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02/13/2012 12:45:37 PM · #1 |
When composing a creative image of a subject, should title be considered during it's evaluation? Should titles even be allowed during voting as they may be grease for a shoe-horn or advertising space for the photo in question?
I know this one has been kicked around before, but I am curious what some of the guys on the site with a lot more experience than I have would say on this subject. Not to mention some of the less subjective and more abstract artists would say.
Message edited by author 2012-02-13 13:12:08. |
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02/13/2012 01:01:27 PM · #2 |
It's probably not a good idea to discuss such a detailed element of a challenge currently in voting... either in the original thread or in this spin-off thread.
Message edited by author 2012-02-13 13:01:59. |
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02/13/2012 01:11:56 PM · #3 |
Thanks for the tip, EL-ROI, removed reference to thread. That is why I spun this topic off, as I felt discussing in in a results thread was treading a bit close. However, I don't think there is any time on DPC where we could discuss this as a separate subject and not have it be relative to a challenge currently in voting.
Message edited by author 2012-02-13 13:16:14. |
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02/13/2012 01:16:20 PM · #4 |
I won't give a vote based on the title. I do generally read the title but a good title noes not necessarily mean good vote.
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02/13/2012 01:21:07 PM · #5 |
| i think titles are important... several times ill be about to give a picture maybe a 5, then look at the title and realize oh wow! i never saw that, or oh wow! i never thought of it that way.. |
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02/13/2012 01:22:24 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by cowboy221977:
I won't give a vote based on the title. I do generally read the title but a good title noes not necessarily mean good vote. |
I agree with  cowboy221977 here. A good title does not mean a good vote. I just like to see what people "name" their photos. It's quite interesting, actually. It also is very telling about a person (sorry, I'm a psychology major, I read too far into things sometimes, LOL).
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02/13/2012 01:26:27 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by crowis:
I know this one has been kicked around before ... |
Several hundred times would be a relatively conservative estimate ... ;-)
Bottom line, some people value titles, some people hate them, some vote up a "clever" title, some don't.
Some years ago we moved the titles to appear below the photo (originally you saw the title at the top of the page above the picture) so that you are free to read it or not. You can assign it any share of the overall vote (either positively or negatively) that you want. Only you know whether the title adds "value" to your viewing experience.
I personally use titles (probably better than my camera), since every entry not otherwise named automatically carries the challenge title -- in a themed challenge like we have here, there's no such thing as an "Untitled" photo, other than in a Free Study.
Message edited by author 2012-02-13 13:27:21. |
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02/13/2012 01:43:19 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Originally posted by crowis:
I know this one has been kicked around before ... |
since every entry not otherwise named automatically carries the challenge title -- in a themed challenge like we have here, there's no such thing as an "Untitled" photo, other than in a Free Study. |
Wow. Good point, hand't really thought of it that way before, but certainly true if I spend a minute pondering. |
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02/13/2012 01:46:26 PM · #9 |
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02/13/2012 01:47:34 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by posthumous:
name your babies |
Just don't use the George Foreman method ... ;-) |
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02/13/2012 02:53:58 PM · #11 |
| In galleries, "Untitled" is the title, even when there is no title. |
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02/13/2012 02:59:12 PM · #12 |
Titles are fun, and useful. They allow a second level of engagement with the challenge topic (by the photographer), and with the picture itself (by the viewer/voter), that can only add to the experience for everybody involved.
Plus I have noticed that the people who insist that the photograph should stand on its own generally take crap photographs. |
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02/13/2012 03:01:10 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by ubique:
Titles are fun, and useful. They allow a second level of engagement with the challenge topic (by the photographer), and with the picture itself (by the viewer/voter), that can only add to the experience for everybody involved.
Plus I have noticed that the people who insist that the photograph should stand on its own generally take crap photographs. |
LOL....just made me spit my tea. |
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02/13/2012 03:04:51 PM · #14 |
| For me, an image should stand alone, as itself. A photo should be strong visually, in some way. The caption should aid, but if it's the director, I think the photo is too aimless. This applies for abstract photos, since you hardly need a solid subject matter to convey a thought, an emotion. Your photo can readily do that. |
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02/13/2012 03:12:11 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by ubique:
Titles are fun, and useful. They allow a second level of engagement with the challenge topic (by the photographer), and with the picture itself (by the viewer/voter), that can only add to the experience for everybody involved.
... |
I agree with this attitude, but I do not allow the title to necessarily affect my vote. I have been known to comment on a title's suitability or creativity.
Originally posted by njsabs:
LOL....just made me spit my tea. |
I've learned to step away from my computer when taking tea while reading forums (!) |
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02/13/2012 03:37:54 PM · #16 |
Nobody's mentioned that there can be a SYNERGY between title and image, in the sense that the entire piece of art may consist of words and an image joined together. This is perfectly valid, IMO, and it grieves me when I hear people saying "a photograph should be able to stand on its own". I don't understand that, as an absolute. Where did that rule come from?
Consider the following:
I set out, for this challenge, to photograph that poem, essentially; I literally went out the door to search for a thicket that would work for that couplet. In what sense is this "less than photography" because it is "more" than "just photography'?
R.
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02/13/2012 03:43:03 PM · #17 |
I think titles are important - even for shoehorning, which I don't have a problem with. The ones that ANNOY me are explanatory titles:
"This was done legally in basic!"
"F2.8 .5sec ISO 400"
"I hung off a cliff to shoot this"
I love titles that make you think - as long as you don't have to think too long or use wikipedia to "get it". ;-) |
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02/13/2012 04:51:09 PM · #18 |
Originally posted by ubique:
Plus I have noticed that the people who insist that the photograph should stand on its own generally take crap photographs. |
Guilty! Though I've never insisted that it should, but rather suggested that it could. I enjoy a good title, and some have a real knack for complementing their images with something thoughtful, ironic or poetic. Not me. In fact, my own challenge titles have lately become a series of one word tags, suitable for little more than image identificaiton. When I exhaust the dictionary, I'll stop photographing.
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02/13/2012 05:17:32 PM · #19 |
What you get on DPC are photos with titles, the two things go together and it's up the photographer to decide whether to exploit that or not, as reinforcement or contrast, keep it neutral or disregard it completely and put 'untitled'.
I value an image that speaks without a title, and sometimes I find myself scoring an image really high and then realizing I didn't really read the title.
But there are cases where the title adds a lot, some concepts are difficult to pass without a context or a clue, or even suggests a twist or a contrast that completely changes the meaning to the image for the better.
So, I guess it's up to you as a voter and viewer to decide what you want to make out of it. |
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02/13/2012 06:47:45 PM · #20 |
| I would never downgrade a photo because of a title but sometimes it gives you a feel for what the photographer is trying to accomplish. So, for me the title might help (probably not) but not hurt. |
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02/14/2012 07:49:29 AM · #21 |
Originally posted by bigskyeye:
I would never downgrade a photo because of a title but sometimes it gives you a feel for what the photographer is trying to accomplish. So, for me the title might help (probably not) but not hurt. |
I do agree with this statement...
There are times when I have looked at a photography and thought to myself "I just don't get it". Look at the title, and sometimes, you can begin to understand. I think a title can help, though I don't vote based on a title (I like titles for the insight).
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02/14/2012 07:56:59 AM · #22 |
Sometimes a title helps push the viewer to take a closer look... |
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02/14/2012 08:02:33 AM · #23 |
ive had an image voted down because of the title, was when the new uploader came into effect and i just didnt notice it becuase of the different workflow,
i vote on the image not the title, i'll comment on a nice title or a witty one but the image is the main determinant in the vote
Message edited by author 2012-02-14 08:05:26. |
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02/14/2012 08:03:01 AM · #24 |
| I think the original intention in this thread was to to with DNMCs when the voters perceived that without the title the image had nothing to do with the challenge and NOT whether the title is needed or not in general. I will be interested in this discussion when the current challenge is over. |
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02/14/2012 08:08:12 AM · #25 |
title: led zeppelin immigrant song
lol
Message edited by author 2012-02-14 08:09:26. |
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