|
| Author | Thread |
|
|
07/11/2007 02:39:04 PM · #1 |
Hi all,
I entered my second ever free study this past month with an image I really liked. My first entry wasn't that great, it was just okay, with some lighting and interest problems (ie, it was boring); it scored below 5.0. I really like this image from the June free study, but it still scored below 5:
Any thoughts on why it scored where it did would be appreciated, but please don't ask me to make it something it's not; it's a shot from inside a moving train. You can't move poles, you can't get rid of the inside light reflecting on the window (unless you want a really tight and unhappy crop). You can, of course, say it's just not the perfectionist sort of shot that scores well in free studies, which would probably help me decide to stay out of free studies (unless I'm almost eaten by a bear and get an image of it before I run away).
I have things I really, really like about this, but I don't want to guide you all too much on why I entered it. I'll chime in with those later.
Thanks!
Best,
Rob |
|
|
|
07/11/2007 02:53:56 PM · #2 |
|
|
|
07/11/2007 02:54:22 PM · #3 |
maybe cause it is not very sharp and the movement blur can give a uneasy feeling to the viewer. I personally like the photgraph. As long as you like it shouldn't matter what people on here scored it as. For the most part I am starting to think most voters like the candy coated pictures with pretty colors and crisp lines. no one like clutter either it scares em silly. powerlines should be photoshopped away cause they shouldn't exsist...blah.I had a person tell me that they couldn't vote higher then a 5 on a b&w picture because it was old technology ...crazy
anyway stay true to yourself don't change what ya like to do just to get a high score in this place.
Message edited by author 2007-07-11 14:57:06. |
|
|
|
07/11/2007 03:20:02 PM · #4 |
|
|
|
07/11/2007 04:23:35 PM · #5 |
Hi all,
Thanks for the comments; they were what I needed to pretty much convince me that Free Studies aren't my thing. I tend to take what I see, and there is something visually about that building, in that place, in that state, with those colors against that sky, that appeals to me. It is part of how and what I see. It tells me a story of work, and effort, and location, and of things (like trains) always passing by but never stopping.
It's okay with me that voters/viewers don't see that, but what the comments have helped me see is that a Free Study is not simply a chance to choose an image you really like and have people judge it for what it is, flaws accepted if they fit in the image (the pole/wires, for example, were there; in my next shot they were square in the center of the building; next shot I was past the building; I took the shot I could get). A Free Study is the place to enter an image that fits pretty perfectly in the DPC mode of sharp, sleek, and preferably setup (but not looking setup). Free studies are probably not for me -- which is fine, by the way, I'm not angry or upset about that, just confirming it's not a part of DPC that I really want to play with; I have lots of other things to do here :)
Oh, sharpening. I do see some over-sharpening now, but I didn't when I processed it (admitting a bit of computer fatigue on that particular evening), so that contributed, but I think the more substantive comments are the ones that took me so far down below 5.0 (so even without the sharpening I doubt it would have broken 5.0).
Thanks for your time and comments, all, it was much appreciated!
Best,
Rob |
|
|
|
07/11/2007 04:41:56 PM · #6 |
I don't think free studies are any different from other challenges in terms of what people are looking for. However, because there's no limit on the subject, the top-quality images will generally be even higher-quality. That is, people who like taking flowers will enter their best flower shot, without being forced to take something they don't normally do. Same with portraits, motion blurs, night shots, etc. Everyone's able to enter their best stuff.
Whereas in a normal challenge, at least some people are forced out of their comfort zone.
Plus, in a normal challenge, voters may make some allowances. For example, in nightmares and dreams, I'm much more willing to accept blurry images because they fit those themes better than perfectly sharp portraits, for example. Same goes for exposure - a darker than usual nightmare shot feels more right than a perfectly exposed one.
Message edited by author 2007-07-11 16:43:15.
|
|
|
|
07/11/2007 04:52:33 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by levyj413:
I don't think free studies are any different from other challenges in terms of what people are looking for. However, because there's no limit on the subject, the top-quality images will generally be even higher-quality. That is, people who like taking flowers will enter their best flower shot, without being forced to take something they don't normally do. Same with portraits, motion blurs, night shots, etc. Everyone's able to enter their best stuff.
Whereas in a normal challenge, at least some people are forced out of their comfort zone.
Plus, in a normal challenge, voters may make some allowances. For example, in nightmares and dreams, I'm much more willing to accept blurry images because they fit those themes better than perfectly sharp portraits, for example. Same goes for exposure - a darker than usual nightmare shot feels more right than a perfectly exposed one. |
I think you have hit the proverbial nail on its proverbial head!
When you are free to express your natural inclinations, you perform better than when constrained by ties and rules! Freedom breeds free expression. |
|
|
|
07/11/2007 05:13:45 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by formerlee:
Originally posted by levyj413:
I don't think free studies are any different from other challenges in terms of what people are looking for. However, because there's no limit on the subject, the top-quality images will generally be even higher-quality. That is, people who like taking flowers will enter their best flower shot, without being forced to take something they don't normally do. Same with portraits, motion blurs, night shots, etc. Everyone's able to enter their best stuff.
Whereas in a normal challenge, at least some people are forced out of their comfort zone.
Plus, in a normal challenge, voters may make some allowances. For example, in nightmares and dreams, I'm much more willing to accept blurry images because they fit those themes better than perfectly sharp portraits, for example. Same goes for exposure - a darker than usual nightmare shot feels more right than a perfectly exposed one. |
I think you have hit the proverbial nail on its proverbial head!
When you are free to express your natural inclinations, you perform better than when constrained by ties and rules! Freedom breeds free expression. |
Okay, and I don't want to belabor this as I think I have a better feel for what's going on in free challenges (and I don't think the things I do fit, but that's fine with me), but you are constrained: to do what DPCers expect to see in a Free Study, in the way they want to see it. I wanted to show a particular building in a particular place and time, as seen from a train. The answer seemed to be, "you should have taken this from the side of the tracks." That seems like less freedom to me.
Maybe the free studies give some DPCers the chance to be freer, but I don't think I fit well in that respect (of the last three challenges I have voted, I have chosen top ten placing images as my highest scoring images in just one of them; in the other two, my highest scoring images placed 12th and 17th -- and I vote high, with an average given above 5.5; but, I just don't see the way many DPCers do, and that's fine with me, too).
Not sure there's much left to discuss here, but have at it if anyone has anything left to say :)
Best,
Rob |
|
|
|
07/11/2007 05:17:14 PM · #9 |
Originally posted by rheverly:
Okay, and I don't want to belabor this as I think I have a better feel for what's going on in free challenges (and I don't think the things I do fit, but that's fine with me), but you are constrained: to do what DPCers expect to see in a Free Study, in the way they want to see it. I wanted to show a particular building in a particular place and time, as seen from a train. |
Then the Free Study offered you the venue to do what you wanted to do, and you went ahead and did it. You weren't constrained in any way. People didn't like it (or at least didn't think it was very exciting). I don't see how that says anything about the Free Study. It says what you thought was interesting wasn't widely accepted as such. |
|
|
|
07/11/2007 05:32:20 PM · #10 |
Rob, I think the free study allows each person to do their best work, but it also means voters are looking for better work, precisely because they consider the photographer freed from constraints and thus able to control every aspect of a shot. You chose a shot that doesn't meet voters' definitions of "best" and your score reflected that.
Incidentally, the "issues" with this particular shot would've hurt you in any challenge, not just a free study. "Hurt" meaning the score, not the actual quality of the shot, which depends on the viewer's taste.
But again, if you like the shot, be happy! If you choose not to meet an audience's expectations, then that's still your choice. I often enter shots that I like for various reasons, just to see whether I connect with others. For that reason, the average vote usually means less to me than specific comments or favorites.
Here are two examples, one from a free study and one not:
 
|
|
|
|
Current Server Time: 09/12/2025 07:44:21 PM  |
Home -
Challenges -
Community -
League -
Photos -
Cameras -
Lenses -
Learn -
Help -
Terms of Use -
Privacy -
Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 09/12/2025 07:44:21 PM EDT.
|
