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DPChallenge Forums >> Current Challenge >> Do we really need titles?
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06/17/2005 09:38:20 PM · #1
Titling is part of the creative process to me but that's because I like to write as well as photograph. If you can't think of a wonderful clever title, then just say what it is and it's not a distraction. But a witty title can just enhance the photograph in another level. Or that's how I see it.
06/17/2005 09:16:43 PM · #2
ha ha

Yeah - you might be right. I have been reading about the low scores as well.

But on the other hand, those who wish to judge photos based on their artistic merit alone would be free to have that option.
06/17/2005 08:24:53 PM · #3
Originally posted by zenelf:

Originally posted by PollyBean:

It could be a preference, with default as "Titles On". I'd be happy with that.


That is a great idea, Paula. I think that would appease the masses...

Anyone think this is a bad idea (i.e. some people would not be reading your titles and would be rating the piece on artistic merit alone)?

Although I still like the idea of having it at the bottom and reading it after... hmmm


I don't read the titles most of the time any way so having it as an option I think would appease people on both sides of the argument. We'd just have a whole new set of excuses for low scores like the voters must have titles turned off so they didn't get my instructions in the title. ;oP
06/17/2005 07:10:56 PM · #4
Originally posted by PollyBean:

It could be a preference, with default as "Titles On". I'd be happy with that.


That is a great idea, Paula. I think that would appease the masses...

Anyone think this is a bad idea (i.e. some people would not be reading your titles and would be rating the piece on artistic merit alone)?

Although I still like the idea of having it at the bottom and reading it after... hmmm
06/17/2005 07:01:52 PM · #5
It could be a preference, with default as "Titles On". I'd be happy with that.

Maybe we should have a poll. *hint hint*!

Message edited by author 2005-06-17 19:03:04.
06/17/2005 06:59:06 PM · #6
Originally posted by fifield:

I would like to see the titles given less emphasis. When you're voting, it's usually the first thing you see while the picture is loading. I prefer to look at a picture first, and then go to the title for additional information about the picture. But with the title right up top, it takes a conscious effort not to read it before the picture loads.


This is a great suggestion, Joel. I think the title should be included, but be revealled at the bottom, after you have seen the pic, so that you can vote without the title if that's your preference. If you're a person that likes the title (as there appear to be many), then you can scroll down and read it.

This thread has made it clear to me that there are some people who want/need titles, and I can respect that. I, as well, do appreciate a title that gives me more information about the picture, like it's location, time of day, etc. But I wonder if having it in a less obvious place would be considered by the members?

Can we talk a bit about the pro's and con's of having the title elsewhere? Would it work for everyone?
06/17/2005 06:50:08 PM · #7
Originally posted by emorgan49:

Sure would make searching for pictures a lot harder if they all had the same title.


how about, add your title, but only have it displayed AFTER the challenge ...
06/17/2005 05:21:53 PM · #8
Originally posted by reemas:

Lets have a one time TITLELESS CHALLENGE!!


Oop sorry.........guess I misread that...
06/17/2005 04:01:49 PM · #9
Photographs are like movies, a visual art. And as such a photo or movie should be able to stand on it's own merit, but both use titles. Why? The title may direct the viewer's attention to take a second glance at what may have been overlooked, add focus to a subject, or suggest a subtle mood. How many of us have not watched a movie because the title did not appeal to us, but later hear that it was a pretty good flick ? or rented a movie with an eyecatching title, but it really sucked ? A title is a detail, although a small one, it can add to or detract from the content. just my two cents.......
06/17/2005 03:09:04 PM · #10
Art (including photographic art) is highly subjective and open to interpretation. A title serves to tell you how the artist sees the image. I'll often look at a photograph and come to my own conclusions - before I read the title. The artist's title can give me a whole new perspective, completely different, but no less valid than mine.

The title I used in this photo was meant to "focus" the viewers attention in a somewhat ambiguous way. (BTW, the title was from an old spiritual song I loved back in the 50s...) Depending on where you looked in the photo, the title took on a different slant. kpriest appeared to understand that best, according to his comment near the bottom...
06/17/2005 02:51:12 PM · #11
Challenge: "Titles"
Description: Shoot a picture that heavily implies a title, but that does not have one.

That would be basically impossible I suppose.
06/17/2005 02:42:50 PM · #12
A title-less challenge is a very good idea, the theme should be something hard to photograph, to make it more interesting. Like, could you imagine the decisions challenges without titles? ;}
06/17/2005 02:06:21 PM · #13
Originally posted by emorgan49:

Sure would make searching for pictures a lot harder if they all had the same title.


Hmm... that is a rather good point.
06/17/2005 02:05:43 PM · #14
Sure would make searching for pictures a lot harder if they all had the same title.
06/17/2005 01:49:22 PM · #15
Though sometimes the "artistry" of the title is a bit much, ending up with a title that seems just a bit pretentious. With my more current works, I've been going with a more literal title to serve more as a description of the picture itself than an actual title, and let the picture do the work... with such amazing titles as "Treadmarks in the Dirt" and "Seven Pieces of Paper" :)

To me, the title should serve only as a description, and the picture should still stand alone with out it. Of course, that might just be the minimalist ideals I tend to hold in terms of what I shoot.
06/17/2005 01:04:51 PM · #16
Originally posted by jseyerle:

I agree. I think titles should be removed. The challenge title should be the title for everyone's submissions.


I think this is just a bad idea...perhaps adding a title should be an option...I personally like to title most of my images...but sometimes not...everyone has their own likes and dislikes...for me...a great title is like icing on the cake...where as a bad is like someone sneezed on it.
06/17/2005 12:47:36 PM · #17
I agree. I think titles should be removed. The challenge title should be the title for everyone's submissions.
06/17/2005 12:35:43 PM · #18
Originally posted by ElGordo:

Perhaps there should be a voting checklist that includes the title as one aspect of the entry. Something like this:

Composition: 1-10 _____
Technical quality: 1-10 _____
Title: 1-10 ______
Overall Impression: 1-10 _____

With each category weighted appropriately and a composite of those values used to generate the final vote. You could vote low on the title and high on the composition or vice versa, according to your tastes. Drawback: would take longer and require more thought to vote.


I'm sure a lot of people should take more time to vote anyway. Not a bad idea, I've always thought the voting should be a break down like this so that people can see without comments where they failed or did best.

Message edited by author 2005-06-17 12:35:58.
06/17/2005 12:32:57 PM · #19
Perhaps there should be a voting checklist that includes the title as one aspect of the entry. Something like this:

Composition: 1-10 _____
Technical quality: 1-10 _____
Title: 1-10 ______
Overall Impression: 1-10 _____

With each category weighted appropriately and a composite of those values used to generate the final vote. You could vote low on the title and high on the composition or vice versa, according to your tastes. Drawback: would take longer and require more thought to vote.
06/17/2005 11:56:13 AM · #20
Lets have a one time TITLELESS CHALLENGE!!
06/17/2005 11:45:58 AM · #21
Originally posted by buzzmom:

i have stated before i never look at titles...maybe if i wasn't understanding what something was in free study i would..but our subject is given in the challenge...title bares no weight in my scoring....although some are hilarious

example should have won on title alone


And this is an example of why some of us are anti-title. The title makes it humurous. Without a title, it is a poorly composed photo and shold not score well.

So is this Digital Photo Challenge or Digital PhotoTitle Challenge?
06/17/2005 11:44:27 AM · #22
I think that since we have people contributing to this site from all over the world an image without titles may not be understood by everyone, (not saying that the title always clears the mud the photographer has created). but people from other counties have items that may fit a certain challenge but we may not all know what that item actually is or that it really does fit the challenge; a title may help educate us. (we all know "the west" has always had a tendancy to interrupt things by what they know and standards without regards to what is fact.

I admit I used the title in one of my past challenges to help make the connection between the photo and the challenge topic because I felt I had failed to capture it clearly and was afraid no one would get it. Now I just don't enter if it isn't clear enough. It happens. I also agree that the title should be about the image, not details about the shot, UNLESS that is what the challenge wants you to do.

I would like to see a no title challenge happen just to see who many people don't get an image that the photographer thought was pretty clear cut.
06/17/2005 11:43:58 AM · #23
Originally posted by buzzmom:

i have stated before i never look at titles...maybe if i wasn't understanding what something was in free study i would..but our subject is given in the challenge...title bares no weight in my scoring....although some are hilarious

example should have won on title alone


Yea..I laughed, off and on, for a full hour at that one:))
06/17/2005 11:43:48 AM · #24
The title is the challenge name/title. This is a visual medium, and we are competing on our ability to get the idea across visually.

Perhaps we should try a challenge with NO titles..and see how it goes.

C'mon - Construction, Birds, Light on White, Framed, Orange. Is a title needed, or can a reasonably intelligent viewer understand it? If not, then I suppose it does not meet the challenge.
06/17/2005 11:43:30 AM · #25
I think that titles are great! Pictures without titles are just family albums. To me, when you name something, it makes it special. This is not a snapshot, this is my art. As far as lowering the score of a picture because you didn't like the title is stupid. You are judging the picture not the name. But I guess that you don't see any Miss America's named Bertha either.
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