I got a comment that I think wanted to discuss something...which is better to do in the forums and not on the photo. Everyone has their opinion and that is fine...so here is what he thinks.
Originally posted by yann:
I'm a little confused to see this got so many 10's.
It meets the challenge and the idea is cool but...
In my book, a 10 is at least aesthetically pleasant. This image meets the challenge, is well composed, obviously the colors and the details are there. BUT, the lighting sucks imo... and it's not pleasant to look at (unless you're the type of person who can't say no to one of these). I don't really see any real artistic value in this. So yeah, I'm fine with people that think this is a 9, but a 10? I don't get it.
I'm only saying this because I think this community is great and I beleive it's important that people vote with some common criterias as much as possible. It doesn't mean I have it right and others have it wrong. I might be the one that's wrong, but then I'd appreciate if we could talk about it. I'm all open for discussion.
Btw this has nothing to do with the photographer, I'm just voicing my thoughts about this image. Don't take this as a personal attack or jealousy because it's not.
I won't feel bad if you agree with him...to be honest I really didn't think it was all that great myself...funny and met the challenge, but that was about it. And I am totally grateful to all that voted, commented, and liked my shot...Thank you all.
Here's the shot if you are totally lost.
And just as a disclaimer…I didn’t start this thread to pick on yann or start a fight…he said he wanted to discuss it and I thought it best to do it here.
I just want to comment on how you didn't mark anyone helpful :P
Loved the shot, don't give a crap about the lighting on this, but really it's not bad.
Artistic value?? One man's garbage I guess... It's certainly not High Art, but art is what you make it. I guess the value would be a virtual yellow ribbon.
I just want to comment on how you didn't mark anyone helpful :P
Loved the shot, don't give a crap about the lighting on this, but really it's not bad.
Artistic value?? One man's garbage I guess... It's certainly not High Art, but art is what you make it. I guess the value would be a virtual yellow ribbon.
Congrats!
I don't do that...I stop a while back because I didn't like how people would come back and see I didn't find their comment helpful and PM me...I voted for the "I read this comment" or something along those lines. I find alot of comments I receive helpful.
Just to get back to the OP's discussion :-) - I can certainly see where it would be unappealing to a lot of people, especially as a photo, just standing on it's own. It very well could not have done nearly as well in say, a free study :-) But in the context of this challenge, I think it really nails it! What's more indulgent than that humongous thing? Do people really need a burger that big???
Also, surfdabblers comment I think brings up very good points. Highly bright hyper colors, extreme close up, radical angle, all goes along with modern fast food marketing I believe. So if even sub-consciensly, voters see it as very proper for what it is. Does that make sense?
So those things, coupled with the fact that it is a technically sound photo, and nails the topic, garnered it enough high votes and even more importantly (IMO), few low votes, to place where it did.
Just to get back to the OP's discussion :-) - I can certainly see where it would be unappealing to a lot of people, especially as a photo, just standing on it's own. It very well could not have done nearly as well in say, a free study :-) But in the context of this challenge, I think it really nails it! What's more indulgent than that humongous thing? Do people really need a burger that big???
Also, surfdabblers comment I think brings up very good points. Highly bright hyper colors, extreme close up, radical angle, all goes along with modern fast food marketing I believe. So if even sub-consciensly, voters see it as very proper for what it is. Does that make sense?
So those things, coupled with the fact that it is a technically sound photo, and nails the topic, garnered it enough high votes and even more importantly (IMO), few low votes, to place where it did.
I agree...if I had put this in any other challenge I would not be surprised if I got a mid 5...but the last day to submit that idea popped in my head, and the hardest part about the shot was making the burger...yes I made it at my father's restaurant...but we have never sold one that big.
Anyways, back to the subject: I think maybe there's a tendency of giving too much weight to the "meeting the challenge" criteria resulting in really high votes for this image within this challenge.
About the lighting, I think the shadow visible on the hand and in the face seems just wrong from a technical point of view and doesn't look good at all. (I don't have to mention lighting is an important part of photography.) That's one reason why I can hardly understand that someone would give a 10 to this image.
To coolhar: The number of 10s that the yellow ribbon shot received is indeed "statistically correct", but that's not what I've been talking about. The subject isn't the yellow ribbont shot, it's the image itself.
Well I did alot of shots, some with flash and some without. The ones with flash looked horrible as to burnt highlights. I took it outside so I could get better light. I tried shooting Brandon all different angles to get the Sun to shine just perfect on him...but when all was said and done I chose this image because overall it said what I wanted it to...there were a few that had better lighting but they would have suffered more do to poor background, yes even worse than the bush, and just bad angles. I agree the light could be better, and that’s what I try and do every time I shoot is to make the best shot possible, but when I look at them on my computer I have to choose the best one I got...cause I can't reshoot, and I can't edit it like I wanted to, due to open rules. So this was the best I had...sorry for the people that it got under your skin. Your not the only one yann.
And BTW yann...that is probably one of my all time favorite shots of my own...thank you very much for saying that.
I think there's a fundamental category mistake here: we don't vote for the highest art in a challenge, but for the photograph which most properly (to each different one of us) meets the challenge. That '10' can relate to photography in general, or simply to this challenge - that a choice we all make in voting.
I think there's a fundamental category mistake here: we don't vote for the highest art in a challenge, but for the photograph which most properly (to each different one of us) meets the challenge. That '10' can relate to photography in general, or simply to this challenge - that a choice we all make in voting.
True for some, perhaps, but not all. The logic of that would lead to an image that perfectly met the challenge, but being lousy as a photograph, getting a ribbon.
There were a few in the challenge that I thought only barely met it - but because they did, I scored them on their qualities as images. I'm sure I'm not alone in doing this.
Isn't the point of the site to help us become better as photographers, rather than better at constructing an assignment to spec?
True for some, perhaps, but not all. The logic of that would lead to an image that perfectly met the challenge, but being lousy as a photograph, getting a ribbon.
Unless you accept that 'perfectly meeting the challenge', in a photography competition, requires a non-lousy photograph. My point being that it's at least as necessary to 'meet the challenge' - in the eyes of the majority - as it is to produce a good image.
I think there's a fundamental category mistake here: we don't vote for the highest art in a challenge, but for the photograph which most properly (to each different one of us) meets the challenge. That '10' can relate to photography in general, or simply to this challenge - that a choice we all make in voting.
Great reply, that's the whole issue here, this image was spot on for the challenge and that is what we are suppose to vote on.
Personally, I like it alot. It meets the challenge head on and makes a statement. The burger is well lit and its the subject. The guy's face is in shadow but that just brings the attention back to the burger.
I can see this as an image in a fast food ad - the bold vibrant colors and the food looking lager than life make it typical of the genre...
IMO, I don't see why the photo shouldn't have finished where it did because that is where it was voted. I think it's slightly poor taste to bag a photo in such a way, even in the 'Indulgence Scores" thread where there was talk of how bad all the photos were...consider those people that actually made the effort to enter a photo. Congrats on your ribbon.
Most voting is done quite fast and is subjective, This image probably grabbed an immediate response. Perhaps if the voter reviews their tally at the end some of the tens would be changed to nines because of some technical flaws, perhaps not. Humor adds a couplee of points to the score.
