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11/11/2002 08:04:22 AM · #1
Like seriously guys. Is my photography that bad? I can't seem to break 4.5 lately. This week though I was actually pleased with my submission.. hoping to make it to 5.5..... nope 4.0.

Am I kidding myself here? I'd like to know what about my image makes it worth a 4?!?!??!?! I'm trying to make this my livelihood and I can't even break 4.5!

Excuse me for being completely baffled/frustrated!
11/11/2002 08:09:00 AM · #2
Maybe next week I'll submit a spectacular sunset image and give it a clever title relating to technology and maybe break the top 10. Or find some way to incorporate a flower and a pretty background... Seems to be the things people vote highly on in this place.

So excuuuuuuuuse me for getting a little creative every now and then. Seems the only person who can appreciate it is ME.

Yes I am bitter. And yes I am in a bad mood.
11/11/2002 08:12:39 AM · #3
Originally posted by BigSmiles:
Like seriously guys. Is my photography that bad? I can't seem to break 4.5 lately. This week though I was actually pleased with my submission.. hoping to make it to 5.5..... nope 4.0.

Am I kidding myself here? I'd like to know what about my image makes it worth a 4?!?!??!?! I'm trying to make this my livelihood and I can't even break 4.5!

Excuse me for being completely baffled/frustrated!


I obviously cannot comment on this weeks photo but I'm not sure why last weeks placed so low. Focus was good, depth was as good as it could have been and the shot was well lit. It could well be because there were a few shots of playing cards last week or that people just didn't feel emotionally connected to the shot? I gave it a 7.

Stick with it. You must be taking photos that you like yourself rather than pictures for the rest of us. Good on you I say!!!



I've just been back and read the comments, you must have scored low because people were having trouble loading it. Didn't have any such trouble myself.


Tim


* This message has been edited by the author on 11/11/2002 8:11:51 AM.
11/11/2002 08:15:39 AM · #4
Doesn't change the fact that if I'd like to do portraits and things like that for a living in the future... the person/people I"m shooting for have to be pleased with the results. And it's important for me that people here appreciate my photography even a little!

To put it this way... I would submit this week's submission for one of my assignments. And I'm going to. I'm reshooting the exact same thing with a large format sheet film camera (Cambo 4X5..school loaners) I'll tell you what kind of mark I'll get when I do get it back.

I can pretty much assure you it wont be no 40%.

And apparently nobody's ever heard of the ace of spades being the "death card"


* This message has been edited by the author on 11/11/2002 8:13:35 AM.
11/11/2002 08:42:07 AM · #5
Originally posted by BigSmiles:
Like seriously guys. Is my photography that bad? I can't seem to break 4.5 lately. This week though I was actually pleased with my submission.. hoping to make it to 5.5..... nope 4.0.

Am I kidding myself here? I'd like to know what about my image makes it worth a 4?!?!??!?! I'm trying to make this my livelihood and I can't even break 4.5!

Excuse me for being completely baffled/frustrated!


Its an okay shot. It doesn't really grab you and shake. The hands seem
pretty pinkish/redish. The background is pretty dull - maybe
something that represented a gambling table would have been more interesting ? Out of focus green baize, money chips, drinks tumblers
etc maybe - but the wood doesn't add much to the shot. Might have
worked well as a nice contrasty black and white as the subject is
black and white really. Average scores here pretty much range from 1 to 7, so a 4 is somewhere around slightly above average and not something
worth worrying about too much ! :)


11/11/2002 08:43:18 AM · #6
I wasn't talking about that shot. I'm talking about my Macro submission. But since I can't reveal which one is mine I'll just have to wait now wont't I?

I am super annoyed with some things this morning. This week I'm gonna take a picture of a flower and title it "This is what people liked to look at before technology came along" and get 1st place. Cuz people like flowers.
Or maybe I'll take a picture of a sunset and title that one "Tomorrow the stock market will crash..." and win 2nd place!
Maybe i"ll take a picture of a cute little baby and title that one "My bounce and glow toy keeps me happy!" and win 3rd place.

My rant for the rest of the year.

* This message has been edited by the author on 11/11/2002 8:57:23 AM.
11/11/2002 09:05:52 AM · #7
I did not vote on all of them last week ... I owuld have give you a 4 or a 5.

"Focus was good, depth was as good as it could have been and the shot was well lit."
Like you said ... otherwise ..nothing really exciting ... nothing special about it ...
This happen to everybody !
11/11/2002 09:17:31 AM · #8
i"m not talking about my superstitions photo. I'm talking about this week's photo. The one I am really pleased with.

There is really NO reason why the photo I submitted for Macro is doing so poorly. It's interesting to look at... it has colour, interesting subject matter.....

Any guesses as to how many flower pictures make the top 10? I say 4 or 5.
11/11/2002 09:40:08 AM · #9
With the greatest of respect, you cannot have received more than 25-30 votes at this point and so your low score is indicative only of a few votes.

As you know in advance that we cannot discuss particular shots during the voting, this whole thread seems to be just a Monday morning whine, frankly. Let's save it until next week when we can all discuss it with the benefit of knowing what shot we are talking about.
11/11/2002 10:06:08 AM · #10
sorry :-) personnaly I started at 3.25 my worst ever and now reaching a very nice 4.0 which I do not understand that much either ... but the week is going to be long ....
Lionel
11/11/2002 10:53:09 AM · #11
i cant comment on your current shot but i will say that, looking at your superstitions pic, i see a hand showing cards, but none of the touches that 'complete the reality' and really make the pic.

this pic is an example of one that has all the elements, by comparison gambling shot.

Now i can't speak to this week's shot, but my point is that there's a lot to going the full distance to 'complete a shot'. and maybe that's what the problem is.

just one thought. :)
11/11/2002 10:59:47 AM · #12
Originally posted by BigSmiles:
Like seriously guys. Is my photography that bad? I can't seem to break 4.5 lately.

In a word, no... Your not kidding yourself. This site has a lot going for it, but keep one thing in mind. The scores here are a reflection of how well you can please this specific audience... They are not a measure of the worth of you or your work.

As per your chosen profession, I'll share with you the same wise words I share with my daughter on a daily basis... A wise philosopher and poet once said...

"You can make it if you try..." (Sylvester Stone)
11/11/2002 11:02:52 AM · #13
Oh, I hate myself this week. For the first time I have taken a photo I think people on this site want and it´s not my ordinary type of shot. I have been round 6 for many weeks - but not this week! Started at 4.5 so far. And I hate myself for being so weak and not doing the kind of photos I normally do.
So folks - do your own things and don´t try to please others!
Then you can be satisfied with yourself even if you get low score. This week I´m not happy with myself AND I get low score - that´s worse. Next week we can take almost anything and say it´s technology. That´s nice!
11/11/2002 11:10:26 AM · #14
It is obvious that most the voters are going for what is more interesting instead of quality. I like the card photo. The wood in the background was a nice touch. It seems everyone is using black or white for backgrounds and that is what makes it different.
11/11/2002 11:24:19 AM · #15
Originally posted by carsten:
Oh, I hate myself this week. For the first time I have taken a photo I think people on this site want and it´s not my ordinary type of shot. I have been round 6 for many weeks - but not this week! Started at 4.5 so far. And I hate myself for being so weak and not doing the kind of photos I normally do.
So folks - do your own things and don´t try to please others!
Then you can be satisfied with yourself even if you get low score. This week I´m not happy with myself AND I get low score - that´s worse. Next week we can take almost anything and say it´s technology. That´s nice!


You are so right! I almost did the same thing this week. Was going to do something with lasers & nudity(LOL)but I couldn't find a willing model so I opted for something I would be happy with -- scoring low as we speak :)
11/11/2002 11:29:15 AM · #16
You have to work out what you are trying to achieve.

If you want to do well here, you have to take pictures that suit
the audience.

Just as if you want to make money as a pro, you'll need to understand
what your customers want in their pictures and shoot accordingly.

Complaining about the lack of taste/ appreciation of the audience isn't
going to get them paying you lots of money to take their pictures ;) So
you have to decide what you'd like. Good scores or something that only
appeals to your idea of what good photography is. Both are equally
valid, only one will get good scores here.
11/11/2002 11:41:27 AM · #17
Originally posted by Gordon:

If you want to do well here, you have to take pictures that suit
the audience.


Of course you´re right. I´m just mad at myself for being so bad at knowing what people like here. But if you place round 25 every week you start thinking what you should do to score a little better. So you try a new sort of pictures. Pictures you think the audience want. And there is my problem. I must learn to understand what people want if I want to reach higher.


* This message has been edited by the author on 11/11/2002 11:51:34 AM.
11/11/2002 11:54:04 AM · #18
Man, I'd love to place around 25th every week! I have been bummed about some of my results, but they've taught me to pay closer attention to detail in my shots. Thus, by doing so, I am scoring much better this week.

-crabappl3

Originally posted by carsten:
Originally posted by Gordon:
[i]You have to work out what you are trying to achieve.

If you want to do well here, you have to take pictures that suit
the audience.

Just as if you want to make money as a pro, you'll need to understand
what your customers want in their pictures and shoot accordingly.

Complaining about the lack of taste/ appreciation of the audience isn't
going to get them paying you lots of money to take their pictures ;) So
you have to decide what you'd like. Good scores or something that only
appeals to your idea of what good photography is. Both are equally
valid, only one will get good scores here.


Of course you´re right. I´m just mad at myself for being so bad at knowing what people like here. But if you place round 25 every week you start thinking what you should do to score a little better. So you try a new sort of pictures. Pictures you think the audience want. And there is my problem. I must learn to understand what people want if I want to reach higher.
[/i]

11/11/2002 12:41:25 PM · #19
Originally posted by BigSmiles:
i"m not talking about my superstitions photo. I'm talking about this week's photo. The one I am really pleased with.

There is really NO reason why the photo I submitted for Macro is doing so poorly. It's interesting to look at... it has colour, interesting subject matter.....

Any guesses as to how many flower pictures make the top 10? I say 4 or 5.



Most flower pics look like shit and most insects are dull, liveless and with way too little DOF.
A lot of bad focusing, bad compositions, bad compression, bad lighting.

After the first ten votes I was doing a 7.5 ; 10 hours later is has dropped to a 5.5 (45 votes) . 35 people must have voted a 4.9 to get down to that score, but I cannot imagine why and they don't leave comments.

And when you look back at the results you wonder why did that piece of crap get in front of me and why did xx people find my pic worth a 1,2,3?

11/11/2002 01:30:32 PM · #20
Originally posted by lionelm:
sorry :-) personnaly I started at 3.25 my worst ever and now reaching a very nice 4.0 which I do not understand that much either ... but the week is going to be long ....
Lionel


i was busy all day sunday, and when i got home i had 15 minutes to the deadline

i looked at what i had shot so far - picked 1, processed it, submitted it -- hey i still have 7 minutes, maybe i can do something better

shoot 3 more - like 1 one them - process & submit with about 10 seconds to spare

1st round of voting = 4 -- downhill from there

should've kept that 1st choice or just not entered anything

this REALLY is going to be a long week
11/11/2002 01:36:10 PM · #21
Welcome in the gang Spiderman!
The week is going to be VERY long and I´m so mad at myself.
11/11/2002 01:50:23 PM · #22
With 300 photos, you're going to have to produce something really spectacular to get even a remotely good "score". We have twice the pics this week, OF COURSE scores are going to be lower. IF divided equally (which it never is) there could be 30 votes for each score 1-10. Ok, no you think about it. How many 10's 9's and 8's do you give each week? I give about 20, double that this week...maybe 40. Ok, that is 262 photos that will get 1-7. I don't usually give many 1-3's so that's probably around 15-20 this week. Ok, now I have 242 photos that will get 4-6!! Of course, I'm just guessing. I've only voted and commented on 32 images so far. But I'm just trying to show that only a portion of them are usually exceptional, only a portion of them REALLY are bad, and the rest are average. So, that's like 200 people that are going to have the same stinking score. I say, a 4 this week wouldn't be so bad.
Just my 2 cents.
~Heather~
11/11/2002 02:02:03 PM · #23
Thanks Heather!
The week is not going to be "VERY" long any more it´s just going to be "very" long. 4 is not THAT bad but it´s not good either. What the ... It´s soon Monday again!
11/11/2002 02:22:39 PM · #24
If you guys want immediate feedback and a more objective point of view, try //www.photo.net

it's a photography site, period, and not limited by digital source and/or manipulation techniques. if you really want to know how your photos stack up, and/or just want to look at tons of great photos, that's probably the place to go.

james.
11/11/2002 02:45:32 PM · #25
Originally posted by jimmythefish:
If you guys want immediate feedback and a more objective point of view, try //www.photo.net

it's a photography site, period, and not limited by digital source and/or manipulation techniques. if you really want to know how your photos stack up, and/or just want to look at tons of great photos, that's probably the place to go.

james.


My uncle just sent me a link to that site, asking if I knew about it. Are you a member, and what do you think of it? He's a fairly-experienced photographer but having a hard time getting into the computer side of it.
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