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DPChallenge Forums >> Rant >> Taking Time To Think About A Photo Before Voting
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Showing posts 1 - 13 of 13, (reverse)
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02/06/2003 12:02:51 AM · #1
I may be committing a cardinal sin when I submit a photo with a theme that takes thought. However I think spending a few minutes trying to discern the photographers intention before voting would certainly help. I submitted a photo in the road signs contest that had a sign announcing a sugar mill and the same sugar mill in the photo across the road from it. Yet many people said the ugly buildings helped ruin the photo. The photo would have dived anyway because of the electrical cables and poles in it but you would think people would notice the carved mill on the sign and the mill across the road.

This week I did it again. I won't mention the photo until voting is over but it is the same case of people not paying attention even though the title of the picture indicates my intent.

Is this something I should just avoid from now on?

Frustrated for trying :-(


02/06/2003 01:09:34 AM · #2
Is your priority to get a high score or show a bunch of people a photo you like/are proud of? I myself generally choose the latter course, and often suffer the same fate as you do. But if I really reach one person; please them, inspire them, even revolt them, or maybe make them laugh, then I think it's worth it...
02/06/2003 01:17:18 AM · #3
With the number of submissions, people just don't have time to think if they're intending to vote on all of them. I know, it's a pain. If you submit a photo that requires thought, you will get a low score and a few nice comments from the people who "got" it. This photo from the "Something Old" challenge a while back always comes to mind when I think about photos that are brilliant but suffered from people not understanding it. It shows the age of the log by its rings. The image is composed wonderfully to give the life history of the tree, from its first ring back when it was a tiny seedling to the fire consuming its newest rings. But a lot of people left comments saying they didn't understand how it fit the challenge, and it came 90th.

It's odd, my photo in the cliches challenge was never intended to be difficult to understand, but a lot of people seem to be having trouble with it. I inadvertently created a bit of an optical illusion, it seems. Because people don't have time to stare at it and make sense of it, they're stopping at their first impression and not seeing it at all for what it is. Life is funny.

Message edited by author 2003-02-06 01:17:58.
02/06/2003 10:17:27 AM · #4
The problem is, with 314 pictures to vote on across both challenges, unless your picture has a real impact most people aren't going to give it the time or thought that it really deserves.

If you spent 3 minutes pondering each picture, voting would take close to 16 hours per week. I wish I had that much time to spend - if I'm lucky I can squeeze in 30 minutes a day, in a typical week I don't have that much free time.
02/06/2003 06:45:21 PM · #5
I agree with all of your responses. GeneralE -- My priority is to improve. So I guess if no one is getting it, I'm not doing something right. But I hear you and agree with you... lisae and Gordon, I agree with you there as well. Time is an issue. It usually takes me a long time to vote too. In the case of the one being voted now, I can understand folks missing it. In the case of the Sugar Mill, I can't see how anyone spending more than 10 seconds could have missed it.

Thanks.. I'll take it all to heart and keep plugging away until someone gets it!! ;-)
02/06/2003 07:00:41 PM · #6
My opinion ... your picture needs to be visually striking enough to make me want to observe it closely. I personally don't care for photos that have this grand hidden meaning and are technically weak. I'm not going to hang around to look for this grand hidden meaning. We have over 300 picture to vote on this week.


02/06/2003 07:07:33 PM · #7
This topic comes up all of the time. Someone assumes that their photo rated low because people didn't "get it". I think that is a pretty big assumption and sort of insults our intelligence. I think this happens occasionally but more often than not I think the majority of voters understood the photo just fine but still felt unmoved by it for some reason. I think that the photos that do well here are the ones that have some kind of strong visual impact to get the viwer's attention plus something interesting, whether it be fine detail or a subtle message to keep them looking. I like to think of it as if I am photographing an idea for a billboard where you want to capture everyone's attention in an instant so as to deliver the message.

T
02/07/2003 12:55:07 AM · #8
Originally posted by timj351:

This topic comes up all of the time. Someone assumes that their photo rated low because people didn't "get it". I think that is a pretty big assumption and sort of insults our intelligence.


Is it an assumption if all but a few comments are along the lines of "I didn't get it"? Usually if my photo is misunderstood, the voters are not shy about telling me. The same was true of the one I linked to earlier.

Finding out why your photo rated low isn't guesswork. It only takes about 5 comments before you come to understand the main problem people have with it, and another 5 or so will highlight anything less major. That's what I like about this place! Its frankness.
02/07/2003 10:38:32 AM · #9
Jacko,

I'm not talking about an abstract. It only takes me a few seconds to look at any photo, look at the title, and try to see the photo in that context. That's all I'm talking about. If I don't take the time, then I don't comment. I'm satisfied with the votes on my Road Sign photo but It's a perfect example: The mill is carved on the sign, and the same mill is in the photo. Why comment that the old buildings screw up the photo? ... By the way, the photo shouldn't have scored any higher because of the power lines.. This is just an example.

I'm heeding the General's advice and am just going to forget about it.
02/07/2003 12:22:11 PM · #10
you cannot please all the people all of the time,

you can't even please some of the people some of the time,

but you can always do a photo to please yourself.
02/07/2003 07:41:07 PM · #11
Originally posted by aurora:

you cannot please all the people all of the time,

you can't even please some of the people some of the time,

but you can always do a photo to please yourself.


You just made my day!!!! ;-)
02/07/2003 08:42:21 PM · #12
I liked the shot of the mill! I did not find the buildings ugly! Some people like your shot, and some don't. I would not worry too much about the people who do not like your shot! If u like it, that is all that matters!
02/08/2003 02:06:30 PM · #13
Originally posted by jgillard:

I liked the shot of the mill! I did not find the buildings ugly! Some people like your shot, and some don't. I would not worry too much about the people who do not like your shot! If u like it, that is all that matters!


Thanks!
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