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02/26/2014 06:17:26 PM · #1 |
I don't think I ever received 7 ten's on any of my entries, but this image did.
But my final score was only 5.8333 due to a bizarre voting pattern: 1x1, 2x2, 10x3, 13x4 against 24x7, 5x8, 4x9 and 7x10.
Any simular voting patterns among you? |
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02/26/2014 07:58:15 PM · #2 |
It is what it is....... Some people vote in what appears to be a biased fashion and some people try to sett a criteria to vote fairly amongst all of the images. I don't really know what we can do about it. Even though it would be difficult I thought it would be interesting for people to rate all the photographs from number one number two number three all the way to say number 75 if there were 75 entries. The person with the lowest score gets the blue ribbon the person with the second lowest score gets the red and so on.
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02/26/2014 08:12:30 PM · #3 |
| I liked your image Kees, so don't take this the wrong way, but why is it you think the 1s, 2s and 3s, are bizarre but not the 10s? Fact is, most voting seems to follow a bell curve of some sort, a few low votes, a few high ones, an the bulk in the middle ... so if anything is bizarre about the voting on your image its more in the aberrant (albeit well deserved!) number of 10s you got then in the dispersion among the low votes. :) |
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02/26/2014 08:19:43 PM · #4 |
| I didn't vote on this challenge... BUT I am a dog lover! I have three.. and I give a boost to cute dog photos. Sorry I am so simple minded about this! |
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02/26/2014 08:27:24 PM · #5 |
I wish the website would require a comment from folks who scored 1, 2, and 3s like the rules recommend. I sure liked your photo. It contained paper, was creative, and I thought quite nice. I liked all the white. I have never given out a score below a 4 and have trouble understanding exactly when such a score is deserved. (But my reluctance to score so low likely annoys those who have a very good understanding of photographic 'greatness' and have very logical reasons for scoring 1, 2, 3s.) I've pretty much stopped paying attention to my results. I submit photos as the weather and topics excite me, submitting my favorite even if it's not great.
Someday I'll capture something that measures up, but until then I use the challenges to give me a target topic that excites my brain. |
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02/26/2014 08:35:39 PM · #6 |
Hi Kees
I really wanted to like your pic, I did, it was cute and fun. But somehow I just wanted the dog to be in focus but yet the paper in the background was the focus, not sure why, I can kind of see why, but I still wanted it the other way around, anyways, I gave you a 5, would of been a 7, though I reckon!
Still it's an open challenge, you always get that in an open challenge, with every couple of 8 votes I'm getting currently I'll get quite a few 4's and 5's as well, so meh it is! |
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02/26/2014 08:56:50 PM · #7 |
| I gave you a 7 and would have scored higher but for the motion blur causing a seemingly soft focus on the doggy. I would have liked a larger crop with the full head"ears" of the doggy. Besides that what I really liked was all the lines drawing me into the subject and the splash of green from the towel. I also did not enter this challenge. Maybe we should try a challenge that you cannot vote if you enter into it. May take some of the bias out of it. Just my thoughts. |
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02/26/2014 09:43:31 PM · #8 |
I didn't vote, so I don't have a dog in the fight. I think what you're seeing with this image's voting is the dog lovers vs. those who voted on the image per se. Your shot has great appeal to the cute / nice doggie / fun doggie folks. Enough so that they loved the image, regardless of some "issues". The other end was folks who focused on the blurry dog, perhaps a feeling that it was over processed, blurry foreground, motion blur.
Both groups are right, from their perspective. The truth lies somewhere in the middle, which is where your average score wound up.
While the shot does a great job of capturing the playful moment, had some of the technical "issues" not been there, it would have catapulted a great image to incredible or extraordinary.
I think the voting on this image is a good example of the genius of the dpc voting system. While frustrating, there are folks here who won't let you get away with anything. In the end, I think that is a good thing.
But it doesn't make it very fun sometimes... ;-p
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02/26/2014 09:56:27 PM · #9 |
| An inverted bell curve voting pattern ("U"-shaped) should be the goal of every photo which has meaning (i.e. is not "eye candy"), as it demonstrates that it had a significant impact on the viewers ... they might love it or hate it but they can't ignore it ... |
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02/26/2014 11:24:14 PM · #10 |
| I was one of the 10's, Kees. I gave you a 10 because this was one of the few images in the challenge that connected with me on an emotional level. I didn't care about the blurry dog, in fact it sort of enhances the experience; it's like a frame from a home video or something. I like the image very much. But I can guarantee you that the bulk of the low votes are for "poor technique", for having the "subject" of the image not be even close to "sharp". So it goes. |
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02/26/2014 11:55:03 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
But I can guarantee you that the bulk of the low votes are for "poor technique", for having the "subject" of the image not be even close to "sharp". So it goes. |
Even though the designated subject was "paper", not dog ... |
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02/27/2014 11:43:14 AM · #12 |
Originally posted by EstimatedEyes:
I liked your image Kees, so don't take this the wrong way, but why is it you think the 1s, 2s and 3s, are bizarre but not the 10s? |
No, I don't think 1s, 2s and 3s are bizarre and not the 10s, I meant to say the number of 1s, 2s, 3s and 10s are so different from my normal range of votes (normally only a few low votes and only one or two 10s). I guess everyone has a reason for the vote he/she gives and I'm not bothered by that.
But maybe the very reason is in what  GeneralE notes:
Originally posted by GeneralE:
An inverted bell curve voting pattern ("U"-shaped) should be the goal of every photo which has meaning (i.e. is not "eye candy"), as it demonstrates that it had a significant impact on the viewers ... they might love it or hate it but they can't ignore it ... |
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
But I can guarantee you that the bulk of the low votes are for "poor technique", for having the "subject" of the image not be even close to "sharp". |
I can't agree more. I took about two dozens of shots, but that dog is so fast, it was not easy to keep him in focus. And then I was thinking that a bit of OOF might add to the essence of the image.
Anyway, I didn't have a better one and I'm pleased with both the image itself and the final score. Thank you all for commenting in this thread! |
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02/27/2014 12:46:57 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by Kroburg:
I took about two dozens of shots, but that dog is so fast, it was not easy to keep him in focus. |
This is a little off-topic, but you know, it's not that the dog is OUT of focus (the paper in front of him AND behind him is sharp enough), it's all MOTION blur. Faster shutter speed would have frozen the dog. And made the picture less appealing IMO, but probably reduced the number of really low votes. |
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02/27/2014 02:48:13 PM · #14 |
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
Originally posted by Kroburg:
I took about two dozens of shots, but that dog is so fast, it was not easy to keep him in focus. |
This is a little off-topic, but you know, it's not that the dog is OUT of focus (the paper in front of him AND behind him is sharp enough), it's all MOTION blur. Faster shutter speed would have frozen the dog. And made the picture less appealing IMO, but probably reduced the number of really low votes. |
and you would have lost my very high vote. |
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02/27/2014 02:49:15 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by posthumous:
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
Originally posted by Kroburg:
I took about two dozens of shots, but that dog is so fast, it was not easy to keep him in focus. |
This is a little off-topic, but you know, it's not that the dog is OUT of focus (the paper in front of him AND behind him is sharp enough), it's all MOTION blur. Faster shutter speed would have frozen the dog. And made the picture less appealing IMO, but probably reduced the number of really low votes. |
and you would have lost my very high vote. |
Mine as well :-) |
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02/27/2014 06:30:29 PM · #16 |
This article from PictureCorrect seems to address this type of situation ... How To Find Your Unique Voice As A Photographer
Originally posted by Linked Article:
... I’ve seen more photographers shut themselves down long before they ever truly delved into their potential because of this #1 creativity-killer: perfectionism. They over-analyze all of the details of their photos, attempting to make everything in each one of them just right.
Photography is not supposed to be perfect. There are technical tools that we can use to improve our photographs, but they are only that: tools – not rules. Just like people, photos are technically imperfect – and yet that’s what makes them so beautiful. Each photo is an impression of a moment in time that will never again be recaptured. And only you, from your unique viewpoint, have the ability to take that picture.
Some of the most famous photos, considered by many to be the best of the best, have imperfections! In fact, most of them do! Not only that, everyone has different tastes. Something that one person might call a “problem area” might be the reason that someone else LOVES that exact same photo. Are you going to deprive dozens of people the enjoyment of your art simply because one person said “this part isn’t in perfect focus.” Screw focus! Seriously!
If you take the picture and you like it, then what anyone else says doesn’t matter. |
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02/27/2014 07:15:49 PM · #17 |
| You have a very nice bathroom BTW ;p) |
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03/25/2014 05:42:47 PM · #18 |
I am trying to undestand why people are voting the way they are voting..
if someone puts anything less than a 5 they should comment on why... but they don't.. if you think something is bad, then why isn't comments being made to why it is so bad in their eyes..
hence the same if something is a 8-10 what made it so good?!
I am still confused.. do people vote others lower so that way their pictures will come up at a higher score? That is the only feeling I get so far. If I vote this picture lower, then mine will be a higher rating kinda of thing..
I have looked at a lot of the scores on the already voted pictures and it amazes me on some of the voting...
not really fair I don't think
Message edited by author 2014-03-25 17:46:13. |
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03/25/2014 06:02:51 PM · #19 |
Originally posted by jgirl57:
I am trying to undestand why people are voting the way they are voting..
if someone puts anything less than a 5 they should comment on why... but they don't.. if you think something is bad, then why isn't comments being made to why it is so bad in their eyes..
hence the same if something is a 8-10 what made it so good?!
I am still confused.. do people vote others lower so that way their pictures will come up at a higher score? That is the only feeling I get so far. If I vote this picture lower, then mine will be a higher rating kinda of thing..
I have looked at a lot of the scores on the already voted pictures and it amazes me on some of the voting...
not really fair I don't think |
As so many before you have asked, the system cannot be gamed. At least not for long. "Strategic voting" (what you described) is against the TOS and will get you expelled from DPC. Worse, it doesnt work.
Low votes, like other unpleasant aspects of life, are part of the deal. Requiring people to explain their lowvotes is both a bad idea and has been discussed ad nauseum. |
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03/25/2014 06:08:36 PM · #20 |
Originally posted by jgirl57:
I am still confused.. do people vote others lower so that way their pictures will come up at a higher score? That is the only feeling I get so far. If I vote this picture lower, then mine will be a higher rating kinda of thing..
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I can't speak for anyone else, but I have voted on most challenges and entered very few so this would not apply to me.
I have voted some images low, but that was simply because I earnestly believed that they were crap...umm lacking.
Ray |
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03/25/2014 06:16:01 PM · #21 |
Don't try to understand voting - everyone is differnt and trying to understand it is like trying to define art! Do you like your entry? Do you think it fits the challenge? Did you accomplish what you set out to capture? This is what is important to me. I will never understand the scoring and I will never understand everyones perception of art but that does not matter.
 I entered this in the paper challenge...I thought it met the challlenge, I loved it - why because I cannot draw a stick person with a ruler and I have a very limited imagination so for me to draw this guy cut him out and head to a graffiti park and get this image made me very happy! My score was not very good (5 1's and 0 ten's) but I liked my entry, I thought it fit the challenge (looking back there was not enough paper and I was seeing it through my eyes not through the votes who didn't know the story behind the image(and that is the way I like to see my pictures)) and I did capture what I set out to capture. The score in the end didn't matter. Oh and it took me a long time to realize this and sometimes I still slip back into the "WHAT someone gave me a 1!" mindset!
Sit back and enjoy the ride! |
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03/25/2014 06:43:13 PM · #22 |
I too don't understand the voting, but have accepted it is the way it is. And after this thread, VotingI won't bring up my opinion on the scoring again.
After scratching my head and sleeping on it I realized that I'm not here to win a challenge. Sure, it's nice and anytime there are scores I think that it's human nature to compete and see how you compare. But it doesn't help me whatsoever to become a better photographer. The critique does, and it's truly what I desire from this site. There's a lot of talent here and I value that opinion. Unfortunately critique is also infrequent, and yes the 1's continue to roll in without it. Why? Not sure. Do they recognize others work and they don't want to offend? Perhaps it's laziness. Perhaps it is to "help" their score. I don't know, and it's not required.
I did notice that the critique section of this site hasn't had many posts (I don't think any this year). Also, I'm not sure if you tick the "In depth critique" box works either or if you have to be a member.
Anyway, I thank everyone who does take the time to add a critique or an explanation as to why they voted low.
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03/25/2014 08:35:33 PM · #23 |
awesome comments!!!
It is the critiques that will help me as well since I am a self taught kind of gal.
It will be interested to see what happens. There are tons of talented people here and I am really hoping to learn.
Are the critiques that are given can they be seen by everyone or do they usually show up as a personal note ?
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03/25/2014 08:51:18 PM · #24 |
Originally posted by jgirl57:
Are the critiques that are given can they be seen by everyone or do they usually show up as a personal note ? |
Others can see the comments after the challenge is over.
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03/25/2014 09:01:47 PM · #25 |
| Another question that is valuable to ask yourself, especially if you're starting out, is "did I learn something from shooting this image for this challenge". That is by far MUCH more important than the score. Eventually, it gets harder and harder to "learn something" when taking a picture, but hopefully, by that time you'll have gotten good enough to get really good scores :) |
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