Howard5252 Loc: New York / Florida (now)

Should there be any post camera editing limitations ?
Should it be kept as a separate category?
I would like to hear your thoughts.
I will post this in the Post Processing Forum also.

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

Since EVERY image needs some degree of processing - actually, it requires it, it becomes futile to start defining how much is OK and how much is too much.

There is a line that gets crossed and one can say it is too much - it is when they look like crap. :-)

Photographer Jim Loc: Rio Vista, CA

Organized competitions vary as to how much PP they allow, and may vary substantially by category. I belong to a club that follows guidelines as put forth by PSA (Photographic Society of America). Under their guidelines categories such as photojournalism or nature restrict editing to minor adjustments in color balance, exposure, or contrast. No cloning or compositing is allowed. Other categories such as pictorial or creative have no restrictions other than all of the work must be that of the person submitting the image.

My feeling is that the only "should" of importance is that the person considering entering the contest should be aware of that competitions rules and be willing to abide by them. If the rules don't suit the person, then that person should seek out other competitions where the rules are to their preference.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

Rules are only really useful if they can be enforced, and that is very hard to do in the age of digital. Any jpeg that comes out of a camera has already been processed, and usually there are different options that can be set in the camera.

Many years ago an exercise given to students in a photography course was to give them an SLR and a roll of film, send them out for a day with the directive to use up the film and make every shot a good one. You couldn't really cheat with a single roll of film that could be developed and then inspected. Clearly one could then take that film and produce prints with differing darkroom (post processing) approaches etc., but the rules could be enforced.

At the end of the day it is the final result that matters, so why bother to impose restrictions on post processing in a contest? Other guidelines like photo journalism may of course apply, only black and white results etc. and so on.

I can see the benefit of self imposed restrictions to develop good discipline, but that is a very different goal and exercise.

One of Ansel Adams' famous quotes is "the negative is the score and the print is the performance" coupled with his approach that he would visualize the final image in his mind before taking the photograph and know what he had to do to achieve his vision.

http://digital-photography-school.com/moon-over-hernandez-an-insight-into-ansel-adams/

http://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/getty-museum/getty-photographs-films/getty-contemporary-photographers/v/adams-visualizing

Bill Houghton Loc: New York area

If you shoot RAW - then your doing PP. So any photo would have to be dis-guarded right out of the camera if PP wasn't allowed. You will have to be more definitive your in quest,

Example, I decide to take a picture of a walking bridge. There are people on it, blocking some of foliage that I want in the picture. So I take one picture, a few min's later I take another knowing the people will be at different locations. Making it easier for to clone the offending people out with the now vacated space. I haven't changed the bridge, I have only removed the offensive people. Should my photo be dis-guarded.

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

MY club has rules as described by Photographer Jim: Nature and Photojournalism are pretty restrictive but everything else is wide open.

While I know many really hate the fact that photography has changed, the fact is that with some exceptions of course, images that are not post processed, just cannot compete with the more dramatic looks of the images in which the photographer has made use of what today's software can do.

Whuff Loc: Marshalltown, Iowa

The only way to enforce restrictions on PP would be to require entrants to turn over the memory cards right from the camera. You'd probably not get too many entrants with such a requirement.

Walt

Whuff Loc: Marshalltown, Iowa

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Baz Loc: Peterborough UK

Got it in one. You know the rules before you enter. Abide by them. If you don't like them, then bring it up with the organizers. If you really don't like them, don't enter.

lighthouse Loc: No Fixed Abode

In the days of film, did people used to enter unprocessed film into photo contests?

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

So you mean straight out of camera. Sounds good, but who's going to keep us honest. "Ooh, this is a bit dark. I'll just increase exposure a bit. No one will mind."

Howard5252 Loc: New York / Florida (now)

No. In contests run by Kodak, they did require that the original negative be submitted. In film days it certainly was easier to enforce a "No alterations" rule. My question was asked specifically because the technology has moved forward and I am curious if the rules should move too.

waegwan Loc: Mae Won Li

I haven't lately but I used to enter a lot of photo contests. Looking back I'd say it depends on who and what the contest is for. I think the term armature is too vague these days but a contest could be set up in skill levels and camera capabilities and then possibly camera settings. I'm thinking of neighborhood type contests and thinking back when I was shooting old medium format TLRs and other folks were shooting low end 35mm and even 110 cameras and often times the judges went based on print size and quality and usually the medium formats won which was kind of unfair under those conditions. If really inexperienced folks are shooting I'd want to create an environment where they would not be discouraged but still have to develop their skill.

Howard5252 Loc: New York / Florida (now)

And so your answer is ...? You did remind me of contests that were based upon format and I'd bet there are some readers that don't know what TLR refers to. :-)

RRS Loc: Not sure

TLR, Oh that's easy! Too Little Reference, as to how the shot was changed :)