Hey group, I think we should get a new group banner photo. So how about in the comments of this post you submit one of your images and based on the up votes we can decide what one gets picked.
*** As you can see if you're browsing on a computer, the banner is stretched quite wide and not very tall. Not all images are going to look good here. The dimensions of the image are 1100 x 450 pixels. Keep this in mind when submitting here. Bonus points if you submit your image already cropped to that size so it's easy to tell if it's a good fit. Thanks!
*** Also if you submit a photo, I want to see you vote on some others here too! If you're one of the first people to comment then check back in later.
IMHO the exceptional photo chosen has been lost behind the lettering of the banner. The beautiful clouds are gone and the tips of the mountains run out of the photo. All that is left is the foreground of brush and trees. That's a shame. If I were the photographer I would not be happy. I did a little math (which I should have done in the first place) and found that the format numbers given have a ratio of essentially 2.44:1 (1100x450 pixels). That is incorrect. Measuring the banner on my screen I find it to be 11.5" x 3" which equates to 3.83:1. So all of the entries have been submitted with the incorrect dimension ratio. I suggest re-running the "contest" (which was a great idea) or cropping the photo that won, in cooperation with the photographer, into a photograph that does justice to his image.
I agree with your assessment - just about the crop. I had mentioned this early above.
I only wanted to add on a suggestion to Ryan that he consider writing an article about submitting your work for "covers, banners and advertising". If people are trying to go pro or even just want to enter contests (ie there are many great magazine cover contests to enter), there are some basic parameters to consider when selecting the image, cropping it, etc.
I have to admit being a little surprised at the number of submissions here and in the wildlife group banner challenge that placed the subject where it would be covered by the banner text, that were oriented looking away from the text or in general didn't consider that the image is a background meant to be a companion that compliments the title. Learning some basics in this regard would be handy for everyone.
NJ Monthly Magazine cover contest entry is a great way to test this concept. They overlay your image with a fake cover prior to completing your entry and it lets you assess whether it will work or not.
This is just an observation. The images themselves were fantastic!
Ryan - maybe a topic for an upcoming article from you?
To be fair, Ryan did mention, "*** As you can see if you're browsing on a computer, the banner is stretched quite wide and not very tall. Not all images are going to look good here."
I don't think cropping the image will help since the site uses 2 different aspect ratios. 1360x330 (4.12:1) and approx 260x136 (1.91:1). I think they just need to recode the groups to scale the banner images properly. The winning image was 1500x614 so there was no reason to stretch it.
Congrats to Nick Souvall on the winning photo. I have a special prize for you, and that's any one Fstoppers full-length tutorial from the store. I'll message you.