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05/08/2006 10:08:29 PM · #1 |
so here was my entry in free study XI
here is the original
I need to know what i did worng (or right ) in post to make this get only a 4.5
This was my 1st bug macro, so i could really use the feedback |
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05/08/2006 10:34:59 PM · #2 |
I left a comment on your photo, but the thumbnail doesn't seem to be working there. Hoping for better luck here:
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05/09/2006 07:28:55 PM · #3 |
I'm new here and no expert on post-processing (or even photography for that matter). But since registering at the site I've cast a few thousand votes on pictures, and I would probably have given this a "5" too. For me, a "5" is a decent shot that meets the challenge, but which doesn't do much else for me. "5" is sort of my default setting. From there, I proceed to a + or - feeling on the picture. An above average picture that meets the challenge gets a six, a below average picture that meets the challenge is a four. For me (maybe I'm a tough grader) a 7, 8 or higher are considerably above average. In a typical challenge I'll have maybe five or ten pictures rated a 7, two or three an 8, and usually at most one 9.
On the minus side, a decent picture that doesn't really meet the challenge is a "4." Pictures that are just bad but show an attempt at the challenge are a "3." Below "3" is rare for me unless I feel that the submitter is not even sincerely trying to meet the challenge. Toughest vote is a GREAT photo that doesn't really meet the challenge (in my view).
Looking at your fly, meeting the challenge (Free Study) is pretty easy. Almost anything will work. But given the broad scope of the challenge, voters are probably looking for a little more creativity. We see a LOT of bugs and flowers. Not too original, so to score high with a bug and flower picture, you're going to have to be above average in composition and probably editing as well. Your shot is a really decent shot of a fly, and a so-so shot of the leaf and flower. Flies aren't exactly cuddly, so voters may subconsciously have a negative feeling about the shot. (By contrast, photos of beautiful women probably benefit from a reverse phenomenon). As an example, a recent challenge had a shot of a bullfight, with the bull being stabbed and bleeding. A good technical photo, but I scored it low because I had negative feelings about the subject matter. (That may not be fair as a voter, but voting is subjective and I'm trying to be helpful).
Bottom line, from a voter's perspective, most of your score will be determined by your choice of subject and your creativity in composing the shot. You can bump your score up or down by doing a great job executing your idea and editing the image later, but if your idea strikes the voter as "routine", it's harder to get a high score. Not to say that an awesome fly photo can't get a great score, but it's more likely in a challenge like "Garden" or "Winged Critters."
I know the above isn't technical advice, but these are observations I have made about myself as a voter and I'm guessing they hold true for at least some of the members here as well.
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05/09/2006 07:55:15 PM · #4 |
Originally posted by EarlBaker:
Bottom line, from a voter's perspective, most of your score will be determined by your choice of subject and your creativity in composing the shot. You can bump your score up or down by doing a great job executing your idea and editing the image later, but if your idea strikes the voter as "routine", it's harder to get a high score. Not to say that an awesome fly photo can't get a great score, but it's more likely in a challenge like "Garden" or "Winged Critters."
I know the above isn't technical advice, but these are observations I have made about myself as a voter and I'm guessing they hold true for at least some of the members here as well. |
This is good advice and here is an example of how 'WOW' overcame 'UUGH!' for the voters. Keep learning and developing (I'm certainly hoping to). The 'bar' is set very on this site and it can seem hard, but if it was easy everybody would be doing it :-)
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05/09/2006 08:05:32 PM · #5 |
All good advice above, I think there are two 'types' of fotog here, those that shoot to please the masses and those that shoot to please themselves. Neither method is wrong, it all boils down to what your after.
I enjoy having an idea and 'constructing' an image to fit a challenge but other than my ribbon (which had luck on my side) my highest scoring shots are spure of the monent typs shots.
For me, and I'm sure many others the hardest thing with dpc was the first submission.
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05/09/2006 08:59:58 PM · #6 |
"... here is an example of how 'WOW' overcame 'UUGH!' for the voters. "
And what an example that is! Perfectly illustrates my point. That is a "Wow" for sure. |
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05/09/2006 09:42:55 PM · #7 |
| All advice given here are good. But I think you wanted more of a technical advice. While I'm not a technical guru I can tell you what I see. First of all this is way too much cropping. Cropping is the last thing you want to do. You may want to crop to adjust the image ration for a print or to get rid of distracting element in the border of your photo but if you have to crop to "compose" the shot I suggest shooting it again. Considering what is the original and what is the final (cropped) image I'd say that you managed to get a lot of details but the voters don't see the original and will not figure it's a 100% crop. ALso, It seems a bit on the oversharp side. While people on DPC do like a lot of sharpness in images This amount of sharpness look too harsh and the details become unrecognizable white dots instead of details. Hope this help. |
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