't expect many to tell great photos from merely snapshots of the family album, but for a "photography contest", I'd expect better judging and much better entries to rank in the top 3.

Wow, sore loser ha! Not sure what you expect from an online free for all photo contest. If you feel the judging isn't up to standard then perhaps you need to find a different form.

I was impressed with the quality of entries in this one and thought it would be very difficult to judge. Those who feel they deserved better, build a bridge and get over it.

 

[Razeus]

Sorry if you think my critique is harsh or negative, but this is life in the world. Even harsher when it comes to photography. I don't sugar coat things and I've been noticing this trend in these weekly contests lately have been less than par, an almost point and shoot quality. If you can't handle critique that will raise your skill level, then ignore what I say. You're better off in the photo of the day" thread. If you do want to raise your skill level, then take the criticism. I'll be doing more of these "Top 3" critiques going forward. I expect more from "photo enthusiasts". Especially if you're going to enter photos in a contest. Sore loser? Please, I've won 2 or 3 of these things out of about 10-12 entries I've made over the last couple of years.

 

[Keleko]

The way I do it is to quote each picture posted using the "+" icon for them before you start your reply. Then use one of the TIMG plugins for your preferred browser to make them all show up properly. Sometimes the plugin will miss a few of the quoted images, so you'll have to edit it manually (look at how the others converted to TIMG tags and do any that were missed the same way). Directly uploaded images to the forum don't show up in the quoted reply, though, so you can't really do anything about those without extra work on your part.

 

[fitshaced]

Sorry if you think my critique is harsh or negative, but this is life in the world. Even harsher when it comes to photography. I don't sugar coat things and I've been noticing this trend in these weekly contests lately have been less than par, an almost point and shoot quality. If you can't handle critique that will raise your skill level, then ignore what I say. You're better off in the photo of the day" thread. If you do want to raise your skill level, then take the criticism. I'll be doing more of these "Top 3" critiques going forward. I expect more from "photo enthusiasts". Especially if you're going to enter photos in a contest. Sore loser? Please, I've won 2 or 3 of these things out of about 10-12 entries I've made over the last couple of years.

Just like you have a right to give you're Judgement of Judging on here, anyone with access to the internet is free to upload a pic to these weekly competitions.

I think you're taking the point of these things far too seriously. You're better off finding a new forum that meets your heavenly wisdom in photography.

I would suggest however that you create your own thread after judging so that people can avoid your arrogance if they wish.

 

[Keleko]

Sorry if you think my critique is harsh or negative, but this is life in the world. Even harsher when it comes to photography. I don't sugar coat things and I've been noticing this trend in these weekly contests lately have been less than par, an almost point and shoot quality. If you can't handle critique that will raise your skill level, then ignore what I say. You're better off in the photo of the day" thread. If you do want to raise your skill level, then take the criticism. I'll be doing more of these "Top 3" critiques going forward. I expect more from "photo enthusiasts". Especially if you're going to enter photos in a contest. Sore loser? Please, I've won 2 or 3 of these things out of about 10-12 entries I've made over the last couple of years.

I actually think it would be nice to hear from others on what they would pick after the contest has been judged by the "official" judge. Critique is the only way we're going to get better, so hearing from others on what they like and dislike is helpful. That's also where the challenge photo thread are supposed to help us because they encourage critiques of photos.

Personally I thought the kid with the iPad was the best photo of the bunch, too, but I wasn't judging this one. Each judge is going to have their own likes and dislikes. It can easily be a less experienced photographer who ends up judging because they happened to have a good photo that the previous contest judge liked the best. I've also heard from well known photographers in the field that what matters most is what NON-photographers think about your pictures. Chances are those are the people that are most likely going to pay you to do it (if you want to get any money from it). What they like and what photographers like can be quite different.

 

[fitshaced]

I actually think it would be nice to hear from others on what they would pick after the contest has been judged by the "official" judge. Critique is the only way we're going to get better, so hearing from others on what they like and dislike is helpful. That's also where the challenge photo thread are supposed to help us because they encourage critiques of photos.

Personally I thought the kid with the iPad was the best photo of the bunch, too, but I wasn't judging this one. Each judge is going to have their own likes and dislikes. It can easily be a less experienced photographer who ends up judging because they happened to have a good photo that the previous contest judge liked the best. I've also heard from well known photographers in the field that what matters most is what NON-photographers think about your pictures. Chances are those are the people that are most likely going to pay you to do it (if you want to get any money from it). What they like and what photographers like can be quite different.

I think these competitions server 2 purposes. 1. to get views on your work and 2. should you manage to win one of these, improve your judging skills (which aids your attention to detail for your own work).

If photos are to be judged by everyone, put them in the POTD thread. Or create your own and ask for views. Not winning one of these weekly competitions doesnt demote you into photography for the blind. Its just a game of tag at the end of the day (or week).

 

[Juanbond]

During the day I work as a financial analyst. I bought my camera so that I could experiment and take pictures as I travel for work (and take pictures of my kids). I’ve never made money from my pictures and I probably never will. The reason I enjoy this weekly contest so much is because, TYPICALLY, it is run and judged by hobbyists like myself. I don’t stand a chance in professional contests reviewed by professional judges. I love to look at entries during the week, pick my own winners, and see how I compare with the judge. Rarely, if ever, are my picks the same as the judge…and I like that.

I may not have deserved to win this week, but clearly there was something about my entry that resonated with the judge. When I judge next week I will do my best but, as I have said before, I have no formal training in judging photo contests. I apologize in advance to those who don’t agree with what I decide. Luckily the contest is free and rest assured there will be another topic and another chance every week for the foreseeable future. I don’t want people to feel frustrated and have the contest fade out.

That’s just my 2¢.

 

[Keleko]

During the day I work as a financial analyst. I bought my camera so that I could experiment and take pictures as I travel for work (and take pictures of my kids). I’ve never made money from my pictures and I probably never will.

This is similar to me. During the day I'm a healthcare web services programmer. I started my 365 project on a whim to get interested in photography. I never expected to make any money from it, either. A year later I'm being paid to be a freelance photographer for my local Patch.com site on my weekend time. It isn't a lot of money, but it is more than $0, too. Who knows where it will go from here.

 

[TheReef]

Sometimes the plugin will miss a few of the quoted images, so you'll have to edit it manually (look at how the others converted to TIMG tags and do any that were missed the same way). .

Please drop me a quick PM for any image URL that doesn't correctly TIMG.

(Appart from strings with accents in them, that's a known issue, that I'll eventually get around to patching)