For our next photography contest, we want to see the best photo you've ever taken with your smartphone.
Rules
- This contest is 100% free to join
- Each photographer may submit up to 3 images
- Each photograph must include a small description that includes details about how the photograph was taken
Prizes
For this contest, we are giving away a tutorial from the Fstoppers Store to every photographer we feature in the critique (at least 10 images will be chosen)
This Month's Deal
This month we area discounting our tutorial with Pye Jirsa called Mastering Adobe Lightroom down to just $49. This tutorial will teach you how to edit images on a computer using Lightroom Classic, or with Adobe's new Lightroom software, made exclusively for mobile devices. In this tutorial Pye also takes a deep dive into his natural lighting techniques that can be used with a professional, or smartphone to get incredible results in any environment. This tutorial has always sold for $199 and you can get it today for the lowest price ever at just $49. Check out the promo below.
How can you know and ensure that the photo was taken with a smartphone?
Your photo has information within the photo. Megadata it's called.?
Yes,i know ,but some photo hasn't
The word is "metadata".
Metadata embedded in the image file, also turn off your location in the shared content .
Metadata
What are the prizes for the Top 3 photographers here ?
This month all 10 chosen images are getting tutorials.
Does it have to be straight from the phone or can it have been edited?
It can be edited (per their words on the critique video)
It's great to see that smartphones are finally being recognized as legitimate cameras.
I think they've been recognized for their worth for a while now.
I think the thing with smartphones is they can really show the difference between a great and mediocre photographer. Smartphone cameras/software are designed so that anyone can take a decent enough photo but to truly take a great photo with a smartphone you have to really understand light and composition.
Sometimes a great lens and body can exaggerate how skilled a photographer is but that's harder to pull off when shooting with a smartphone.
Finally? We’ve been doing iPhone fashion shoots for 14 years now!
Look at the general photography crowd... Loads of people still think that DSLR is better than mirrorless and when someone is asking for advice when thinking of buying camera to start in photography and you suggest better smartphone, you are nearly getting killed for it... Especially here on Fstoppers 😉
Considering that most of the participants here are amateurs using their smartphones, I suggest that the first prize should be a camera body.
LOL! Projection at its finest. Lest we forget your past submissions taken with smartphones, to which struggled to get past the 2-star rating.
https://fstoppers.com/entry/668737
https://fstoppers.com/entry/656350
https://fstoppers.com/entry/656349
https://fstoppers.com/entry/656348
Be humble, or be humbled.
First, what does this have to do with my comment?
Second, what is the issue with smartphone photography, and what is your problem with it?
Third, the paradox here is that the contest itself is about "smartphone photography."
Fourth, my previous comment is merely a suggestion to enhance the contest's appeal, rather than a reflection of personal frustrations. It could be a valid point to consider whether different prize structures might motivate participants.
Fifth, considering my past contest submissions, I have received "solid" ratings. For example, in the last travel contest, my submissions received scores of 2.5, 2.77, and 2.94 out of 5, which is quite high given that these were smartphone shots. Generally, smartphone photography has technical limitations compared to DSLR and mirrorless cameras.
2.5 : https://fstoppers.com/entry/677978
2.77 : https://fstoppers.com/entry/677977
2.94 :https://fstoppers.com/entry/677979
Your comment seems mostly subjective and highly personal, rather than providing a constructive and objective opinion. Try not to delve too deeply into people's intentions, as that might distort your perception of reality, as I see it here.
--- "what does this have to do with my comment?"
You are kidding, right? Your comment was pretentious and condescending. Who are you to come to the conclusion most of the participants are amateurs and need a camera body because they entered smartphone image(s) in a smartphone contest. Do you not see how asinine your comment was?
Ok , what about the rest of my comment ?, which is this :
Second, what is the issue with smartphone photography, and what is your problem with it?
Third, the paradox here is that the contest itself is about "smartphone photography."
Fourth, my previous comment is merely a suggestion to enhance the contest's appeal, rather than a reflection of personal frustrations. It could be a valid point to consider whether different prize structures might motivate participants.
Fifth, considering my past contest submissions, I have received "solid" ratings. For example, in the last travel contest, my submissions received scores of 2.5, 2.77, and 2.94 out of 5, which is quite high given that these were smartphone shots. Generally, smartphone photography has technical limitations compared to DSLR and mirrorless cameras.
2.5 : https://fstoppers.com/entry/677978
2.77 : https://fstoppers.com/entry/677977
2.94 :https://fstoppers.com/entry/677979
--- "Ok , what about the rest of my comment ?"
Ok, did you not read and understand what I just wrote above? The rest of your comments are irrelevant.
Yes, I read and understood what you wrote above. However, regarding your statement that my comments are irrelevant, no it's not , and here's why :
In your first comment, you underestimated and devalued the power of smartphone photography. I responded to that by pointing out that it seemed you had an issue with what smartphones are capable of. Ironically, the contest we are discussing here is specifically for smartphone photography. You also mentioned that I struggled to get a 2-star rating, which is true for the contest you referred to, but not for others. I provided a solid example when I mentioned my ratings of 2.5, 2.77, and 2.94 stars in the most recent contest (which was travel-related).
--- "Yes, I read and understood what you wrote above."
Holy mackerel. No, you obviously did not understand what I wrote. You are twisting it like a CNN tabloid; or, is it safe to say your reading comprehension is at a dunce level? It's one of the two.
Here's why:
I did not underestimate and devalue smartphone photography. My comment was towards your pretentious, condescending, and asinine comment. It was pretty clear. Nowhere did I say anything like "smartphone photos suck." I specifically said "Lest we forget your past submissions taken with smartphones". Meaning, you are no one to act arrogant. Meaning, you are no one to suggest the first prize should be a camera body because you feel most participants are amateurs using their smartphones, to which, I also stated plainly in one of my comments. Meaning, STFU and sit down.
--- "the contest we are discussing here is specifically for smartphone photography"
No duh. And I quote (me), "they entered smartphone image(s) in a smartphone contest".
You seriously need to work on your insecurities. No one here is putting down smartphone photography. Just your attitude.
Firstly, I wasn’t trying to be condescending or pretentious—just suggesting an idea for the contest, nothing more. I understand if it came off wrong, and I’m open to hearing what others think about the prizes or anything else related to the contest.
Secondly, if your comment wasn't meant as a personal attack, then why did you mention that I struggled to get a 2-star rating in one of the past contests? While that may be true for that particular contest, I’ve had much better results in others, such as the travel contest where I received ratings of 2.5, 2.77, and 2.94 stars. I take pride in improving my photography skills, and I believe there's always room for growth.
I find it interesting that so many photographers seem unable to analyze entries in an objective manner.
Most obvious are the ones which have most obviously been crafted by the photg, yet been rated by some as a SNAPSHOT.
This is not the same as being a difference in opinion whether a shot is good or not
This is not just this competition, I've seen it in others on this site.
Is this because some folk can't tell the difference, or do we feel this is part of the competitive nature?
Just wondering as there are so many great pieces of work out there that seem underrated.
Maybe we should be taught rubric to help us analyse? Does the photo have a good composition (rule of thirds, leading lines etc.) Is the subject interesting? Is the focus sharp? Is the exposure correct? Does the photo move you in some way? I find I just get overwhelmed when I look at so many pictures at once. I'd love to get out of the "solid" zone with my own submissions but don't really know how!
I'm not sure this is the best place to look for validation of one's photographic work. Good solid images are routinely scored as "needing work" although what that might entail is anyone's guess. I suspect it's given little thought. I would advise looking elsewhere for feedback on your photography. Better yet, keep working to improve as best you can and ignore public perceptions of your photos. It's really not very helpful.
I totally agree Edward. As all artwork is subjective expecting a diverse audience to appreciate even the best of works is a large ask.
At the end of the day, I feel each should be their own best critic, and work toward producing work that they enjoy and be proud of.
This applies even more strongly to those genres that tend to have far narrower followers. If others don't appreciate the genre, they are far less likely to understand and rate your work.
I fear such 'rules' may be impacting how work is being perceived by some.
Images should be judged by the emotional connection they form with the viewer, and not by how closely they conform to sets of 'rules'.
I think it important to grade on your own personal reaction to an image, putting all else (including rules and the opinions of others) to one side.
Do you have an example of an image you think has been unfairly rated?
Can anyone show an example of an entry that has been fairly/impartially rated? What I mean by impartial is in votes/ratings received as well ratings/votes tallied
I think this has always been an issue with FStoppers' rating system. It's really just 1-3 since 4 and 5 are exceptional. 1 to me is a shot that looks like it it took no (or minimal) thought to framing and positioning and lots of mistakes (like crop or focus). And 2 "needs work" can be "nice composition, but could be much better with some editing".
It is always the same with these contests. Everyone rating as if they were world class photographers themselves. It should be very easy to anyone to distinguish between a one star from a two star photo, but many just give a one star rating. It is quite anoying. I think it is the exact opposite of sites like IG where a mediocre picture can have a lot of likes, here you have some acceptable photos having one star rating.
Comparing these contests to sites like IG makes no sense because:
1. IG does not have a Dislike or a Meh button.
2. IG is not a contest, meaning people looking at the images are people that are interested in those images.
I cannot upload any images. any thoughts?
Not without details. I think the site may have had issues over the past couple of days, it’s been incredibly slow.
Not only the contest the whole site especially if you're login ?
I wish my old phone had more pixels
Two things I’ve learned from seeing these photos. 1. You don’t need a good camera to take good pictures. 2. I need a new phone.
what is going on with fstopper? Anybody having issues rating photos?
The site was acting crazy for a few days. Does it work now?
it is!
what is wrong with Fstoppers? Unable to rate pictures...
I have witnessed extreme slowness across the site over the past few days, along with error messages as some requests time out.
I assume you seeing the same and suspect admins are aware. Try selecting an image, and waiting patiently……………….💤💤💤
It would be nice if the image viewer read the metadata and displayed it together with the photo (together on the description), so it would be easier to see what phone was used and even settings used by the phone. And also people wouldn't need to type it!
To all contestants: Please consider that most of the images taken with a smartphone are "snapshots" in the sense that you found an attractive situation and considered that it deserved to be photographed but maybe you did not have your camera with you. Of course, we will find many technical limitations in the photo, but if you put a minimum of thought in the photo (you looked for a proper composition, acceptable exposure and sharpness, etc.) any photo deserves a minimum of 2 stars rating.
Once again I am very disapointed with ratings in these contests. People tend to underate photo maybe thinking that this increases their chances to win.
Please give honest feedback.
--- "…but maybe you did not have your camera with you."
No. If it's a snapshot, it would not have helped.
--- "People tend to underate photo maybe thinking that this increases their chances to win."
No. People tend to use that conspiracy theory of an excuse as a coping mechanism.
Yes: ratings are not always proper. Why are people so sensitive about it? Not everyone is a good critic, you can see it both in good and bad photos. And I am not talking only about my own photos, but other's as well.
--- "ratings are not always proper."
In these contests, it is proper so long as there's at least a dozen votes in because it'll average out. This is community based rating, not AI rating. Meaning, people's feeling about the image will weigh in, not just a simple checklist of criteria.
--- "Why are people so sensitive about it?"
My guess is some of you people are somewhat delusional thinking you should have gotten a 4 or 5.
--- " I am not talking only about my own photos"
Yeah, that's what all the ones complaining about the rating always say.
1) You are right
2) No: almost never think that my photos deserve a 4 or 5 (in fact, some photos that were very highly ranked I didnt consider them so good and wonder why people liked it). Three I am happy with that. Two I can accept it most of the times. One... never: I never post snapshots. I have enough experience and autocriticism as a photographer to avoid posting a bad photo.
3) Yes: I see overrated and underrated photos of other photographers. Whether you believe it or not, I really dont care.
Additionally... you could try being a little less agressive, you know? Nobody is insulting or provoking you. Just keep the anger to yourself.