It seems I have a secret follower that gives me 2 stars for every photo I uploaded. It's very easy to figure out because I do not have a lot of votes and I follow what's happening because I'm new here .. Eg. This photo has four 4 stars votes and one vote of 2 stars. The last two photos that I uploaded had one vote from the 4 stars and at once on both falling averages on 3 with a total of two votes on both.
Not that I'm complaining, but I'm wondering if you had similar experiences?
Does this photo "Needs Work"?
Very dreamy, I like it! Had some similar stuff regarding voting getting twos and fours on the same photo. I guess just part of the voting process as it is quite a subjective thing that can differ quite a bit from person to person.
Thank you! But I have exactly one 2-star vote for each photo, a little strange statistics.
The judgment of art is always subjective and arbitrary, and even more so on a site like this. You both do excellent work.
Thanks Dune!
Thanks Dune! Just had the exact same thing Radisa, my two best images (both rated 4.33-4.5), both got a two last night. Indeed a bit odd..
Maybe even the same vote troll :)
How do I vote? I want to give this shot two stars ;)
Really like this one.
Thanks :)
Yes absolutely had that experience! The very day I joined (not that long ago) I put some work in my portfolio and was just writing up a little intro post to the group when someone went through my entire page and rated every image a 2. That's their opinion, fair enough, but I'm pretty comfortable with the quality of my work so was not terribly impressed by it as I would say my images merit a solid 3 at worst.
It is subjective, as Daniel says, but unfortunately there are also the occasional characters who just think they're better than everyone else or will rate down simply because the image doesn't appeal to what and how they like to shoot themselves.
Yeah same experience here, well put!
PS This shot is gorgeous - great work :)
Thanks a lot David for sharing your experience! It means a lot to me.
Yeah same here. Every image on the same day. And as soon as an image goes up it very quickly gets its two. I just wonder why whoever it is doesn't give 1s? If you're trolling why no go the whole hog?
Don't take the rating system too seriously. most of my photos have received a 2 star rating within 15 minutes of being uploaded, so I'm pretty sure it's just someone with too much time on their hands. They kind of evened out in the end, so I think the more time you spend posting around the community, the better reception you'll get.
Even if people are rating them "honestly" I think some people have lost touch with what the numbers really mean. Some of the "pros" on the critique the community constantly flip flop on what the ratings mean. I once saw them give two processed astrophotography photos a 1 star rating, which by definition of the rating system is wrong. And when I called them out on it, I got a non-answer basically claiming if I had seen as many photos as he had, I would think the same thing, which is beyond patronizing.
Of course, a lot of it is subjective and I feel like people let their personal preferences affect their scores. If I was a lesser person I would give all the studio portrait photos a 2 star rating because "I don't think they look good". But I don't because I'm level-headed enough to know it's just my opinion, and not a real rating/critique. So what I do instead, is just not rate them because I understand that I am not the right person to be doing that. However, not everyone on this site seems to think the same way.
I find most of the people in the groups are much better with giving feedback, so I recommend posting your work here, rather than in your portfolio if you're hoping for any kind of feedback... and no, your photo looks amazing, it does not "need work", at least not in my eyes.
I hope my post didn’t come across as too negative, but I like to be honest about the rating system, haha.
Thanks so much Jordan for your honest and thorough opinion of the rating system. I appreciate it!
Damn Jordan is your novel over hahaha well put I'm glad i don't have to add anything other than if you produce a turd well its a turd if its a good/average shot it should be rated as such a 3 if you produce a fantastic image its a 4 i personally have only given 1 photo a 5 because as i read in the descriptions it should be an unforgettable shot professionally edited and produced
I’m nothing if not an incredibly verbose individual, haha.
I’ve given my fair share of 5s. To me it’s less about looking nice and more about captivating me. I don’t see the point of making it so I reachable that only a few photos qualify.
For me a 3 is “I can’t see anything I’d fix” or “some tiny fixes needed, but close enough to portfolio worthy that I can look past them”
And 4 is excellent...
Obviously.
But these numbers are always up for debate, so there’s no point in arguing. But I think we can all agree if you give a 2, you should provide feedback.
No it doesn't. This is an incredible image. Could easily be "Photo of the Day". Love it.
Huge thanks!
I like this photo, and quite envious of your skills.
I might consider cropping in, but I'm viewing on the phone, so who knows.
I try not to let the votes bother me too much. Do photography for yourself.
Thanks a lot! Good advice!
This is a great image, love the split toned look. re the ratings, I agree with the general sentiment that it can't be taken too seriously here especially since so many of the people doing ratings are beginners themselves and still working out how to evaluate an image. And of course it's all (or mostly) subjective.
That said, I have noticed there is an apparent ratings troll on the forum who seems to go around giving pretty low marks to photos that otherwise rate well. He does not have any of his own images on display either. I hate over moderated forums, but it I would love to find a way to counter what he's doing.
Thanks so much David! Yes, it would be nice to see at least who are this voting trolls.
I knew who it was at one point because they'd contacted me referencing an image they rated for me along with a few others, all very low marks - outliers to the rest of my ratings for the same pics, and other complained around the same time. There had also been a flurry of very trolly posts in the forums from same person. A little argumentative, very opinionated, but with little real experience with photography as far as I could tell.
Looking back now, I can't seem to find him or his messages to me. I wonder if he was booted?
lol are you referring to AMP? hahahaha yeah i believe he left
He got hit with the ban-hammer. I guess the mods felt he was an “F” rated member.
He posted about how we was banned for “no explanation” which is fitting, given his rating system without any explanations.
Lol!!!
lol yeah i keep getting single stars on some stuff and then i get some 2s and 3s
:) lol...
I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it, Radisa, it's a fantastic image.
And yes, I've had the same experiences.
Thanks William, maybe I overreacted little bit!
Missing chainsaw and mask? ))))
its a number one picture!
Thanks so much :)
Case in point, someone went through every one of my photos and rated them as 1 or 2 stars.
Meh.
For me also continued in the same manner unfortunately. Thanks for input William!
I'd be willing to bet money that the people who do it can't take a decent photo to save their lives.
No way, I love this photo. I think its a solid 3 star, maybe even 4 stars!
Great Job!
Thanks so much!
I really like this image, it has character, very soft and dreamy. The colours are wonderful too. I too, like many others here, reckon that it's a matter of personal taste. Registered relatively recently here, uploaded my one of my all time favourite images which turned out to be an overall 2 stars. It's still my absolute fav though :)
Thanks so much! I love your photo of Tre Cime shrouded in clouds.
Thanks a lot, Radiša. I really appreciate your kind words.
I had the same experience. I wasn't expecting a 5, and I actually forced myself to go back and see what else I could do to improve it. But still... 2?