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04/13/2008 02:57:57 AM · #1 |
I'm frustrated. I had an idea for the Water challenge and I have spent the last 4 days and over 20 hours trying to implement my idea and it's all just falling apart. I'm currently back to square one and at this point am only going to have 2 hours before the deadline to throw something together for the challenge. Unfortunately my idea requires a series of steps that each take a few hours to complete and I've run out of hours.
So how much time do you typically spend on a challenge and how often is that time unproductive? |
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04/13/2008 04:57:34 AM · #2 |
It depends. I assume you are talking about post processing time. I think for my the upcoming Water challenge, I probably spent a total of 2 hours, perhaps as much as 3. That's not counting about 1 1/2 hours I spent at a location taking shots. A lot of my time is spent mulling over choices such as what curves adjustment looks best and (the big one for me) exactly how to crop it. I'll sometimes do several versions with only minor differences and fuss over them. In other cases, it will be a shot that I already did anyway, maybe got some good comments on Flickr, and I thought it suited the theme. In those cases, the prep work for the challenge consists of resizing it appropriately.
Often I will have an idea for a challenge, but when I review my shots, something entirely different will stand out instead. That was the case with the following shot. My original idea was a "Kilroy" style image of my granddaughter, but when she started poking her face through the gaps in the brick wall, I knew that had potential. I think I spent the better part of a day on this one, including the shooting time and fussing over getting it just right:
My current entry in centered composition I spent about an hour on, getting it uploaded about 5 minutes
before rollover. It was a casual shot when I was out testing a new lens and it just happened to fit the theme. It was almost a throwaway.
I'm curious how much time the regular high scorers spend.
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04/13/2008 11:43:13 AM · #3 |
Sometimes I get an idea and pull it off on the first try.... but that's rare. Usually for challenges, I have several ideas that I want to try. I start goofing (learning as I go) until I end up with something only distantly related to my original idea. Often times I find the longer I stay at it (days at a time is not uncommon), the images - and ideas - get better and better. Part of taking part in these challenges is learning the different techniques needed for each one..... so the time spent isn't a "waste".
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04/13/2008 12:04:43 PM · #4 |
For some challenges, I have the idea in my head when I am going around doing my daily work routine, and I look for scenes that would fit the challenge as I go. Numbers 3, 4, 5, and 6 on my profile page were found that way.
Numbers 3, and 5 were from the same sunset, and both were shot in less than 10 minutes.
Number 2 was set up, shot, processed and uploaded in about 10 minutes total.
Sometimes I connect the current challenge theme with something that I have shot in the past, and try to improve on the earlier snapshot, that would be the top score shot in my profile, which I spent about 30 fun filled minutes with my grandson and son while shooting. Number 2 was an improved version of something shot for the "macro" side challenge, the week before the challenge.
So, the top 6 in my profile were all shot in less than an hour total, though I don't count time to get to the locations, as that's part of my daily drive to and from work.
I only do basic processing, so processing time is usually less than 15 minutes for each shot.
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04/13/2008 12:15:45 PM · #5 |
Depends if I am serious about a challenge or not.
If, I am not serious, I find an image that meets the requirements, and add it to the challenge.
If I am serious, and inspired, the thought process may take a couple of days to what I envision the image to look like. Another day to how to do the job and what material I will need.
The execution is never to my liking. I want to spend a couple of hours shooting to get the just right angle, exposure, and mostly lighting. But, in reality, the execution usually takes a few minutes because of the models time, so, therefore, I have to give a day to think about what lens I want to use, the exposure value, the lighting value, the color value, the angle, ect., ect..
You can tell by my portfolios which images I actually took the time to work on, and which I just threw in.
The "Centered Comp." challenge is an example of my laziness. The "Water" challenge is an example of my creativeness.
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04/13/2008 12:17:24 PM · #6 |
My approach to challenges is, first off, determine what the most popular themes in a challenge are likely to be...then go the opposite direction! For example the James Bond challenge - easy to anticipate lots ot martinis, guys in tuxes with guns, girls in slinky outfits...so I shot my cat as Octopussy. That shot has the dubious distinction of being my first ever DQ (oops, cloning wasn't allowed, my bad) but it got 4 faves.
In terms of actual amount spent, that is generally determined by the challenge itself. My entry for Negative is a no-brainer, I knew exactly what I wanted to shoot and anticipated that it would look great after the necessary pp. In that case I just go to the locale and shoot usually at least a dozen or so pix, until I get one that really yells Challenge entry! to me.
For my Led Zep entry, where I did a little bit of genderf**k and was both model and photographer, I had to assemble the props, do light set up in the studio, shoot and art-direct. I took over 300 shots for that entry, which finished in the bottom 5%...however it has also been faved 3x, so that means far more than a high score but no faves.
In the old days I'd just take a p&s with me and try to see a suitable shot. So now I plan a bit more, but if I see a better shot en route, then I'll certainly pull over and shoot it.
If I'm going on a gtg, I'll take along my Nikon D40 just so I look like I know what I'm doing, but still have the ol' Powershot lurking in the depths of a pocket. |
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