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07/02/2008 09:03:41 AM · #1 |
I once started a thread on the radical notion that the entries should not have titles, or that the titles should be hidden during voting. This idea was quickly shot down for all manner of reasons. I suspect the opposition was led by the "explainers" a group of photographers that feel the general public will never be able to figure out their photo, and their photo will languish in the limbo that is "the grey area between meeting the challenge and dnmc." This fear makes people name their photos crazy titles like, for a "Yellow" challenge "outside looking in (through a window at a basket with a lemon, its yellow)" or other foolish drivel. Coincidentally, "explainers" do not frequently win ribbons (although they sometimes do in spite of themselves) because the photo shines through. So, if we are going to keep the names, maybe it doesn't matter, but heres a bit on how to do it...
1. If photography is art and not science or craft, behave like fine artists, name accordingly. Look at the masters. They name a painting like its a novel. Like it has a life and a story behind it. Or they keep it simple. "Starry night" "Sunflowers" or, "Le déjeuner sur l'herbe" it was french, but you get the point. The point is, you don't have to be an impressionist painter to come up with an artistic name.
2. Sometimes, you have to come up with an artsy sounding name, and it really helps your shot- try "untitled" or "#54 Interlude" if its an abstract; Or try "Collection #7, callalillies" - it adds aire and mystique to your otherwise poorly named picture.
3. Use a cliche , or don't!
When all else fails, name your picture "time flies" or go latin with "tempus fugit" or "a stitch in time" or "one for the road"
These cliche names are probably better than your run of the mill explanation of the picture.
ADVANCED LESSON: Mangle a cliche for real creative fun. Change the words, use puns, or even use a joke name for your title. I suggest Irony and counterpoint. Irony, for those who don't know, along with Alanis Morrisette, is when somethings stated or figurative meaning is the opposite of its literal meaning. It doesn't mean coincidence, ironically.
4. Look at other peoples titles. So many people on this site are infinitely creative, both graphically, visually and when it comes to the spoken word. I know this is more of a rant, and by all means, I title my photos quite poorly at times, but its sad to see good photos with really bad, overexplanatory titles.
By all means, will anyone who puts any thought into this, please explain it better than me... |
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07/02/2008 09:34:16 AM · #2 |
I think you did a great job of explaining it!
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07/02/2008 09:41:49 AM · #3 |
5. If possible, avoid repeating the challenge name in the entry title. It often comes across as a desperate attempt to convince voters that you met the challenge.
6. Make sure your title agrees with the entry, particularly if it involves expression. If you call an entry "Inner Rage" and your model looks bored, your score is going to take a hit. |
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07/02/2008 09:45:03 AM · #4 |
7. Use a site like thesaurus to find new words and synonyms you can use for titles, and braistorm about the words. This has helped me a lot in coming up with an "artsy" title.
Message edited by author 2008-07-02 09:46:20.
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07/02/2008 11:33:58 AM · #5 |
| I do not enjoy titling my shots for competition. There are too many 'rules,' & none of them are mine. Worse, a title that's good for competition is useless for a file name. A descriptive file name helps me retrieve the shot from storage. A title is somehow supposed to enhance the viewing experience withiout irritating the viewer. The title should not describe what the viewer can see for herself, or repeat the title of the competition, or explain, or defend, or appologize for the shot, or hint at the process used for taking the shot. If I find a comfortable rut for titling the shot then people learn to recognize it as mine--a good thing in a gallery, not so good in competition. For me, thinking up the perfect competition title for a shot is more difficult than getting the shot. For me, the number of shots in a competition that feel perfectly titled are usually less than ten. It is difficult, but that doesn't mean we should give it up. So if anyone asked me I would vote for keeping the titles in. |
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07/02/2008 11:44:03 AM · #6 |
I tend to title as cynical puns especially if there is a meaning that is far removed from what everyone is thinking. My longest was for a movie title so I had no choice, but typically 2 or 3 words. I was one to agree to do away with titles by the way.
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07/02/2008 12:36:48 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by pixelpig:
... The title should not describe what the viewer can see for herself, or repeat the title of the competition ... |
I agree with much of your post, but there is a long history in art and photography of naming something bluntly, for example, "Flower" or "Flower #1" or "Flower in B&W" for a flower photo. An obvious name can have the same effect as "Untitled" -- it keeps ones focus on the photo.
As for repeating the competition title, it may seem redundant during the competition, but considering the photo may have a life outside the challenge, seems like fair use to me.
My title pet peeve? Multiple exclamation points!!! :-D |
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07/02/2008 01:02:10 PM · #8 |
8. If you are not sure of the spelling, use a spell checker.
9. Avoid embarrassment by using a language that you actually know.
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07/02/2008 01:14:51 PM · #9 |
Use titles from literature, if they are relevant to your photograph. The work does not have to be "literary" or famous, if its meaning is clear.
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07/02/2008 01:24:01 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by scalvert:
5. If possible, avoid repeating the challenge name in the entry title. It often comes across as a desperate attempt to convince voters that you met the challenge. |
In other words - Name your photo like you were entering it into a free study.
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07/02/2008 01:28:23 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by scalvert:
5. If possible, avoid repeating the challenge name in the entry title. It often comes across as a desperate attempt to convince voters that you met the challenge. |
Except, since there is a "title" to the challenge topic, this is exactly the same as leaving the title off entirely, which was the original goal of the OP.
If the Challenge topic is "Yellow" then every photo is by default titled "Yellow" until re-named ... |
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07/02/2008 01:34:03 PM · #12 |
I can't believe you posted this. It's been slow at work the last couple of days, so I've been spending a lot of time voting, leaving comments etc. I was really considering starting a thread on this same topic, but you did a better job than i would have.
I think that the photos should still have titles, but...
What seems to be irritating me is when you take a shot of seomething and make it fit the challenge with the title alone. I feel that knowing the challenge, I should be able to look at the picture and see what it is that makes that photo "fit"
In an attempt to not offend by using a real example, I'll make one up. The current "Green" challenge. I take an awesome shot of a Harley sitting on a two lane winding road, with the sun setting in the background. I title it, "Alternate Modes of Transportation...50 MPG" The only thing about the shot that implied anything "green," is the title.
Take the same shot, put a man climbing aboard in a business suit and strap a briefcase on back and we might be getting a little closer. Make it a Vespa instead of a harley, and now we're going "green." I would have been able to tell what I was looking at, and how it fit without the ridiculous title.
A perfect example are the bug and flower Macros. I've been playing a little mental game with myself, and trying to find a challenge I can't shoehorn one of these into with a clever title. I haven't been stumped yet. |
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07/02/2008 01:52:08 PM · #13 |
| Definitely in favour of no titles for competition; certainly we should AT LEAST TRY it a few times - maybe the 2 open challenges on the same theme, one with titles, one without? |
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07/02/2008 01:57:27 PM · #14 |
I think..if you don't like titles...don't look at them when rating photo's.
If you do...then take them into account, or don't.
Should be personal preference. We shoudln't just scrap titles..because some people 'don't like them'.
Message edited by author 2008-07-02 14:02:30.
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07/02/2008 01:59:40 PM · #15 |
| funny you should bring this up, i made a comment on a shot in the virtue challenge that i thought the picture would have stood alone without the explanatory title and got a lengthy (though well written) reply from the photog as to why he thought it was neccesary...just one of those things that probably will never change |
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07/02/2008 02:02:46 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by blindjustice:
I title my photos quite poorly at times, but its sad to see good photos with really bad, overexplanatory titles.
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case in point:
lol....sorry, i looked in your profile and couldn't resist |
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07/02/2008 02:36:32 PM · #17 |
As someone who takes shots at random, and then tries to shoehorn them into challenges, I think a creative use of a title to imply that the photo meets the challenge is ok. The "Going green" for the harley shot is ok because the concept of the title is a bit abstract;
I guess I am a radical but I think downgrading for dnmc should only be rarely used, and reserved mainly for shoehorning with bad titles. As a dpc libertarian, I have always felt that dnmc really restrains creative entries in order to meet the simple tastes of the lowest common denominator. I would hate to see titles be seen as only literal representations, further constraining the creative process.
Originally posted by Jaker:
I can't believe you posted this. It's been slow at work the last couple of days, so I've been spending a lot of time voting, leaving comments etc. I was really considering starting a thread on this same topic, but you did a better job than i would have.
I think that the photos should still have titles, but...
What seems to be irritating me is when you take a shot of seomething and make it fit the challenge with the title alone. I feel that knowing the challenge, I should be able to look at the picture and see what it is that makes that photo "fit"
In an attempt to not offend by using a real example, I'll make one up. The current "Green" challenge. I take an awesome shot of a Harley sitting on a two lane winding road, with the sun setting in the background. I title it, "Alternate Modes of Transportation...50 MPG" The only thing about the shot that implied anything "green," is the title.
Take the same shot, put a man climbing aboard in a business suit and strap a briefcase on back and we might be getting a little closer. Make it a Vespa instead of a harley, and now we're going "green." I would have been able to tell what I was looking at, and how it fit without the ridiculous title.
A perfect example are the bug and flower Macros. I've been playing a little mental game with myself, and trying to find a challenge I can't shoehorn one of these into with a clever title. I haven't been stumped yet. |
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07/02/2008 02:50:52 PM · #18 |
 egamble, once you have seen the title it is hard to put it out of your mind, and it isn't simply a matter of liking or not liking titles, it is merely a question that a title, good, bad or whatever, does influence your "viewing pleasure." |
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07/02/2008 03:00:27 PM · #19 |
Originally posted by egamble:
I think..if you don't like titles...don't look at them when rating photos. |
I actually roll my screen sometimes so I don't have to see the titles.
 tnun, I think in previous threads on this topic, Langdon and/or the explained that a challenge without titles would require significant coding changes -- more than they can or are willing to do at this time. |
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07/02/2008 03:13:51 PM · #20 |
I've never understood the fuss about this.
1. Titles have always been with us at DPC.
2. A lot of people like them.
3. A lot of people hate them.
4. The people that hate them don't have to use them.
5. The people that hate them don't have to read them, or pay attention to them.
So why on earth do the "I hate titles" people keep trying to get them eliminated? What on earth is going on here?
Personally, as a poet/photographer both, I often think in terms of image and title cohering into a single expression of my artistic intentions.
I believe this image does not NEED the title to give it challenge relevance; that was never an issue. Furthermore, the title actually USES the challenge topic ("Pure") as part of the title, which supposedly (according to this thread) is the ultimate no-no. And even so, it finished top 10, and I like to think part of the reason why is the intensely evocative title; which, incidentally, is not a quote but is of my own making.
For whatever that's worth...
R.
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07/02/2008 03:27:36 PM · #21 |
I have a minor point by comparison. If you do title a shot how about using a spellchecker? I appreciate that english isn't everyone's first language but the number of typos out there far outweighs our foreign language brothers (or sisters).
When I am voting it affects my overall impression I think it shows a lack of attention of detail.
There you go told you it was minor!
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07/02/2008 05:01:04 PM · #22 |
Ironically, one of my favorite titles probably compiles with none of the rules or thinking here:
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07/02/2008 05:04:54 PM · #23 |
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07/02/2008 05:08:25 PM · #24 |
Originally posted by goc:
been there, done that |
Uh huh ...  |
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07/02/2008 05:13:18 PM · #25 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Originally posted by goc:
been there, done that |
Uh huh ... |
MWAHAHAHAHAHA, excellent ... really cool.
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