Bright Light on White??? - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM

03/02/2005 07:33:45 AM · #1

I'm getting comments that my photo is too dark but at the same time very nicely composed, great subject, great dof all of which took around 50 shots to get with great intent...including the lighting.

My light subject IS a light(NOT BRIGHT)color...white in fact and it was shot on a white background...so why am I cruising with Votes: 56
Views: 66 Avg Vote: 3.7143.

The Challenge doesn't say that it has to be bright white does it?
"Be mindful of over-exposing your highlights!" Should I have interpreted that as 'Make It Bright"?

okiesisi

Canon EOS-1000D Rebel XS

03/02/2005 07:39:46 AM · #2

I hear ya...I have no comments yet, but mine is also light on white (just as the challenge states), is not overblown, and I have no comments and started at 5.5 and am now at 4.0.
I often wonder if there are people out there who give all pics a 1 or 2 so that they do better in the challenge?
--S

love

Canon EOS-500D Rebel T1i

03/02/2005 08:15:57 AM · #3

white is white..anything else is gray

rex

Canon PowerShot SD780

03/02/2005 08:19:43 AM · #4

Originally posted by okiesisi:

I often wonder if there are people out there who give all pics a 1 or 2 so that they do better in the challenge?
--S

There is supposed to be something in place for that sort of thing. Also it would be mean for someone to do that. When I vote on a challenge I do it the same if I enter it or not. Almost always have three 10's and about six or so 9's.

MichaelC

DJI Mini 3 Pro

03/02/2005 08:23:18 AM · #5

I went to a lot of trouble to make sure the BG is white AND not blow any highlights, only saw a few others that did that.

My 2 cents

Peaked at 6.3 now 5.5

Fujifilm XF 23mm f/2 R WR

03/02/2005 08:26:03 AM · #6

Originally posted by fotoshootme:

white is white..anything else is gray

Of course but does white NEED to be bright?

My canvas is white, my subject white, lit off angle creating (intentionally, I should add!!!)a light into dark fade with gentle shadowing.

Where did I go wrong? Geez a 3.7! What do you need to do to connect?

aznym

Fujifilm X-T3

03/02/2005 08:28:59 AM · #7

You can photograph something with a white background and the lens cap on. But I don't think that's what the challenge is about.

Tamron SP AF 17-35mm f/2.8-4 Di LD Aspherical IF for Nikon

03/02/2005 08:34:51 AM · #8

Originally posted by xion:

You can photograph something with a white background and the lens cap on. But I don't think that's what the challenge is about.

I had the lens cap off too. I'm not sure if I understand your comment?

Is the challenge about brightness?

Let's assume that this is a very well taken photograph. Cool use of dof, interesting compositon, original subject matter...

Does it desrve a 3.7, simply, for not being bright. I'm just trying to understand the voting public, here...not to complain btw.

Message edited by author 2005-03-02 08:38:40.

davidbedard

Canon EOS-70D

Canon EF 24-70 2.8L II

03/02/2005 08:35:22 AM · #9

Originally posted by fotoshootme:

white is white..anything else is gray

But white is only half of the challenge. It is Light on White, not White on White. Light reflected off of white contains every color in the spectrum.

Node

Nikon D300

03/02/2005 08:40:09 AM · #10

This was to be my entry.

But I decided it was not LIGHT on white. Now I'm getting creamed and it seems its because I met the challenge. Whats the betting that something with high contrast wins this challenge.

aznym

Fujifilm X-T3

Fujifilm XF 23mm f/2 R WR

03/02/2005 08:56:22 AM · #11

My point earlier was that I think the challenge is about displaying your skills at photography something that has a lot of light colours and keeping the background white and controlling the light/exposure so the subject doesn't have blown out highlights.
If you don't have white in your image, then you have missed to meet part of the challenge.

okiesisi

Canon EOS-1000D Rebel XS

03/02/2005 09:03:05 AM · #12

what I have noticed with quite a few entries is that people play with light and bring in a full spectrum of whites. so who's to say one person's eggshell white is "whiter" than another's dingy white?
just my thots
--S

Sigma 18-250 f/3.5 - 6.3 DC OS HSM

03/02/2005 09:23:21 AM · #13

xion-I do have white in my subject and background. Just not terribly bright. White is white.

I just lit from a low angle to highlight the(white)subject, again, not too brightly to achieve soft shadows. I used soft "light" but "light" none the less.

I'm perfectly fine if people would like to have seen it brighter and knocked it down a point or so but it's a nice white on white photograph thats getting slammed. I'm a bit confused.

saiphfire

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

03/02/2005 09:32:38 AM · #14

It irritates me when people submit pretty pictures that don't fit the theme at all. I'm not saying my pictures are very good :) , but at least I followed the rules. I think there should be a few dqs for doing this to get people to knock it off... let the submitter justify applicability to the theme and if the justification is no good, kick the picture out.

While I'm at it, what's with all the b/w pictures in this challenge? If you take a color picture, make it b/w, and hike the contrast there's a good chance the subject will look light with some black accents, but that doesn't mean it was.

Sorry... I clearly woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, but it just annoys me. :)

NathanWert

Canon EOS-90D

03/02/2005 09:44:24 AM · #15

Originally posted by rex07734:

[quote=okiesisi]
Almost always have three 10's and about six or so 9's.

I finished voting already and so far I have voted:
10 - 6
9 - 24
----
2 - 9
1 - 3

But then I usually go back to the 1's, 2's 9's and 10's right before the end of voting to see if a fresh look will revise my thinking of the pictures.

aznym

Fujifilm X-T3

Fujifilm XF 23mm f/2 R WR

03/02/2005 09:47:13 AM · #16

pawdrix: Sometimes it gets a bit confusing. I think it's down to the individual interpretations of the challenge and in this case a lot to do with our interpretation of white/brightness.
There are 430 other entries. 430 people have a picture of what's it about in their heads. There would also be people who didn't enter with their own take on the challenge.
Would be good to discuss the image after the challenge and see how we all see it.

DrewLong

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Tamron AF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 LD for Canon

03/02/2005 10:04:15 AM · #17

It's definetly just a matter of interpretation which could take a photo in two completly different directions. If you took it as a "shot setup prerequisite" to have a light subject on a white background depending on the lighting and camera angle you could end up with alot of contrast and a full range of white to black. But if you interpreted it as the "final photo" is to be light on white, then that would make high contrast and greys seem incorrect. This is my first challenge so I made sure not to take any chances. Very light subject, very white background for setup and final outcome. I'm not doing so hot, but I'm glad to finally take part of a challenge.

gwphoto

Canon EOS-1D Mark II

03/02/2005 10:38:00 AM · #18

Originally posted by Gurilla:

This was to be my entry.

But I decided it was not LIGHT on white. Now I'm getting creamed and it seems its because I met the challenge. Whats the betting that something with high contrast wins this challenge.

I tend to agree and all that woudl mean is that people don't read the guidlines or they just don't care. If that is the case then they sould enter contests that don't have guidlines, but subjects only.

Tamron AF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 LD for Canon

03/02/2005 10:51:11 AM · #19

The funny thing is that I thought that I was being conservative. Since Friday, I was absolutely certain that this photo was a very high 5 to high 6 shot if not a 7. Maybe an 8???

And I might be sadly learning to stay SUPER CONSERVATIVE and take egg shots. I could be wrong but photo's with concepts that are out of the box might be too distracting to voters unless, of course they are spectacular blue ribbon shots.

Just take a perfect photo of the most starightforward, literal, safe challenge interpretation and you'll fair ok.

I think I'll need to ask questions to clarify each challenge so I don't go off the range. I was happy to see a definition of Sureal posted...that was brilliant.

BTW as a chef, I have to create recipes for events, where a client might describe a food they want to use, a texture, a look, a flavor/seasoning based on a photo they saw two years back in a mag, then I have to come up with something that 200-300-1000 people will be tantalized by. I make a good/great living at interpreting challenges (for music as well).

That's why I'm shocked at how off base I've been.

DrewLong

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

03/02/2005 10:56:49 AM · #20

Guidelines are there for a reason. I think that it's called dpchallenge not just because it's a contest against others but more so a way to challenge yourself as a photographer by coming up with an original, creative and well shot photo that falls within the guidelines given.
I was REAL dissapointed to read on a thread about the seperation challenge where 2nd place was accused of using burn and dodge tools and he admitedly said "so sue me,lol" and no one seemed to care. It was a great photo, but he created lighting effects that weren't even there. There are photoshop contests for that stuff. Not following site rules is way worse than not following challenge guidelines. Is it just me?

docurrie

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

03/02/2005 11:03:13 AM · #21

I haven't started to vote yet. I suppose you could interpret the challenge several different ways and each voter will vote based on how they interpret the challeng and how the challenge was met.

This is my first challenge and I felt the challenge was to have a "white" background. Not off white, not some shade of white, like grey.

The "light" part of the challenge I think leads to more interpretation. From my point of view the closer to white the subject is the more I will credit that picture with meeting the challenge.

However, it is still a photography challenge and things such as composition, focus, lighting, etc. will still be considered in voting. So a well done photograph that is not as "white" or "light" as another may still end up with a higher vote.

Kathy

Canon EOS-50D

Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

03/02/2005 11:29:00 AM · #22

Originally posted by pawdrix:

That's why I'm shocked at how off base I've been.

YOU are not off - too many others are. I was happy to meet this challenge. I knew that there would be some really fantastic pictures to view, and am not anticipating any great high scores, based on experience and technicalities. But, I would loved to had received constructive critiquing. How will I learn to shoot light against white (and edit it) if members don't submit works for true comparisons?

Many of us are trying to learn the craft through association and observation. Those of you with top-of-the-line cameras and know-how, should be leading the way in meeting the Challenge criteria. When you win because you can produce outstanding work, while not meeting the Challenge itself (or excessively stretching the interpretation,) you're hurting our whole photo community.

This doesn't come from "cranky", it comes from "sorely disappointed." But to those of you who did "light on white", Thank you. There are some spectacular images in this bunch.