I also got a commnent that my photo might not be high contrast enough. Taking a look at the previous high contrast challenge, the winner was somehow a 'benchmark' for me: //www.dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=226000
On the other hand, there's a thin line between having high contrasts vs. over/under exposure.
My score dropped to below 6. Only had two comments thus far - Luckily not one of them commented on my photo not meeting the challenge. One good comment and one not so good, but it seems I don't have a contrast issue.
i do not understand this. i honestly think this is a great entry. i have no idea how it is sitting at a 3.8824, unless it doesn't meet the challenge, which is possible.
if i may ask, i did a black and white convert, which covers the whole brightness/darkness range. did i overlook something? sheesh.
I hate that feeling.
I have been in a slump but I THINK I'm on a comeback - the natural ebb and flow may happen sooner or later. Just keep shooting.
Some images don't appeal to the majority -
If you like the image, that's the important part.
t8
Originally posted by jerowe:
i do not understand this. i honestly think this is a great entry. i have no idea how it is sitting at a 3.8824, unless it doesn't meet the challenge, which is possible.
if i may ask, i did a black and white convert, which covers the whole brightness/darkness range. did i overlook something? sheesh.
Well, I think that this is going to be a tough one for sure, but that was anticipated in the early threads. There is just too much room for interpretation. If you look at the last High Contrast challenge, it too was across the board - even in the top 10. If you search the internet for High Contrast examples the first item to come up is stuff by Barri Olson. There of course is the Bill Brandt stuff as well. Now if you look at the last High Contrast challenge again, the first time you see similar stuff is the image that placed 56th. That image even received a Critique Club review that it was a 10 for that reviewer and they nailed it. However, the popular vote put it at 56th place.
I can't speak for anyone else, but I heavily reviewed other sources and that last challenge to try to get a feel for what High Contrast truly means versus how it was interpreted and appreciated by the voters here.
While it is always a tough call figuring out what fits in a challenge and how it will be appreciated, this one was even more difficult. I think we have a tough job as voters on this one for sure, but I think we need to provide lots of leeway on this one for sure.
i do not understand this. i honestly think this is a great entry. i have no idea how it is sitting at a 3.8824, unless it doesn't meet the challenge, which is possible.
if i may ask, i did a black and white convert, which covers the whole brightness/darkness range. did i overlook something? sheesh.
maybe i'm just in a slump. i really do not know.
Not to worry. We learn more from failure than from success. You will be as perplexed when an image scores high, just happier.
B&W conversion across the full range of the luminosity (histogram) curve is not enough for a classic brightness based high contrast image. The signiture of classic high contrast is to have high, steep sloped peaks in the histogram resulting in sharp boundaries between dark and light with very few grey tones in between. High contrast produces very stark imagery to add mood to a photograph.
I did not enter this challenge, but systematically going through the almost 400 images...the way I see it most were low contrast, perfect contrast, neautral contrast...very few were high contrast...maybe 10%...could the challenge have been better explained with an example (like for the latest two challenges) cause this one looks more like a FREE STUDY than HIGH CONTRAST...what does everyone else think?
I looked at the last High Contrast challenge and it was Advanced Editing, and this is basic, maybe this created limitations on the final presentation.
I posted my first three pics this week and am very happy with my scores so far. I wasn't sure if mine was really high contrast or not, but I posted anyway. Since posting, I tried out the photo in BW and maybe should have gone that way. I don't think I'll be taking any ribbons for a while, but I'm eager for the chance to learn more about photography (and photoshop) on this site. More comments please!
Personally, I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. I figure that if someone submits something to a challenge that has some effort put in and it could possibly meet the challenge through interpretation, then I take out the DNMC option. The photos that are borderline meeting the challenge are sometimes the most interesting and once in a while "push the envelope" in more ways than just pushing the challenge category.
I'm not sure if this one is what I'm taking about, but it's cool:
Originally posted by tcmartin:
While it is always a tough call figuring out what fits in a challenge and how it will be appreciated, this one was even more difficult. I think we have a tough job as voters on this one for sure, but I think we need to provide lots of leeway on this one for sure.
At least for me was certainly a limitation. I wanted to increase the contrast but some details were compromised and only advanced editing would help.
Anyway, I know I have a nice photo and this is what really matters. :)
Originally posted by hywind:
I looked at the last High Contrast challenge and it was Advanced Editing, and this is basic, maybe this created limitations on the final presentation.
At least for me was certainly a limitation. I wanted to increase the contrast but some details were compromised and only advanced editing would help.
Anyway, I know I have a nice photo and this is what really matters. :)
Originally posted by hywind:
I looked at the last High Contrast challenge and it was Advanced Editing, and this is basic, maybe this created limitations on the final presentation.
Aye. I don't think it's really obvious in mine just how much contrast there is, but honestly, I think it's a really neat photo and I resigned myself to a bunch of DNMC before I even submitted it since it's not a posterized black/white jobbie. I think that a really good high contrast photo isn't necessarily going to hit you over the head with a "hey look, it's contrasty!" sort of feeling. I got about halfway through my first sort last night, I'll try to finish up tonight.
I did not enter this challenge, but systematically going through the almost 400 images...the way I see it most were low contrast, perfect contrast, neautral contrast...very few were high contrast...maybe 10%...could the challenge have been better explained with an example (like for the latest two challenges) cause this one looks more like a FREE STUDY than HIGH CONTRAST...what does everyone else think?
I thought the same thing last night at 12:06 when my page refreshed and I clicked in to vote a little bit. The very first page was filled grayscale, simple B/W and only 1 or 2 truly high contrast photos.
I didn't enter the challenge because of my limited photographic ability and thought for sure I'd be blown out of the water.
When I see a new challenge post I immediately Google search that specific type of photo to get an idea. Since I'm a beginner it's hard for me to think outside the box.
- Great photos with high votes get lots of comments.
- Photos that need improvement, and thus are receiving lower votes get less comments.
In the RainII challenege I just received a personal best score with 24 comments. Thank you to everyone who commented on my image - most told me what they liked about it.
In this challenge I'm now at 4.381 with 21 votes and no comments. I have no idea what voters do not like about my image. No way to improve for next time. I'm working on a personal worst here.
I know this has been beaten to death, but I'd rather have people who vote 20% and comment on every one of those pictures instead of people who try to vote 100% and leave no comments.
I guess I'm just venting a little. Time to put it on cruise control, forget it and focus on the next challenge because clearly I won't learn from this one.
- Great photos with high votes get lots of comments.
- Photos that need improvement, and thus are receiving lower votes get less comments.
In the RainII challenege I just received a personal best score with 24 comments. Thank you to everyone who commented on my image - most told me what they liked about it.
In this challenge I'm now at 4.381 with 21 votes and no comments. I have no idea what voters do not like about my image. No way to improve for next time. I'm working on a personal worst here.
I know this has been beaten to death, but I'd rather have people who vote 20% and comment on every one of those pictures instead of people who try to vote 100% and leave no comments.
I guess I'm just venting a little. Time to put it on cruise control, forget it and focus on the next challenge because clearly I won't learn from this one.
I agree with you but yeah, it's like beating a dead horse. My Free Study entry has 24 comments right now and they're ALL helpful. The score isn't fantastic but at least I know why.
