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02/06/2006 10:12:59 PM · #1 |
I'm trying to improve mine, so...
please show the most helpful comment you have received?
which you feel has helped you immediately change your style or methods, or in any other way. please state how it has drastically helped you, why.
Thanks a lot :)
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02/06/2006 10:24:39 PM · #2 |
This is from Damon regarding how to appeal and garner higher scores in a challenge. This was for my High Contrast entry.
I took his comment to heart and started shooting with this comment in mind. That's why I call him Master jedi and I'm his padawan. Look at his comment on my Tribute entry.
Originally posted by mycelium:
My first impression is that this picture did, indeed, get scored lower than it deserved. I think there's a perfectly good explanation why, which I'll take a shot at shortly--
The colors, especially in the sky, are good, and the rest of your color scheme (grey, brown, green) fits together well. The shapes are interesting, and there is good texture detail in the darker areas.
On the critical side, as some have noted, the kids stick out in this picture and distract from the architecture. As the kids are clearly not the purpose of the picture and they don't really add to it, they don't belong there. The highlights in this picture have suffered a lot of detail loss from either the glare of the sun or the post-processing, with the end result being areas of rather harsh brightness with little visual interest.
Now my shot at an explanation, and some suggestions thrown in with it--
I urge you to remember that votes are given one by one, and each person has to look at this photograph and give it a whole-number vote. This is admittedly woefully imprecise in many cases, but it's what we're stuck with. The most common votes are always 4, 5, and 6; roughly speaking, they stand for "bad, average, good." Voters give out more of these three numbers than anything else.
The bell curve of votes on this picture is skewed heavily towards 5, which is statistically interesting. If this were a more classically formed bell curve, a fair chunk of the 5 votes should be more or less equally distributed between 4 and 6. It will be useful to explore why the votes that one would probabilistically expect to fall on 4 and 6 instead fell on 5.
I'm going to imagine myself as a "typical voter," as much as I can do so. Okay, so I'm voting on the High Contrast entries, and yours comes up. I think, does it meet the challenge? Yes, sure does, plenty of contrast here, no doubt about it. Then: Does this photograph stand out to me? Sort of, the sky is better than most, but otherwise the picture is much like many others, and the bright spots are a little too bright.
Again, remember that most votes are in the 4 to 6 range. That your picture clearly meets the challenge and has a good sky kept most people from classing your photo "bad" (4), though its flaws also kept them from classing it "good" (6). Then the only remaining option is 5.
I bet if there were a 5.5 vote, you'd have gotten a lot of those. That would have been more reflective of its photographic merit, I think, but between the choice of 5 and 6, it looks like most would give it a 5.
My suggestion: keep this, the sociological background of DPC scores, in mind when you're choosing what to submit. Think about what it takes to get a voter to click "6" instead of "5." Look at the images that score close to 6, and see what's done differently there. Let me give you an example from my own recent work:
Note that the peak on my graph is at 6, with more 6's than one would statistically expect. I took this photo with the intent of getting exactly that effect--a lot of votes of 6--rather than trying to take a "10" photo. My thinking was that if I have strong colors and good lighting, a lot of people will see it as generically "good" and vote me above 5 even if they don't really like the photo.
I hope this is helpful :) |
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02/06/2006 10:25:45 PM · #3 |
Originally posted by jmsetzler:
The lines and contrasts in this image are interesting, but the overall subject choice doesn't inspire me. |
This comment made me realize that hitting the challenge theme is only part of the battle. If the shot doesn't have visual appeal it won't do good no matter how well it fits... |
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02/06/2006 11:18:32 PM · #4 |
"Worth pausing to look longer at. I find the composition a touch dull - and the clipping of that circle to the right very annoying - why cut off the only thing that interrupts that flow of rounded squares? It was a gift for this image, and you've disregarded it. Good sense of feel, but the weighting of areas of interest within frame leaves something to be desired for me."
This was on my third challenge entry. The above quote caused me to begin actually looking at my image compositions. I may not have applied enough of that advice on subsequent entries, but I still remember that critique to this day, especially before I crop an image. Thank you, Ed. |
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02/07/2006 12:08:08 AM · #5 |
Curtain
by zeuszen
Comment by jmritz:
It is a beautiful day outside and I am sitting here looking at this photo. I feel fear isolation and imprisonment. Maybe images inspired from my viewing to many horror films in my youth are what evoke these emotions. Very powerful image. And now I will go outside and stand in the sunlight because I realize I can...
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02/07/2006 12:26:24 AM · #6 |
I almost forgot this one... I didn't really understand why this shot ribboned. It's not one of my best shots and I'm almost embarrased that it's my highest scoring. Robert gave me a lot of insight though...
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
Alright. I'll tell ya. Here's the image:
Why did I give it a 10?
1. It stands out from the pack. It's immensely "viewable, even the thumbnail is gorgeous. I couldn't wait to open it up and see it bigger.
2. They don't come any more "threeish" than this...
3. The composition is flawless and defiantly non-standard; The structure itself is centered (the base composition is in the symmetrical mode) but the smoke (or steam) trails off gloriously at a wild angle, leading our eyes up and out into the very heavens themselves.
4. The colors are breathtaking without being overworked like so much of what we see in DPC. The image is NOT eye candy; it's strong and powerful, and the subdued pallette combined with the luminous smoke suits it perfectly.
5. The occlusion of the tree branches on the right is inspired; were they not there, the image would have much less depth and sense of place.
6. The clouds begind the structure (yet none in the sky itself) are extraordinarily mysterioso.
7. The pure gradation of luminous blue to near black at the top is powerfully rendered.
8. Overall, the exposure is flawless, nothing is blown out that matters; this is an extraordinary technical problem well-solved.
9. As an aside, this is one of the few "framed" challenge entries I have seen where the frame makes an actual contribution to the image itself; the blue inline is exactly right here.
There ya go; recipe for a 10 in my book. I had this one pegged as a winner as soon as I saw the thumbnail.
You done good!
Robt. |
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02/07/2006 12:46:59 AM · #7 |
I have recieved some good and not so good comments, some have even shed some light on my picture and style but this comment is my favorite. It has changed the way I take pictures. I was really getting frustrated and focused on scores and bad comments until I read this. After all, isn't the point of all this to achieve the impact of mastery on your viewer AND to simply enjoy composing, physically taking and handling the picture? Thank You blindjustice, powerful words indeed!
This is really neat; because for the most part, you are of the school of photography that can capture essence and feel, and can also see more than the actual composition of the shot; the light, color, flow of shapes, as demonstrated by this and your other shots on this site, elucidate your mastery and proficiency in guiding your shots right where you want them. |
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02/07/2006 12:47:23 AM · #8 |
Originally posted by C_Steve_G:
"Worth pausing to look longer at. I find the composition a touch dull - and the clipping of that circle to the right very annoying - why cut off the only thing that interrupts that flow of rounded squares? It was a gift for this image, and you've disregarded it. Good sense of feel, but the weighting of areas of interest within frame leaves something to be desired for me."
This was on my third challenge entry. The above quote caused me to begin actually looking at my image compositions. I may not have applied enough of that advice on subsequent entries, but I still remember that critique to this day, especially before I crop an image. Thank you, Ed. |
I can really relate this this one. I was changed after reading comments like the one you mentioned, because it hits the spot so accurately, it's almost silly that we ourselves dont see it sometimes :) |
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02/07/2006 09:46:11 PM · #9 |
I've got to say that the best comment I've received to date came in the form of a private message. I won't divulge what was said as it was, like I said, a pm. I will say that it inspired me to create 2 photos within the last 2 weeks that have scored 5+ (before the scores were calculated).
Thanks Catherine! :)
George
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02/07/2006 10:02:59 PM · #10 |
On this shot
manic's critique club critique really helped me to *see* a few things differently.
And this one
this comment made me mad, but in almost every picture I've taken since then, I've "heard" it and made myself ask, "What is the purpose of this picture? What am I trying to convey here?"
You captured the texture of the front screw and the sponge but personally I just don't like the picture. Don't see what it is trying to convey besides just doing a texture exercise. Sorry
(and yes, I know, I had no reason to be *mad* at the time, I got over it . .. ) |
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02/07/2006 10:18:06 PM · #11 |
A comment by ubique on my photo
//www.dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=276211
" Yes, that's a ghastly side of city life in many countries. This particular scene, when examined past the evidence of squalor and misery, has some interesting details. The woman is managing to provide clean clothes for her family, even here. She also appears to have two bathtubs (both outdoor), and a satellite TV antenna suspended above the yard. Plus she has her house number prominently displayed, although for whose benefit it is difficult to imagine ... she probably entertains few casual visitors. The flag on her roof is that of Serbia & Montenegro, so it may be that this disgraceful mess is a hopefully temporary artifact of that region's splendid history of ethnic harmony and tolerance.
It's a very sad vision of city life, and you did well to bring it to us. "
I felt that this guy knows more about my photo than I do. He's just amazing.
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02/07/2006 10:38:17 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by Zigomar:
I felt that this guy knows more about my photo than I do. He's just amazing. |
This ia agree too, sometimes, the commentors seem to see more than what I do! lol thanks for sharing that. |
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02/07/2006 10:58:23 PM · #13 |
"if this were a graphic arts challenge, I'd give a 10. over processed to the point of not looking like a photo"
Pushed home the point to me that everyone gets it wrong occasionally. And getting it wrong is no excuse for not leaving comments.
bazz.
Message edited by author 2006-02-07 22:58:51. |
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02/07/2006 11:02:22 PM · #14 |
I liked this comment, which included an example of his recommendation of postprocessing:
could use some more contrast and saturation
heres my 2 second edit, just adjusted the curves a little bit and increased the saturation about 15 points
Suggested Postprocessing
keep at it
I still liked my take better; I thought his was too garishly colored. But when I showed the two to family members they preferred the supersaturated one.
A good lesson in how to think about what most voters might prefer rather than what I would prefer.
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02/08/2006 12:24:05 AM · #15 |
Originally posted by viajero:
I liked this comment, which included an example of his recommendation of postprocessing: |
I think awhile back someone posted in the forums that he(or she?) was feeling unhappy about someone doing this to his/her photo as an example of what the commentor whould have preferred. I cant understand why people would whine about something like this? I mean, the commentor did a major favour IMHO because he even went as far as to show you an example of how the photo would look even better to his preference.
Yes, that indeed is a very helpful comment. Thanks for sharing :) |
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