Critique photos for contest?

[Wampatom]

Should we critique photos submitted to the photo contest, similarly to what is done on PhotoSig? I think it would be nice to get feedback on what people think about the pictures. As things exist the photos go into a dark hole and only the winner is discussed, generally only in positive terms. This could be done in a thread outside the contest thread. It might increase interest, provide information, and help improve the photos.

 

[Len]

Hmmm. I don't know if we should do it for photo contests, but it would be a nice feature if people want their photos critiqued. I'll see what's out there.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree. If people want their photos actually critiqued so as to improve their photography, we could set up a sort of guidelines or something. I dunno. I'll ponder it and see if I can draw something up like an FAQ or something this weekend .

 

[Anonymous]

I would like my photo cosntest photos critiqued. I rarely submit photos otherwise, and when I do it is just because I have something cool to show, not just a neat photo.

The photo contest is won not only by content, but by quality. How can one ever expect to improve without comment from the peanut gallery?

 

[Anonymous]

got to be careful with critiquing, if you do make sure to have it in a separate thread as you dont want the photo thread to pile up, perhaps critique after said contest only?

 

[Anonymous]

got to be careful with critiquing, if you do make sure to have it in a separate thread as you dont want the photo thread to pile up, perhaps critique after said contest only?

That would be cool, the day (er whaterver) after the contest ends each persons submission would become a new thread for critique.

 

[Anonymous]

That'd be fine. I'd like to avoid critiquing current contest entries or polling finalists, as I think it might cloud judgement. After the contest, if people want their photos critiqued, more power to 'em.

 

[Len]

You've got the admin brain engine churning. Shoot more good ideas our way, guys

 

[CDH]

I like the idea of critiquing after the contest. It would be nice to know what people were judging on, looking for, etc. This would not only help the people that submit pictures, but also anyone that casts a vote will be able to start making more educated votes in the future by understanding what other people look at. (People would vote on the artistic aspect of the picture, rather than the cool fish in the picture, for example)

 

[wade1]

I say add another line to the description posted to each contest submission that states something like: CRITIQUE OPEN or CRITIQUE CLOSED.

Many people do not take any kind of criticism well, and the option to have their images rolled through the collective perception machine might be damaging. So... I say let the submitted put the tag for yes or no, and then open it up to doing so (1/thread) at the conclusion of the contest.

Wade

 

[Anonymous]

That's the way I was leaning, wade. Critism, even well-intentioned, can be hard to take, and even if your photo makes the finals, it can be tough to have someone pick it apart. So if/when we start up some method of truly critiquing images, I think it should be up to the photographer to decide if they want their images critiqued or not.

 

[Wampatom]

something like: CRITIQUE OPEN or CRITIQUE CLOSED.

That would work. If it turned out that most people accepted critiques then you could change the contest to make it clear that any submission was subject to critiques.

Critiques after voting would be fine, but I think it is easiest to write a critique when you first look at a picture.

I don’t think it would matter much if critiquing took place before or during the voting. You can already see what the vote tally is. Also, voting is not the most scientific way to judge a photo, since you can recruit your friends to vote, if you so wish. So further distortion through critiques would probably not do much damage.