clarification: this week''s challenge

04/29/2002 06:04:02 PM · #1

"advertisement, with no added text." This to me seems, really ambiguous. Because it could be a picture of ANYTHING. From a building (ad for real estate), to a computer (ad for a computer, or internet service), to the sky (ad for an airline), to a bunch of bikini-clad females (ad for pretty much anything!), etc etc.

That's why I think it would be a lot clearer if it was more defined as something like:

1) product shots - a still life of an inanimate object as if it would appear in a catalog.

OR

2) advertisement - feel free to add text to give context.

Anyone in advertising will tell you it's the combination of the image, layout, typography, and slogan that make the ad work and provide your context.

Please advise,
Thanks
M9

P.S. Okay, I re-read the instructions. Now it sounds like it is saying something more similar to what I wrote in 1). Did that description change or maybe I just read it when I was busy at work and didn't really get it?
thanks

* This message has been edited by the author on 4/29/2002 6:17:02 PM.

irae

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 I

04/29/2002 06:13:01 PM · #2

I was about to post this very message. Great hinds stink alike!

04/29/2002 06:17:27 PM · #3

Originally posted by irae:
I was about to post this very message. Great hinds stink alike!

what time is it there, fellow stinker ? : )

* This message has been edited by the author on 4/29/2002 7:05:50 PM.

04/29/2002 06:19:24 PM · #4

Ambiguity, the new bane of my existence.

The focus of the challenge (and the site) is photography -- obviously you may consider your ad incomplete without embellishment, but I'd say that's part of the challenge... to make your best advertisement photo possible without any additions.

Drew

04/29/2002 06:24:42 PM · #5

lol

sorry about that. however, im just saying without a little more guidance, that i could take a picture of a bunch of bikini babes, or a brand new refrigerator! it's sort of hard to compare those. and that's ok. i'm just trying to avoid all this hubbub next week. i mean, i thought the ground up challenge was REALLY straightforward, but obviously we've learned that everyone is totally different : ) .

Originally posted by drewmedia:
Ambiguity, the new bane of my existence.

The focus of the challenge (and the site) is photography -- obviously you may consider your ad incomplete without embellishment, but I'd say that's part of the challenge... to make your best advertisement photo possible without any additions.

Drew

04/29/2002 06:50:07 PM · #6

Originally posted by magnetic9999:
[i]"advertisement, with no added text."

Where are you finding this limit of no added text?
Maybe I not look in the right place is why I not always understand assignment.

04/29/2002 06:51:05 PM · #7

Probably just from the forums where someone asked for a clarification. Right now, there is only ONE place where the challenge criteria is stated: on the front page.

Drew

04/29/2002 07:59:15 PM · #8

Originally posted by drewmedia:
Probably just from the forums where someone asked for a clarification. Right now, there is only ONE place where the challenge criteria is stated: on the front page.

Drew

So, added text is OK!
One can read almost anything in the forums can't they?

04/29/2002 08:11:17 PM · #9

Originally posted by irae:
I was about to post this very message. Great hinds stink alike!

Great saying! :'}

04/29/2002 08:20:30 PM · #10

Okay, think of the challenge this way. You are the photographer of the ad company. They want you to photograph the best image of a baby in the newest line of disposable diapers. The slogan is that their diapers hold up to 10 times as much as the other leading diaper without leaking. Now let your imagination take over and submit your photo.

That's what I get from the challenge. In a real situation the photographer probably would not do the text and graphics. That would go to another department.

To me the interpretation of this challenge isn't so hard. It will just be to get a suitable subject and make an appealing photo.

TrickyBuddha

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

04/29/2002 08:33:08 PM · #11

shortredneck, i was going to say the same thing. my mom is a graphics designer for sakks/proffits. she assembles the final ad. but it all starts with the photographer. you call the photographer up and say, we want models standing up or sitting down, displaying this piece or that. i see that as our job: to take that shot that the writer will add text to and the designer lays out.

Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 E-mount

04/29/2002 08:36:38 PM · #12

Thanks for confirming that. I took a lot of Marketing in college back in the 70's and that's the way I was told it was done then.

jmsetzler

Sony Alpha a6000

04/29/2002 08:45:32 PM · #13

Originally posted by drewmedia:
Ambiguity, the new bane of my existence.
Drew

Is that spelt rite? Imma have to consult Webster...

04/29/2002 09:03:16 PM · #14

I think we have identified the problem.
The instructions DO NOT limit you as ya'll have stated yet this is the way the photos will be judged. Is this why there is so much disparity in the ratings and possibly why some great shots get 1's, 2's etc.
Cut a little slack is maybe in order here.

* This message has been edited by the author on 4/29/2002 9:05:06 PM.

04/29/2002 09:05:29 PM · #15

Originally posted by David Ey:
I think we have identified the problem.
The instructions DO NOT limit you as ya'll have stated yet this is the way the photos will be judged. Is this why there is so much disparity in the ratings and possibly why some great shots get 1's, 2's etc.

The normal rules do limit you to no added text, after all you aren't allowed to edit things into the image. At least that was why I was asking if it could be changed for this challenge. Fair enough that it isn't and the later comments are also correct, that 'in the real world' the photographer doesn't usually add the copy anyway.

04/29/2002 09:09:07 PM · #16

I see what you are saying now Gordon. That is not what I had in mind. I was thinking of someone having text IN the photo, not adding in PS.
By the way, my from the ground up shot is about 10% ground and the rest is UP and I get yelled at. Go figure.

* This message has been edited by the author on 4/29/2002 9:32:40 PM.

04/29/2002 09:36:06 PM · #17

Originally posted by jmsetzler:
Is that spelt rite? Imma have to consult Webster...

//www.dictionary.com/search?q=bane ... i win :)

Originally posted by magnetic9999:
im just saying without a little more guidance, that i could take a picture of a bunch of bikini babes, or a brand new refrigerator!

I vote for bikini babes.

Originally posted by David Ey:
So, added text is OK!
One can read almost anything in the forums can't they?

I sincerely hope you're kidding ;)

-Drew

* This message has been edited by the author on 4/29/2002 9:36:36 PM.

04/29/2002 09:39:45 PM · #18

Originally posted by drewmedia:

I vote for bikini babes.

Seconded.

Hmm. Would it be considered slightly obsessive that I've taken 230 shots so far this evening for the latest challenge ? Not sure I have one I want to enter yet though.

Kamlan 28mm F1.4 MF for APS-C

04/30/2002 06:03:54 AM · #19

still confusing. i'm thinking no matter what the product, a shot of bikini babsies is gonna make the best advertisement. so there's really no reason for anyone to take a pic of anything else.

So maybe we should just call this the bikini babes challenge???

Manic

DJI Mini 3 Pro

04/30/2002 06:14:36 AM · #20

Originally posted by GordonMcGregor:
Originally posted by drewmedia:

I vote for bikini babes.

Seconded.

Hmm. Would it be considered slightly obsessive that I've taken 230 shots so far this evening for the latest challenge ? Not sure I have one I want to enter yet though.

230 photos of bikini babes? :o)

04/30/2002 07:08:51 AM · #21

Nope, bikini babes don't do a thing for me. Give me the Diet Coke Break guy!

04/30/2002 07:09:04 AM · #22

Originally posted by manic:
Originally posted by GordonMcGregor:
Originally posted by drewmedia:

I vote for bikini babes.

[i]Seconded.

Hmm. Would it be considered slightly obsessive that I've taken 230 shots so far this evening for the latest challenge ? Not sure I have one I want to enter yet though.

230 photos of bikini babes? :o)
[/i]

Well, I could - my apartment window overlooks a pool. But
a/ my wife would kill me
b/ the police would confiscate my camera

so I think I'll stick to what I'm trying to capture...

04/30/2002 07:10:28 AM · #23

If your bikini babes are all holding Budweisers or standing next to a Chevy, I think we get the idea. You can also use the title in this challenge to help your image -- so if you took a picture in a club and called it an ad for Bacardi Nightlife, we'd get where you were going.

Drew