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DPChallenge Forums >> Challenge Results >> New to DPC..not very impressed.
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 06/22/2005 09:29:51 AM · #1
Not very impressed with the votes, that is. I found the majority of the comments left on my first submission and others that I viewed to be quite helpful..but as far as the result of the voting in the "darkness" challenge ( even the top ones, such as the 2nd place finisher "Death" that I rated a "9" got 72 6's?? As a previous forum subject titled "Are people even looking at the images" is called..well I couldn't help but wonder the same myself. The technical aspects, coloring, relevance to the challenge, skill involved and effort to get the shot were all top notch, yet the majority of the votes given were one above "average" ???????? )

I am completely surprised and maybe someone who has been here longer could give me a reason I am just not seeing as to why that is. There are no doubt some great photographers here, and the people contributing to the challenges and leaving helpful comments are wonderful, but everything else about this site - the majority of people voting, challenge results, etc. leave something to be HUGELY desired in my opinion..

Thanks.
 06/22/2005 09:34:22 AM · #2
hooo boy did you ever open a can of worms.

there are as many threads debating "score theory" as there are users on this site (possibly more).

the long and the short of it is this:

1) it's a worldwide audience. not all topics appeal to all people.

and

2) it's your vote. you use it how you want. want to be happy? fine. want to be spiteful? fine. but each person gets one vote for every image that they can use at their discretion.

hang out for a little and get a "feel" for the place. it's really a great community.

welcome aboard!
 06/22/2005 09:36:16 AM · #3
Would love to be able to help, but i can't work out how people vote either. my last submission was voted 8.4 by the commenters, yet 4.3 by voters without cameras. I guess there's a good reason why they dont have one............. but it certainly didn't help my photo's chances. deciding whether to even bother any more.
 06/22/2005 09:39:16 AM · #4
I have not been here very ong myself. I wish my first challenge (darkness). Would have gone better. I averaged around 4.6. At the end of the day it was my first submition. I have to admit the first votes I cast were not as well though out as the last ones I cast. I did gi back to give everyone a second look. I did not change any comments though. I am still learning how to evaluate as well as take the pictures. I think you will find a lot of people are in the same boat.
06/22/2005 09:39:22 AM · #5
Hummm...comming from someone with an average vote of 4.0827 on 133 votes and we know one of your votes was a 9. And you are questioning the average votes was just one above average. Your overall is 1.5 below average. I point this out to say your post and stats don't match. In other words you saw the challenge different than others. Everyone has a right to vote how they wish, you did and so did the others.

Message edited by author 2005-06-22 09:41:06.
 06/22/2005 09:42:59 AM · #6
I find the scoring method of some of the members a little off sometimes, but you've got to admit that the ranking results are, for the most part, fair. Even though that second place photo received 72 6s, it still landed in second place. Sounds fair to me.
 06/22/2005 09:45:31 AM · #7
Welcome aboard!

One other aspect that is really out of our control is the equipment (as in monitors) that people are using to view our photographs. If you'll notice on another current thread, many people can't even see half of the image on one particular photo - just due to monitor variations. That may be causing some of the seemingly "off kilter" votes.

Anyway, I hope you'll stick around - I certainly think it's worth all the late nights, frustration, cursing, competition, sharing, learning, enjoyment, and real zest for life & photography that I get out of it. ;-)

Just my 2 cents...

Jimmy

06/22/2005 09:47:49 AM · #8
Your voting curve looks normal to me, some love your shot, some hate it, most land somewhere in the middle......

I find that I learn most from constructive criticism on DPC. Sometimes it's hard to take, but generally the advice is spot on and I'll take any tips to help me improve.

I sometimes find that criticism is easier to believe/accept than praise. Like counting the 1s instead of the 10s. Chin up! You did pretty well overall in your first challenge: 54th / 364, 85% (top 15%).

Message edited by author 2005-06-22 09:50:23.
 06/22/2005 09:50:06 AM · #9
I am completely surprised and maybe someone who has been here longer could give me a reason I am just not seeing as to why that is. There are no doubt some great photographers here, and the people contributing to the challenges and leaving helpful comments are wonderful, but everything else about this site - the majority of people voting, challenge results, etc. leave something to be HUGELY desired in my opinion..

Thanks. [/quote]

i have reasons to fully support youre statement
and in fact it has been said before and over and over again in many different formulations
xion has stated this in a fine and short formula..i dont know the exact words he used but i remember the word ' eyecandy' saying it all
i think nobody ever going to change this..there were is a mob u have to face this 'shallow disease' come along
well i guess its take it or leave it
luckily there is plenty left here wich brings me joy ...so i Take it

forgot:
so if u feel and think like i think u do u better stay..we might need u:)..welcome!

Message edited by author 2005-06-22 10:02:25.
 06/22/2005 09:51:04 AM · #10
Welcome Eric! Always nice to have another fellow Texan on board. Sorry you are a bit disenchanted...but the only thing for certain about the voting on DPC is the fact that it is uncertain at best. ;) Just when you think you have it figured out, the voting public changes their opinions and WHAMMO you get a 4 (or worse) on something that last challenge seemed to do well. It's like Forrest's box of chocolates!

I looked at your website and OMG you have some amazing photos! You will do well with the voters who have similar tastes for your kind of work, and you will be slammed by those who prefer the clean, neat, stock-style images with perfect color and pin-sharp focus. As long as you are taking pictures for you and not for the masses, it doesn't matter what the score is.

I hope you stick around and participate...your images tell me you have a lot to offer us as a community and I think you'll find the interaction among members is worth more than the scores. Welcome!! :)
 06/22/2005 09:52:43 AM · #11
It took me a few challenges to get used to the 'average scores' here. I simply assumed that a sweet-ass picture would score an average of 9 or up. Here's why I was wrong:

1) People aren't afraid to use the whole scale...this is something we're not used to in real life. For example, if your coworker wore a hideous dress to work one day and asked you to rate it out of 10 - even if you were being honest and said that you didn't like the dress at all - you would likely give it a 5...Normally, 5/10 is not good. Here at this site, 5/10 is very much average...middle of the road...pretty good, compared to most point&shoot snapshots.

2) People like perfection in the photos at this site. Grain is normally unacceptable and the composition must be perfect...always cropped well. The photos here are judged as if they were being used in marketing or on a postcard. For example, a World Press photo winner wouldn't do well here it all.

Message edited by author 2005-06-22 09:54:37.
 06/22/2005 10:05:53 AM · #12
Welcome fellow Austinite Eric! Glad to have you on board here.

A little snippit of advice for you about DPC: nothing makes sense and you will go mad trying to make sense of it.

That being said. Shoot what you love, what turns you on, and play play play. : )
 06/22/2005 10:20:38 AM · #13
ahhh man these are some great responses, infact I learned something from everyone who has replied above this (sorry for not respond to each)..

it seems there has already been much discussion about this topic, so I will browse through the other forum threads in addition to this one.

photography and what people see truly is in the eye of the beholder..I guess I shouldn't try to understand it, but just accept it =)
 06/22/2005 10:25:00 AM · #14
Originally posted by SDW65:
Hummm...comming from someone with an average vote of 4.0827 on 133 votes and we know one of your votes was a 9. And you are questioning the average votes was just one above average. Your overall is 1.5 below average. I point this out to say your post and stats don't match. In other words you saw the challenge different than others. Everyone has a right to vote how they wish, you did and so did the others.


this is because of the ones I commented/voted on, I either voted very low or very high (and it did balance out in the end). my philosophy is these two spectrums deserve the most attention (ie, something to learn and gain for the low votes/comments, and to know that their work is great / respected imo for the highvotes)..
 06/22/2005 11:14:22 AM · #15
Originally posted by er0k:
this is because of the ones I commented/voted on, I either voted very low or very high (and it did balance out in the end). my philosophy is these two spectrums deserve the most attention (ie, something to learn and gain for the low votes/comments, and to know that their work is great / respected imo for the highvotes)..

Although the minimum necessary to have your votes included in the final tally is only 20%, it is highly desirable for you to vote on all the entries in a challenge whenever possible. To apply your judgement, and your voting philosophy, to only some of the entries and not all of them skews the results. Voting/commenting on only the ones that catch yout attention with their thumbnail is also not a good way to apportion your expertise.

Eric, the main thrust of this site is learning/teaching. We try to concentrate on photography as opposed to digital art & graphics. The comments are supposed to be aimed more at constructive criticism than at compliments. Accomplished photographers who come here seeking exposure, to sell prints, or to build traffic to their website, are likely to be disappointed. Beginners and novices seeking to enhance their photography skills will benefit most from the dpc experience.
 06/22/2005 11:21:13 AM · #16
Very well stated coolhar...
 06/22/2005 11:27:38 AM · #17
Originally posted by er0k:
Not very impressed with the votes, that is. I found the majority of the comments left on my first submission and others that I viewed to be quite helpful..but as far as the result of the voting in the "darkness" challenge ( even the top ones, such as the 2nd place finisher "Death" that I rated a "9" got 72 6's?? As a previous forum subject titled "Are people even looking at the images" is called..well I couldn't help but wonder the same myself. The technical aspects, coloring, relevance to the challenge, skill involved and effort to get the shot were all top notch, yet the majority of the votes given were one above "average" ???????? )

I am completely surprised and maybe someone who has been here longer could give me a reason I am just not seeing as to why that is. There are no doubt some great photographers here, and the people contributing to the challenges and leaving helpful comments are wonderful, but everything else about this site - the majority of people voting, challenge results, etc. leave something to be HUGELY desired in my opinion..

Thanks.


Oh no, not again...
 06/22/2005 11:30:01 AM · #18
My theory about voting pertains to life in general: people are stubborn asses.

In a photography class I took last year my professor was using a simple portrait shot of mine as an example of what TO do and one of the older guys in class stuck up his nose and said "HMPH, I hate it". Just like that. I picture people doing that while voting as well :-) So to answer your question, I'd say NO .. people aren't looking at the shots, afterall, how can they when they can't see past the nose on their face? hahahahhah
 06/22/2005 11:30:58 AM · #19
i dont know if anyone has brought this up in the 32,000 forum posts about score theory, but what if we reduce the score from 1-10 to 1-5.

maybe it's just me, but i dont seem to use the whole spectrum, atleast not efficiently. ohwell...
 06/22/2005 11:31:42 AM · #20
Only joined myself yesterday, voted on darkness and entered in metal. Scoring is fair even if harsh, as long as people apply their judgement equally across all entries or a randomly generated selection. I see a boo boo I've made through inexperience though... not having a descriptive title, as the description you enter isn't shown with the image. Think it's affecting my rating judging by comments... thankfully the comments have highlighted this to me, I'd never have known without them!. Ah well, I'll know for "obselete"!

Sam
//www.photoweather.com
 06/22/2005 11:34:08 AM · #21
I vote the way I vote, you vote the way you vote. Just fart in a jar, seal it up tight, put it on the shelf and forget about it.

NEXT!

Message edited by author 2005-06-22 11:36:54.
 06/22/2005 11:48:24 AM · #22
what's the difference if the average score given is 5.5 or an 8.5? the best photo's USUALLY make it to the top of the chart, and worst USUALLY find the bottom. The actual number is meaningless.

(or am i being blinded by my nose?)
 06/22/2005 11:54:45 AM · #23

Well as long picture is with grate sky it gets good score, what can we expect in critique from mostly so-so willingly coming photographer, I think picture of my carpet will go in high score comparing to many result of voting here but in between I see good work and normally it dont get far, it is common thing where amateur are giving critique all on different stage.
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