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01/12/2025 08:08:08 AM · #1 |
Today I tidied up my hard disk and rummaged a bit in my archives - there are some challenges pending...
And I noticed something strange:
Pictures that I had thought up a setup for and put a lot of effort into failed the voting. And pictures that I uploaded on the last day without much hope of a good place did surprisingly well.
Has this happened to you too? |
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01/12/2025 08:28:25 AM · #2 |
| All. The. Time. Virtually without fail. I do best when I pop the drone, grab a shot, and stop fussing :-) |
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01/12/2025 09:07:21 AM · #3 |
| For me it goes both ways. Thanks to DPC I always am thinking about what I would like to shoot. Sometimes I just go for a ride and see things. The spontaneous shots are fun because you don't expect them. Other times I have a specific idea in my head and shoot with intention. Many times I have spent hours on a composition and it doesn't come out the way I see it in my head so I bag it. |
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01/12/2025 10:16:39 AM · #4 |
For me both ways as well. I think going for the obvious initial idea does not help. You will end up somewhere in the middle with everyone else.
Also going to far away from the challenge title and description does not help. You will be punished.
If you are meeting the challenge, do something different and make it appealing, then anything can happen. Easy as it sounds......
The level of effort is only a minor factor. I think it can get you a few extra points if it is obvious but only if the above three factors are met.
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01/12/2025 01:09:37 PM · #5 |
| I am literally on last minute entry mode for the past years and I rarely set up anything and most of the time works great; and mostly using my by now 3 years old Samsung phone. |
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01/12/2025 04:24:26 PM · #6 |
Thank you very much for your feedback!
I'm relieved that it's not just me. Sometimes I think I've created a work of art and it's only mediocre. I guess you're right: a trained eye for a good and suitable motif is worth more than any careful planning.
I forgot to show you examples...
This is one I never thought would end up in the ribbon range...but it got the yellow one
Whereas I had high hopes for this one - I even made green frosting on the mini cake, green tea and glued the cup to kermits hands ;-). But voters didn't like it.
I'll keep on observing |
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01/12/2025 07:23:51 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by primabarbara:
Thank you very much for your feedback!
I'm relieved that it's not just me. Sometimes I think I've created a work of art and it's only mediocre. I guess you're right: a trained eye for a good and suitable motif is worth more than any careful planning.
I forgot to show you examples...
This is one I never thought would end up in the ribbon range...but it got the yellow one
Whereas I had high hopes for this one - I even made green frosting on the mini cake, green tea and glued the cup to kermits hands ;-). But voters didn't like it.
I'll keep on observing |
Barbara, this may sound weird but for some reason the first thing that jumps out at me when looking at the toy photography entry is the paper towel as the cloth under the cakes and tea. It looks thrown together to me because of that despite the obvious care that went into the entry. Maybe others would disagree with why it didn’t resonate (I didn’t vote in that challenge at any rate), but I think a cute cloth versus that paper towel might have helped a lot. |
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01/13/2025 03:04:52 AM · #8 |
I did not participate or vote in those challenges. Looking at the two pictures (and some others in those challenges) I would say that the light, play with depth of field and the addition of the small heart for me would play a role in giving the medical image a high vote. Overall it results in an attractive and meaningfull image.
As to the toy image, I can see the effort that went in but for me it is let down by the composition, viewpoint and light. I think if you would have taken Kermit and two or three of the others and then photographed it as-if you were the 5th participant at the table, i.e. part of the party, then it might have worked better. The top scoring images in that challenge were mostly taken as-if the toys were human size, moving around you. Tough competition as well.
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01/13/2025 03:48:25 AM · #9 |
| I very rarely set up photos any more and a lot of my entries are photos that weren't taken specially for challenges. Even the two that I've entered this year, both shot specially for challenges, were last minute entries. I only started shooting for "Macro" after midnight last night. |
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