DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register
 

DPChallenge Forums >> Current Challenge >> abstract - titles
Pages:  
Showing posts 1 - 25 of 64, (reverse)
AuthorThread
04/24/2020 03:29:58 PM · #1
Seems to me that a title for an abstract should not tell us what the damn thing is. Read the challenge in its entirety. An abstract stands on its own and lets the viewer define it.
04/24/2020 03:40:02 PM · #2
Originally posted by oldbimmercoupe:

Seems to me that a title for an abstract should not tell us what the damn thing is. Read the challenge in its entirety. An abstract stands on its own and lets the viewer define it.


Agreed. For me, half the fun of looking at an abstract is in using your imagination to figure it out, or not trying to decipher it at all.
04/24/2020 03:55:25 PM · #3
I had a title for mine that I didn't use for that reason. I felt it was telling the viewer what to think it was.
04/24/2020 04:07:50 PM · #4
I'm a huge fan of not requiring titles in any challenge.

Why tell us what to think on any image?

Why limit the image?

04/24/2020 04:22:33 PM · #5
Originally posted by Lydia:

I'm a huge fan of not requiring titles in any challenge.

Why tell us what to think on any image?

Why limit the image?

Perhaps to answer the question "What were they thinking when they submitted this?"?

FWIW it is possible to title or describe an abstract without saying "what it is".
04/24/2020 05:10:48 PM · #6
sometimes a title is just a tag...

certainly agree that they should not be required; in fact, it would be a mercy to judge without titles. however, some titles are better than others, but rare it is that a title has saved a nation. or is that a notion.
04/24/2020 05:27:47 PM · #7
I just think a title should be optional.

Most photographs in "the real world" do not have titles.

04/24/2020 05:50:37 PM · #8
Originally posted by Lydia:

Most photographs in "the real world" do not have titles.

I think photos which are displayed (galleries, print media, etc. -- not just plopped into a social media feed) do have titles or captions -- think of Ansel Adams' work or any other "memorable" images ...

At DPC you are allowed to designate any entry as "Untitled" unless there's a Special Rule ...

FWIW one of the earliest design changes at DPC was to only display the title below the image on the voting page (it used to be both above and below) so that voters could have the option to evaluate the picture before seeing the title -- if your browser resizes the page so that both always display together it's the browser's fault, not ours. :-)
04/24/2020 06:40:04 PM · #9
i rather like seeing titles on some of the images ..
it gives me a greater understanding of where the photographer was coming from .. and that widens my perspective .. its like another dimension that can greatly increase my appreciation of the image ..

but thats not for all the photographs here .. for some a title actually detracts ..

also the thinking up of titles when in actual fact the image may not need one .. can be a waste of my precious time .. but i try and think up a wonderful title to elevate my often less than amazing photo into the realms of greatness .. lol .. hahaha .. !! .. ;)

Message edited by author 2020-04-24 18:40:29.
04/24/2020 09:19:34 PM · #10
Originally posted by Lydia:

I just think a title should be optional.

Most photographs in "the real world" do not have titles.


In museums I always look at the credits, artist first, then title. Titles can be very meaningful IMO.
04/24/2020 10:15:06 PM · #11
Everyone has an opinion.

And everyone is right.

Let’s give every artist their option about their image?

It’s still a photography site, right?

Let them enter a title if they’d like. And not, if they’d like.

“Untitled” is still a title, in my opinion. It’s still saying something.

I’m only asking for the option.

04/24/2020 11:34:49 PM · #12
The only comments I have on my abstract photo are objections to the title.
I think my abstract stands on its own but the title gives it context and a more interesting connection to the abstraction and how it was achieved.

Nitpickers drive me crazy. I give up!

04/24/2020 11:44:47 PM · #13
Originally posted by Lydia:

Everyone has an opinion.

And everyone is right.

Let’s give every artist their option about their image?

It’s still a photography site, right?

Let them enter a title if they’d like. And not, if they’d like.

“Untitled” is still a title, in my opinion. It’s still saying something.

I’m only asking for the option.


I agree ... leave it up to the photographer who entered the challenge .. it's their photo .. and their call as to whether they want to give it a title .. :)
04/24/2020 11:49:01 PM · #14
Originally posted by Lydia:

“Untitled” is still a title, in my opinion. It’s still saying something.

I’m only asking for the option.

Title with just a single period and it's virtually invisible. FWIW, there is a long history in photography of using "Untitled", though I expect that's entirely at the hands of the people who hang the exhibitions and lay out the catalogs :-)
04/24/2020 11:51:08 PM · #15
Originally posted by MeMex2:

The only comments I have on my abstract photo are objections to the title.
I think my abstract stands on its own but the title gives it context and a more interesting connection to the abstraction and how it was achieved.

Nitpickers drive me crazy. I give up!


and Jane .. I'm sorry to hear you're being penalized for your title ..
one would hope the photograph is judged on its own merits .. without the title influencing the vote .. ;(
I'm going to keep that in mind in future when I'm giving a photo a title ..

i would almost want to do something crazy and give a photo a title that makes no sense at all .. and see how that goes down .. could have some surprising reactions.. ;)
04/25/2020 12:10:49 AM · #16
Welllll, I certainly over explained my title then LOLOL
04/25/2020 12:13:34 AM · #17
Originally posted by Bear_Music:


Title with just a single period and it's virtually invisible.


Unfortunately, not viable for a title here on DPC. Just tried it. A single period provides the following prompt.

04/25/2020 12:17:12 AM · #18
Originally posted by roz:

i would almost want to do something crazy and give a photo a title that makes no sense at all .. and see how that goes down .. could have some surprising reactions.. ;)

I do that ALL the time. Doesn't seem to help scores...
04/25/2020 12:17:34 AM · #19
Originally posted by glad2badad:

Originally posted by Bear_Music:


Title with just a single period and it's virtually invisible.


Unfortunately, not viable for a title here on DPC. Just tried it. A single period provides the following prompt.


Well, heck... How obnoxious can we get? Jejeje...

Message edited by author 2020-04-25 00:18:09.
04/25/2020 12:27:37 AM · #20
I knew about the period not working earlier. I wanted to use it for my abstract title, for exactly some of the reasons mentioned in this thread. :-)
04/25/2020 03:43:11 AM · #21
Originally posted by glad2badad:

I knew about the period not working earlier. I wanted to use it for my abstract title, for exactly some of the reasons mentioned in this thread. :-)


Still it seems to be possible to submit without a title, I see it happen every now and then. There’s one in the Abstract challenge which is currently in voting...
04/25/2020 08:20:24 AM · #22
Sometimes its harder to come up with a title than it is to think of a picture for a challenge topic. I never mark down for a title. If titles are so important than join a literature website.
04/25/2020 11:30:11 AM · #23
Originally posted by Janja:

Originally posted by glad2badad:

I knew about the period not working earlier. I wanted to use it for my abstract title, for exactly some of the reasons mentioned in this thread. :-)


Still it seems to be possible to submit without a title, I see it happen every now and then. There’s one in the Abstract challenge which is currently in voting...

Ah, yes. I see it. Figured it out. Using the browser developer mode and inspecting the element I noticed that the value entered is a simple html break code "
". If you enter that (without the quotes) it will show an empty title area.
04/26/2020 02:21:28 PM · #24
Originally posted by oldbimmercoupe:

Seems to me that a title for an abstract should not tell us what the damn thing is. Read the challenge in its entirety. An abstract stands on its own and lets the viewer define it.


Fully agree with the above.

In general it is my view an image should stand on its own. A title is fine but if it NEEDS a title to get the message across, then I usually score it lower. I try to first judge the image without looking at the title.

In the case of an abstract, it should not explain what I am looking at, in my view.
04/26/2020 03:31:05 PM · #25
Originally posted by GeneralE:

FWIW it is possible to title or describe an abstract without saying "what it is".


I think this is an important point to reiterate, so I'm doing just that...
Pages:  
Current Server Time: 03/29/2024 08:28:45 AM

Please log in or register to post to the forums.


Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Prints! - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2024 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 03/29/2024 08:28:45 AM EDT.