This sweet pug girl was rescued from a puppy mill. She had already lost one eye, and a few years later lost the other. Penelope lives her life in darkness, but has a personality full of brightness.
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Statistics
Place: 171 out of 373 Avg (all users): 5.0225 Avg (commenters): 6.6923 Avg (participants): 4.8682 Avg (non-participants): 5.1319 Views since voting: 1298 Views during voting: 466 Votes: 311 Comments: 19 Favorites: 1 (view)
I didn't vote this round but when I saw this picture I thought the puppy has her eyes squinted...I didn't realize she was blind! Poor baby...pretty amazing how they adapt. I have 2 weiner dogs...one from a wiener dog rescue group (she's extremely highstrung and was severely abused) and my second from the dogpound and he loves everybody! I'm always glad to see someone that adopts from rescue groups :)
For what it's worth, I gave this photo a 5, the title didn't quite get through to me although I suspected it. I agree with you that all those 1,2, and a whooping 25 3's was not fair! You did get my attention though and I thank you for loving a beautiful creature that nobody else was willing to love :)
Well Linda, here is my take on the scores you received, and are only my opinons.
First of all, a 5.0 really isn't a bad score. This was a challenge of creativity, mood and "Heebie-Jeebies" in a way. Your picture is touching, and as a former Pug owner, hits a soft spot here. Here is where I believe it had problems:
The average voter spends only a couple seconds to look at it and cast a vote. Your image needed a few seconds longer to get a feeling for and perhaps understand. When a voter has to try and understand too much, they vote in the 4, 5 & 6 realm, as the bulk of the scores on yours reflect. Pet pictures seem to generally score a bit lower too, now adding a second strike in a way. That image means 100x more to you than anyone else here, and becomes self-explanitory in your world, but may not click in a voter's eyes. Perhaps a more powerful title may have helped convey that the dog wasn't just closing it's eyes, with something like "Blind at birth".
Technically, the focus is a little soft in my opinion for something with a minimal dof. Sharper features in the face may have also helped. Composition & framing is decent, with it not being a dead-center mug shot.
Remembering who is scoring these challenges is to understand what to produce if you only care about a high vote:
Eye candy and wow factor always seem to come out on top.
When the power goes off on your PC, you still have a touching print to look at,
worth far more than other people's opinions and lack of compassion.
(copied from reply in forum so it would have a more suitable home here.)
Nice detail on the face, and good lighting highlights on the wrinkles and folds. This adorable little creature is sightless or just sleeping? Sure is a precious looking.
the poor thing! Bless his little heart! You have really touched me with this one!! I have many pets and they are like my children. I am giving you a 10 and I hope you win a ribbon!!!
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