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SO Photography Contest Discussion!!

I think a few of the rules of the contest are a bit unnecessary.

4. All photographs must be free of watermarks, signatures and borders
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Why? If someone wants to protect their images on the internet then why stop them? If it's such a shit watermark/signature etc then people won't like it and it won't get voted for so I don't see a problem. Also, what's wrong with a small border? It can positively add to the effect of an image if it's a B&W portrait for example.

Be reminded that this is a photo contest and so images which have been heavily manipulated through an image editing software will not be accepted. To put everyone on a level playing field, editing should be restricted to cropping and resizing.
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First it says heavily manipulated then it says restricted to cropping and resizing. What if you shoot in RAW and need to process it to make it look decent? Most cameras when saving to .jpg will do in camera processing such as noise reduction and sharpening etc so it can be important to fix things after taking the shot. I can understand not wanting amazingly manipulated images as then it'd be more of a CGI contest but post processing is a big part of digital photography these days and should be allowed imo.

Also, I think the competition would benefit from a rule that says the photo must be taken within a certain timeframe, say the week of the competition. Then it's more of a competition between who is the best photographer, not just who's been to the coolest or most eye catching place.
 
Karaboudjan said:
Also, I think the competition would benefit from a rule that says the photo must be taken within a certain timeframe, say the week of the competition. Then it's more of a competition between who is the best photographer, not just who's been to the coolest or most eye catching place.
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I actually love the fact that I can show off my photos that have been taken from traveling, thats one of the best parts of the photo contest and I, as I'm sure many others, would be highly dissapointed if this rule was changed.
 
You could just make your own thread to show your travel photos or make a travel photo discussion thread? In my mind, a competition is contest between several people who start from a fairly even starting point. It's just each Bluelighter with whatever their local surroundings are and a camera. Nothing much else. Obviously it's hard to do so over the internet but by forcing everyone to go out and do the shot that week for instance, it creates a more even competition imo.
 
I understand the reasoning behind your proposal that would require each contest's photos to be taken that week, but personally that would mean that I would rarely enter a contest, because I am too busy.

But I really enjoy looking through the photos I have taken over time and submitting one if I feel it would be a good entry. Recently I have only been going on a photo taking outing once every two months. There is no way I could time it to match that week's subject.
 
^ Same here. And given the variation in themes, I don't think it always comes down to who's been to the coolest place, either....all you need is to be creative.
 
^ agreed. some of us don't have the time or resources or weather to take a new photo every time, and it would be impossible to police.

some weeks we win, some weeks all we can say 'i've got nothing'. :)
 
got a query regarding the 700x700 rule which obviously makes square shots. I would propose 800x600 so normal composition can be maintained without cropping?

May have been discussed b4 i havent read this thread but this is one thing that is a bit annoying as it is a photography and that is the original compostition of the shot
 
^the 700 is maximum for the longest side. it's doesn't have to be square. you don't need to crop, just resize and maintain the aspect.

Karaboudjan said:
I think a few of the rules of the contest are a bit unnecessary.

Why? If someone wants to protect their images on the internet then why stop them? If it's such a shit watermark/signature etc then people won't like it and it won't get voted for so I don't see a problem. Also, what's wrong with a small border? It can positively add to the effect of an image if it's a B&W portrait for example.
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Exactly why it should be against the rules. This isn't about effects, it's about photography

First it says heavily manipulated then it says restricted to cropping and resizing. What if you shoot in RAW and need to process it to make it look decent? Most cameras when saving to .jpg will do in camera processing such as noise reduction and sharpening etc so it can be important to fix things after taking the shot. I can understand not wanting amazingly manipulated images as then it'd be more of a CGI contest but post processing is a big part of digital photography these days and should be allowed imo.
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yeah but we aren't photographers. the idea is that anyone here can shoot, upload, host and post without too much hassle or time and have a chance at votes.

remember, these aren't serious comps. there are no prizes or money or anything on the line. it is purely for fun. in order to have fun, we need to maintain the ease with which it is to enter. this is precisely why the comp has lasted as long as it has already.

Also, I think the competition would benefit from a rule that says the photo must be taken within a certain timeframe, say the week of the competition. Then it's more of a competition between who is the best photographer, not just who's been to the coolest or most eye catching place.
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Again disagree. Firstly, there's no way to police this, and secondly, not everyone has the time. On third thought, it would then be a competition for who lives in the coolest place (and i'd easily win every time ;))
 
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yeh I agree with most of that but why is it 700x700 at all? why not 800x600, I understand you can make it 700 max side and the other smaller to maintain composition but still why 700 square?
 
I am glad someone has brought the 700 X 700 rule up, I was just coming in here to comment on it.

The VB software Bluelight uses resizes images somewhere between 640 x 640 and 700 x 700. A 640 pixel length image will be shown full size wheras a 700 pixel length image will be reduced down to what is maybe the equivalent of 500 pixel lenght.

I have a feeling that first impressions are important in the (friendly) competiteon, so a photo that is maximized in thread has more of an impact. It saves you having to click on it to see the full sized image.

I am not complaining about the rule, in fact I think its great because I am a dial up user and I dont have to sit here all day waiting for things to load. But maybe people entering the comp could take note of this, it may help them with their entries. :)
 
it just means 700 either way maximum. it doesn't necessarily dictate "square".

800 x 600 forces an even further reduced side.
 
I think the competition is spectacular the way it is and should be left alone.

And obviously what I say goes, so :p
 
just like to bring up a point regarding the way and mindset that photos should be judged and hence voted upon.

I mean there are various criterias - your favourite photo, the best technically proficient image, the one that best reflects the weeks theme, the most effort or skill that would have been required to take the shot etc

so what do we think? just interested in a bit of discussion on the criteria that the photos are judged, and what in fairness the criteria should be.

I mean one could just plonk in an awesome photo that will blow others out of the water but it may be too irrelevant to the weeks theme...stuff like that
 
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