Hi, I'm going to start by borrowing from what I mentioned in the recent article announcing the winner of the "black and white" theme.
Early disclaimer: I didn't participate in the black-and-white contest.
"I browsed through all the submissions and found a LOT of creative, artistic black and white shots that were much more than "shoot at what's in front of you and convert them to black-and-white". For instance:
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
Picture 4
Picture 5
Picture 6
Picture 7
Picture 8
Picture 9
Picture 10
Each one of the above shots is so much more than a "simple shot of what's in front of you". They go to show the sequence of thoughts the photographer had, from framing the shot in his/ her mind, to snapping it, to editing it, and presenting it to the audience. There is so much play on composition, lighting and some brilliant editing in these shots. In contrast, I find the winning photo lacking in all these areas.
I hope this contest gets better in terms of judging the winning photo, going forward."
I understand that picking a winning photograph is an extremely difficult task and what appears aesthetically pleasing to me might not strike as pleasing to someone else (like the judge). However, there are some obvious things that cannot and should not be ignored while grading a picture. For instance, things like creativity, composition, play on lighting, angles, and even the amount of effort that went into the shot.
I absolutely love these weekly contests and enjoy contributing and even more, I enjoy browsing through the awesome photos shared by the WP community. I just hope to see some improvements in the judging process.
My only intention here is to provide constructive feedback. Thanks for your time.
Early disclaimer: I didn't participate in the black-and-white contest.
"I browsed through all the submissions and found a LOT of creative, artistic black and white shots that were much more than "shoot at what's in front of you and convert them to black-and-white". For instance:
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
Picture 4
Picture 5
Picture 6
Picture 7
Picture 8
Picture 9
Picture 10
Each one of the above shots is so much more than a "simple shot of what's in front of you". They go to show the sequence of thoughts the photographer had, from framing the shot in his/ her mind, to snapping it, to editing it, and presenting it to the audience. There is so much play on composition, lighting and some brilliant editing in these shots. In contrast, I find the winning photo lacking in all these areas.
I hope this contest gets better in terms of judging the winning photo, going forward."
I understand that picking a winning photograph is an extremely difficult task and what appears aesthetically pleasing to me might not strike as pleasing to someone else (like the judge). However, there are some obvious things that cannot and should not be ignored while grading a picture. For instance, things like creativity, composition, play on lighting, angles, and even the amount of effort that went into the shot.
I absolutely love these weekly contests and enjoy contributing and even more, I enjoy browsing through the awesome photos shared by the WP community. I just hope to see some improvements in the judging process.
My only intention here is to provide constructive feedback. Thanks for your time.
Last edited:
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