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08/23/2007 05:28:06 PM · #1 |
Alright, dang it, I told myself I would not check my score every hour to see how I am doing, but here I am, sneakishly pounding away at my computer at work *glances over shoulder to make sure no one is looking*.
Anyway, this is my first ever entry, and, though I have been around for a bit here, I have never really paid much attention to the contests, just the message boards.
Now my question is this. I look at my score and feel OKAY about it. The problem is, I think, that I don't know what a good score is. What kind of score should I have to consider myself to be in the competition for actually placing? Where do most people start out scoring? Will the week long voting ever end? Why is this more addicting than drugs? ARRRRGH, questions!!! Got answers???
:) thanks! |
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08/23/2007 05:31:21 PM · #2 |
Your best way to calculate your placing on the board is to look at the results of previous challenges.
Although...it is better to compete against yourself rather than the masses. DPC is like a client...they like a particular style...and trust me when I say this...many, many styles from many great photographers are just not favoured on this site. So just because you don't score well...does not mean you are bad!
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08/23/2007 05:36:03 PM · #3 |
Adam, just wait until you put on the blue shirt (become a paid member). Then you can hit the "update" button every minute or so, watching each individual vote come in. And you can get spreadsheets to track each individual vote to watch for trends. Trust me, it is addictive watching your scores, especially when it's doing well.
Looking at your score so far, I would guess that it will place well above the middle, not in ribbon territory, but very likely top 15% or higher. Challenge averages are usually around 5.3-ish.
Welcome to the madness! |
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08/23/2007 05:36:18 PM · #4 |
6.5 is an excellent score - you should be extremely proud of it!
Regarding what is a good score - After 40 plus challenges, I just try to continually better my average score (currently 5.75) and hope it continues to go up. If you look at the top photogs on the site, they average above a 6.0. With your current average vote, You are in serious company right now...
The top scores for each challenge are greatly dependent on the number of entries, the type of photos, and the photogs that choose to enter. Smaller challenges on obscure themes tend to get lower votes, while free studies and flashy challenges (portraits, post cards, sky, etc.) will tend to score much higher. I have seen winners in the mid 6s to over 8 - so it really depends on the quality of the entries and the number of photos.
Good luck and have fun here at DPC (by the way - the scores button is a drug - stop if you can, and if you can, tell me the secret...
I also agree with earlier posters - use the score as ONE measure of the photos worth, compare it to others, and use it as another tool to measure your improvement.
Message edited by author 2007-08-23 17:38:18. |
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08/23/2007 06:07:34 PM · #5 |
| brownsm, I know, that day that the blue shirt comes on scares me, as I doubt that I will ever leave my computer. First, I gotta make some money to buy the shirt though. LOL. Anyway, thank you all for that, and for the very nice compliments. I guess you can just view my profile to see my score then? Or as a member, can you see others scores? Now, its almost 10 after, so I gotta go check on sc...ummm......something... |
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08/23/2007 08:34:26 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by amathiasphoto:
I guess you can just view my profile to see my score then? |
When you look at your profile, your average vote received is constantly updated. Since you've only entered one challenge so far, we can all see how you're doing. Once you've entered a second challenge, that will change. |
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08/24/2007 12:22:15 AM · #7 |
| I too am on my first challenge, and finding the score addicting. Is there a time when my score will stop moving? So far it has only changed within .2 of the original score. Should I face facts that this will be my final score or can I still reach mid to upper 5's and above? |
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08/24/2007 05:27:42 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by JBHale:
I too am on my first challenge, and finding the score addicting. Is there a time when my score will stop moving? So far it has only changed within .2 of the original score. Should I face facts that this will be my final score or can I still reach mid to upper 5's and above? |
The score will stop moving when the voting ends ;-)
Once you have 100 votes or so, it is unlikely it will move more than about 0.1 or 0.2. If it's at 5.1 now, it's not going to get to 5.5 by the end, unless a miracle happens. |
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08/26/2007 09:55:03 PM · #9 |
Welcome to dpchallenge, and thank you for participating. The more the merrier. On my first challenge, I got a 5.4 and was pretty disappointed. Little did I know that it would still be my 2nd best score after participating for four months (my 2nd entry did slightly better, and then I unintentionally explored brown territory for a while - never quite getting there either). A 6.5 is a great first score, and a very respectable score for most challenges.
Voters on dpchallenge can be pretty unforgiving (like those with a 4.0 average vote), and it only takes a few 4's or lower to really drag down your score. 6.5 probably isn't going to win most challenges, and there are several members I've come across who are members of the 7+ with no blue club. Depending on the challenge, if your score is 6.8 or above, you are likely at least in the running for the top 10 - not always, though.
Click away on the score update button. My experience over the past few weeks is that my shots tend to start low, bounce around quite a bit, but trend upward slightly at the end. But since I'm in the bottom of the barrel, that probably isn't significant...
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08/27/2007 12:03:39 AM · #10 |
Originally posted by annpatt:
Originally posted by JBHale:
I too am on my first challenge, and finding the score addicting. Is there a time when my score will stop moving? So far it has only changed within .2 of the original score. Should I face facts that this will be my final score or can I still reach mid to upper 5's and above? |
The score will stop moving when the voting ends ;-)
Once you have 100 votes or so, it is unlikely it will move more than about 0.1 or 0.2. If it's at 5.1 now, it's not going to get to 5.5 by the end, unless a miracle happens. |
My score on the backlighting challenge has been like a roller coaster. Started out in the low 6's (6.2something)the first day...took a precipitous dive the second day down to 5.4...languished for a couple of days in the 5.5 range and wasn't much higher after 100 votes...and has slowly been inching it's way back up to 5.8...might even make it to 5.9 as its pretty close.
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08/27/2007 02:39:35 AM · #11 |
Originally posted by annpatt:
Originally posted by amathiasphoto:
I guess you can just view my profile to see my score then? |
When you look at your profile, your average vote received is constantly updated. Since you've only entered one challenge so far, we can all see how you're doing. Once you've entered a second challenge, that will change. |
We can also see the average vote cast... I hope you'll get to see the better photos as well. The site is much more exciting when the randomizer gets to showing you the top half of the submitted photos... |
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