Hi All. I was just voting in the contest and was wondering if most of your don't participate because of the topics or voting issues or ...? I do see some familiar faces in there but not many!
I don't get the voting there as the photos get rated really low. I'm thinking of passing on future ones. So, in order to see if the voting really is off in the contest or not, here is an experiment!
These are the three images I put in. The theme is birds. I'm curious what stars you'd give them. I won't be offended at all so please - no worries about not being anonymous! The rating scale is the same of the ones in the profiles.
Feedback is always welcome!
PS - The photos are not anonymous in the contest so this is not a 'big reveal'!
In the past few months I have thrown an image into one or more contests here on Fstoppers, but only if I already had something on my hard drive that fits the topic and is finished. Personally, I usually don't enter contests for a few reasons. When I am viewing 'contest' images, my critique differs from my usual observations because it is a 'contest.'
I do agree that the rating system for the FStoppers 'contests' needs re-thinking as I don't think it applies that well to judging the images. Example, does need an 'Off Topic' choice.
I do miss the days of being face to face with a group of people critiquing each others work, doing so online isn't bad, but just doesn't have that human connection.
If I was to rate these three based on the FStoppers rating system, I would rate them 3 stars, the third one maybe a 3 - 4 star. I am currently headed to work, can provide individual thoughts if you'd like, I just won't be able to type until later.
Agreed! If you are interested (and haven't entered) I run 2 photo contests for the park stystem and the judging pannel is an ecclectic group. Let me know if you would like to chat about joining us. Although ... I'd really love to see you and Joe C in the actual contests!
I'd give them all 3/5, Ruth. The first is a little compromised in composition because your birds didn't perfect their choreography. The second is mainly a study in textures - abstract enough, but maybe lacking in tonal variation to create a definable composition; I also find myself wishing it were more elongated. The third, while a very good headshot I'd be proud to have managed, is just a bit too much of an ID-type headshot to capture my imagination. They're "solid" indeed, but not your best. The light, colours and drama in the first have the most potential to go beyond, but the birds kind of fall over each other visually. Send 'em back to boot camp!
Just my subjective take. I'm competitive, but not in this arena, and haven't even looked up the contests. Maybe I should take Joe's cue.
All great feedback! Birds aren't really in my wheelhouse and I am on the same page with you about these.
:)
Your "over-exposed" birds on water that look like watercolours are a great theme for you to pursue, Ruth. My guess is that if you went out and shot lots of such images on each outing, the birds would fall into good positions sooner or later, maybe with the aid of cropping (after all, they don't need to be high-res). Then print on matte paper.
Lol I gave up on that horseshit months ago your normal voting goes down 2 stars so a 4 star shot is a 2-2.5 too many trolls in that part of the site I joined to see what people are doing and learn to gain knowledge and experience and share what I have learned with others
I am coming to that conclusion! I found fStoppers through the contest and now think I'll abandon it for these awesome groups!
Someone posted in the contest comments that the photos there get critiqued more accurately because of the fact that it is a contest. While this might drop a rating a single star, it shouldn't be so off. The criteria for a 1 star is essentially a snapshot that a monkey could take and the first image here has many votes averaging a 1.9 star rating. There are some clever monkeys out there!
;)
Lmao
I probably agree that contest submissions might be held to a higher standard due to higher expectations form a general community.
I also feel that contests may attract the more casual photographers who may not feel the need to contribute otherwise and perhaps have less of an appreciation of what makes a great image.
Not that their opinion is worth any less than anyone else, but their evaluation may be influenced by different factors
The internet is truly a poor place to look for constructive criticism. This site might be better than others, might even be the best, but it's always going to have a large margin of subjectivity and trolling. While my images might be voted one or two stars at best, i take it with a grain of salt. I don't know who is making those votes, and they rarely, if ever, leave any comments or feedback which makes their votes even less meaningful, imo. I think groups like this are where photography websites really shine. It doesn't matter if you are an award winning pro, or someone just having fun with a new camera, you can get some good insight, constructive criticism, and this is where the learning and sharing really happens.
As far as rating the pictures, the first two i'd give 1-2 stars. That's my personal opinion. I don't care for the high-contrast exposure of the first, and the second seems like an extremely tight crop and the image seems degraded from cropping and looks like it has a lot of noise and doesn't maintain the details of texture and tones i'd like to see in that kind of close-up picture. It could be compression from the upload process? The third shot i'd give a 3. I would give it a 4, but the focus point seems to be the beak, not the eye.
What convinced m that contest voting here is a sham is when a photo I entered had a rating of 3.2 at my profile, but was rated a 1.9 at the end of a contest. A couple of tenths wouldn't have been a flag, but the difference was much too stark to dismiss.
I don't enter anymore, but when I vote, I give 4s just to cancel out one of the voters that wants to win so badly that he/she has to resort to being an a$$.
The argument can be made that an image's portfolio score is as skewed as its contest score. In large part, the portfolio scores are based on such small sample sizes that I personally wouldn't assign any more worth to most than I would the values awarded in the contests. This is not to say that the scores are not valid, rather I am comparing the two metrics relative to one another.
There are so many variables that can factor into the way a person votes, but rather than dissect this to death, my approach is to continue participating as long as it's fun. Once it stops being fun, then probably time to stop.
I'm in general agreement with Joe & Chris on this.
Community ratings are so subjective - that is why I feel discussions among peers offers a much better analysis and feedback on work.
Great thoughts everyone! The results are in: the groups are winner!
I didn't even see they had a new contest. Things have seemed a little less organized since they moved to Puerto Rico. I don't expect anything I post to get more than 1 star and the best to get a 2, so the contests have lost a lot interest for me.
First pic. 0 - I was always told pictures of ducks (or geese) are not allowed! :) Kidding, It is a solid 3/4 for me. The black / white contrast is great.
# 2 seems more like a stock picture. Really cool texture, but I think it falls in a macro category. ??
#3 I think is really a great shot in terms of detail and sharpness. I understand why it is b&w, but with birds I really like to see all the colors. I think it is a solid 3. If there were more to the scene I would like the picture more.
Thanks Shawn! I appreciate the time and thoughts. I think I'm done in the competitions unless they run a theme like abstract or something really up my line.
best wishes!