Judging photo contests
Jan 24, 2023 07:22:09 #
NickGee wrote:
Photo contents are stupid and a waste of time and energy. You don't need (fake) validation like that to enjoy your hobby. Such things appeal largely to praise whores.
Jan 24, 2023 07:25:35 #
NickGee wrote:
Photo contents are stupid and a waste of time and energy. You don't need (fake) validation like that to enjoy your hobby. Such things appeal largely to praise whores.
Bitter much? Obviously you have had your prize photo scored low at some point in life. I recently joined a photography club and have entered the monthly competitions. I have yet to fail to learn something, especially on technical terms, about all my entries. But then, I also keep an open mind about the critique. I like to call it adulting.
Jan 24, 2023 07:43:34 #
I hope never. I enter our county fair photo contest, sure sometimes I disagree with the judges choices but enjoy seeing everyone’s photos and can even tell which ones belong to who as I know there pets or family ☺️
Jan 24, 2023 08:13:34 #
Winners don't indicate best photos, just the opinions of fallible judges. In one prestigious contest last year, I noticed that 4 out of 5 winners and runners up were of misty landscapes.
Jan 24, 2023 08:39:07 #
Longshadow wrote:
...when perceived by the viewer.
Now reeeeeally .... who gives a ratzazz about the viewer ?!!?
Jan 24, 2023 08:40:46 #
dbrugger25
Loc: Raleigh, NC
Once entered a photo that I disliked, and it won a photo contest. I saw so many other photos that I admired and wondered what was wrong with the judges.
Jan 24, 2023 08:44:12 #
User ID wrote:
Now reeeeeally .... who gives a ratzazz about the viewer ?!!?
I know, I know, the photographer thinks it should win...
All of them think so.
Jan 24, 2023 08:46:09 #
Jeffcs
Loc: Myrtle Beach South Carolina
Jack 13088 wrote:
I think the club style contest is the best learnin... (show quote)
Finally someone with an open mind… I personally think if you’re entering an art (photography) competition you, as the artist, must take away something learned, provided the judging comes with CC. It’s a way to grow. I also listen to the cc given to other images keeping an open mind using the opportunity, to learn. I’ve entered many competitions, did I agree with the judge not always, did I win/place not always, did I go away learning something most of the time. That said there is definitely good judges and people that should not judge. I most definitely feel growing as an artist one needs cc and not just by your family and friends but from someone that is not personally connected to you.
Jan 24, 2023 09:31:06 #
Al Vocinq
Loc: The wilds of upstate New York
JD750 wrote:
This is not meant to be a criticism of human judge... (show quote)
Flickr uses AI to chooses the photos is judges best each day. Some are wonderful, some are worthless.
Jan 24, 2023 10:05:19 #
I don't think AI will replace human judges. In any competition there are many images that get thrown out of the competition, and most of the time all judges agree on these images. What is left in the competition is a number of images that are decent, well-composed, and shot with good choices by the photographer. Some may be more or less creative (creative being a broad term) but all are "sound" images. Judges will then use their own beliefs to find the best of the lot, and, yes, the process is biased, as is most of life since we are humans. I've entered many local and regional competitions and won prizes in a large majority of them and I have also judged competitions. I think a lot of photographers who "put down" competitions are those who have not been successful in a competition. Getting better, better being given a wide latitude of interpretation, in photography takes an open and accepting mind, although that is not the goal of many photographers. Set your own goals and if entering a competition is not part of your goal that is perfectly fine, but many photographers do want to enter and do learn from doing so, even if they don't agree with the judges.
Jan 24, 2023 10:17:11 #
JD750 wrote:
This is not meant to be a criticism of human judge... (show quote)
If AI or computer are the judges, (not something I would recommend) then the person writing the code (if that is the right tech term) is the judge.
I have entered photo contests and judged many photo contests too. As a judge, I judge using the criteria of the sponsoring organization and not just my own criteria. Even given that, rarely will three judges agree on the top image. They may agree on the top 3 or 5 and then negotiate among themselves as to which one is the winner. The most useful information is for the entrants to hear that discussion take place and learn from it. And if that takes place, that still does not mean that those three judges made the correct decision. This is even more true with digital images where the processing stuff employed by the entrant may outweigh or impact the artistic and compositional elements in the photograph. And if the digital image viewing conditions are not the same for each judge, more top image randomness is introduced into the judging process.
Jan 24, 2023 10:35:37 #
I was asked to judge a photo show. They must have liked how I did it because they asked me back for the next year! I have an 8-point list with 0-5 points for each. One of the points is purely personal. I learned long ago when showing horses that one is paying for one person's opinion and only that. If he doesn't like your horse for some reason, you won't win. But maybe the next one will. As long as one remembers that, contests aren't too earth-shattering. Unfortunately, the first time I did it, according to the point system, the one that won was an image that I frankly didn't like. It was really hard to give it a higher score (by one point) that an image I really did like and was quite creative. We get so caught up in the techniques that we forget that part of the joy of photography is creating an emotional response. It's an important part of the medium.
Jan 24, 2023 10:42:53 #
User ID wrote:
Only once did I buckle under "political"... (show quote)
That Photo Society must have been very drunk in order to invite you to judge a contest with actual rules...
I liked your story though, pretty funny.
Personally, I don't do contests (other than an occasional Hog contest) because I'm not that good, and I'm not very interested in following specific rules as many contests have. No editing, must edit and show original, photo must be taken in last week or month and so on. I do know if I were talked into entering/judging a contest, I'd follow whatever rules the contest has.
Really, "contest" is another name for "game", and games are really, really stupid if there are no rules, or no one follows them.
By you agreeing to judge a game and then refuse to follow the rules says a lot.
Jan 24, 2023 10:43:49 #
NickGee wrote:
Photo contents are stupid and a waste of time and energy. You don't need (fake) validation like that to enjoy your hobby. Such things appeal largely to praise whores.
Sounds like you have lost a few photo CONTENTS lately. Tell us how you really feel. Fake validation you say; hmmmm, some people like to enter contests as part of their photography hobby. Yet you now tell us and those people that it is all a waste of time and they are only doing it to validate what they are doing. You sound like a true Debbie Downer. I hope the rest of your life goes better than the preceding part.
Dennis
Jan 24, 2023 10:45:43 #
NickGee wrote:
JD750 (oops, forgot to "reply"): True enough, and no insult intended. I generally engage with friends and peers who are also photographers and we share comments and critiques. Clubs are also good for this. Contests, in my view, skew critiques toward rigid rules, conventions and the like, and stifle creativity more than they encourage it. That's been my experience, though maybe not yours.
And every competitor aims to satisfy whatever rules the judges have put forth. That is why it is a contest, to see which competitor submits a photo that also meets the rules.
Dennis
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