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06/11/2003 07:13:34 AM · #1 |
I was excited last night because I was awake when the voting began and for the first time EVER I had a score above 5 (I had a 6 as a matter of fact). I wake up this morning and I have a 4.8. Ya know what? I give up.
I suppose that part of the reason for the drastic drop in score is that my photo, heaven forbid, is one of the landscape orientations. Sorry...I interpreted the challenge to mean "take a photo that could be on the cover of a magazine," not "take a photo as though it were the cover right now."
Ya know what? To hell with it. I have talent. I take good photographs and even take some great ones. It just seems as though the narrowness of the voting here is going to keep my contributions somewhere at the bottom of the list for each challenge. I'm not saying I deserve a ribbon, but damnit, this shot was better than average and certainly doesn't deserve to finish as low as I expect it will now.
I now return you to your regularly scheduled arguments and discussions. I'll quit whining and just stop contributing as I simply cannot seem to put my finger on what it is the fickle voters here expect. I bet my photo finishes behind some of the really awful ones I noticed last night just because of the orientation of mine versus theirs. (And no, I'm not going to go vote right now. I know I'm too pissed to be fair to anyone else.)
Shari
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06/11/2003 07:28:54 AM · #2 |
Shari,
Hang in there and don't give up. I think everyone feels this way sometimes. It will all fall in place. Try and challenge yourself to find what people are giving high scores for and try and adapt a bit for your submission. I took a look at your profile and I really like everything you have submitted for challenges so far. See, even though you aren't getting very high scores or getting ribbons I'm sure people are still enjoying viewing your submissions. Just hang in there and don't give up on this site. The community here is great and everyone is always willing to help even though lately it's as if everyone is at everyone else's throat about something.
Hope this helps!
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06/11/2003 07:34:15 AM · #3 |
Hey Shari
You should not fret so.... I've had 2 challenges in a row below 5 ( one currently voting on). And my Liquid shot is one of the best shots that I've taken IMO and only got a 4.9. You have to remember that art is very subjective and when you get off the traditional beaten path.... :-)
Cheer up and keep on having fun!!!
Message edited by author 2003-06-11 07:34:36.
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06/11/2003 07:39:15 AM · #4 |
Originally posted by kosmikkreeper:
Hey Shari
Cheer up and keep on having fun!!! |
I think this is the problem for me right now. It isn't really fun anymore. I look at some of the photos that have beaten mine recently and I wonder what criteria the voters used because some of them are, by my estimation, awful.
I have not yet taken a shot for a challenge (and my challenge photos are different from the photos I like to take for myself and my clients) that I feel deserves a ribbon. I have, however, taken shots that are far better than average and certainly deserved better than the sub-5 scores they received.
*Sigh* I think I'll just take my flower photos (which is what I love to shoot and don't submit here because of the intense hatred so many voters have for flowers) and continue to sell them to folks locally. I don't mind constructive criticism, but I am tired of bashing my head against a wall to please others who are unpleasable.
Shari
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06/11/2003 08:04:38 AM · #5 |
I think we know roughly what the "fickle voters" want - sharp, richly coloured images which stick close to the most obvious interpretation of the challenge.
Looking through your past entries you tend to take a more "arty" approach and a slightly more imaginative interpretation of the challenge - all good stuff but not, in general, likely to lead to high scores.
I'm not saying that in any sort of critical way, it's just that I read these "why is my score so low" threads every week and the answer is almost always the same - because your picture isn't "mainstream" enough. You have to remember that it's a popularity contest and mainstream images are always going to have the edge. |
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06/11/2003 08:14:29 AM · #6 |
You are operating under the delusion that your dpchallenge score is highly correlated to the quality of your work. This may be true for the extreme ends of the voting spectrum, but in the middle it's just a mishmash of bad statistics and you are just getting lost in the shuffle of some apathetic attempt at click-based quantification of the subjective.
Stop submitting to the challenges. Go out and take the picture for each challenge which pleases you most and add it to your portfolio. Oh yeah, and stop voting while you're at it; you're contributing to the problem you perceive.
Did you stop to look at the photos which were "rated" below yours and wonder if they weren't "better" ("deserving" of a higher score) than yours? |
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06/11/2003 09:18:21 AM · #7 |
Shari, don't let it get to you. Or LET it get to you and figure this site out. I had some bad scores and once I figured out the "system" or what the voters like I try to make sure I please the voters, not just myself.
I have scores all over the board, from dead last to 2nd place. but typically I hover around the middle to the bottom of the pack and get a lucky shot here and there that gets me in the top 30.
I agree with you some of the challenges are not my typical type of subjects to photograph, but this has been a HUGE learning experience for me.
The people here are pleaseable, they are a tough crowd, but they can be pleased. you just need to find the "grove" for the voters here.
James
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06/11/2003 10:08:13 AM · #8 |
My scores are nothing to write home about either. But, who really cares? I shoot for myself and the personal rewards that I derive from my pursuit to be creative.
My day-to-day world is very technical. So, it is great fun for me to walk in the other guysâ creative shoes for a while. If I were meant to be a photographer, then I would have been one. My life went in another direction that is every bit as wonderful and fulfilling.
But, photography is still able to feed my soul. I believe that it helps me to remain in balance between the extremes of my technical life and my creative life. If I blew a gasket every time someone made a juvenile or disapproving comment about my submission, then it would have been "game over" ages ago.
If you look at my submissions, then you will see that I enjoy poking fun at my fellow voters â the butt end of an elephant, a gorilla giving them all the finger, a submission with the subject sticking its tongue out at them, and more. I like to laugh. Not everyone laughs near enough. Yes, sometimes I laugh alone, but I never cry. Why waste the energy?
So, I say, just forget about the scores, develop a single-mindedness on the amusement and the joy that comes with the process and the creativity. Sometimes, the long walks with my two dogs hunting for that faultless DPC image, is valued far more than scores of things that I can imagine. Several times, I have even decided not to submit, as it did not matter to me anymore. But, the trek was thoroughly worthwhile.
Besides, Jacko always âwins, places, or showsâ, in every challenge, right? So, I will just hang around with him and see what I can learn. He makes me laugh too.
Message edited by author 2003-06-11 10:08:58.
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06/11/2003 10:19:21 AM · #9 |
| I think it's really hard to "Just forget about the scores" this is a contest and the scores are very important when you work hard on something and submit it. It's hard to see your creative work doing poorly. I agree with what others have said here though, there is a formula for what people like, attention to detail, clean, sharp, creative take, clearly meets the challenge in every way, and the best shots have people saying, "How'd they do that?". I can't seem to get shots that say "How'd they do that", but I can submit a clean clear photo and do ok. So again, as others have said, shots for the challenge may be very different from your normal photography, that's just how it is here. BTW I really like your flower shots Shari! |
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06/11/2003 10:22:03 AM · #10 |
Originally posted by sagestudio:
I think it's really hard to "Just forget about the scores" this is a contest and the scores are very important when you work hard on something and submit it. It's hard to see your creative work doing poorly. I agree with what others have said here though, there is a formula for what people like, attention to detail, clean, sharp, creative take, clearly meets the challenge in every way, and the best shots have people saying, "How'd they do that?". I can't seem to get shots that say "How'd they do that", but I can submit a clean clear photo and do ok. So again, as others have said, shots for the challenge may be very different from your normal photography, that's just how it is here. BTW I really like your flower shots Shari! |
"To each his own"
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