An interesting concept...perhaps...

At face value the quality of the photo is expected to outshine any other factors; that said, in order to encourage new members, and folks with less practice / experience, there are some opportunities here.

For example: Discern between very experienced / seasoned members, and beginners. For example you could have mini-comps that simply require the entrants have (a) never won a mini-comp before ( or have less than # wins), (b) or have under 100, or 500, etc.. posts (which assumes that the # of posts equates to experience level). This requires zero changes to how the site functions technically. Advantage is you don't have an Olympic sprinter going up against a high school track star, therefore I'd expect we'd draw out more members who otherwise would have been discouraged to participate.

I'd like to add that the moderators and members are very, very generous to share their time and experience, so change or no, the site is fantastic.

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Maybe, for those that DO recognize there is a creeping bias in how they vote?

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For me it is, especially when I already saw the picture previously posted for feedbacks and got positive reviews. I know that more work is involved in the final product up for competition but the "surprise" effect is gone.

As a general observation: more rules, less fun and more work, go elsewhere. There are some local photography groups in my area that have so many rules that you really have to work hard to participate. It's much more fun to come here to CiC.

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Originally Posted by FrankMi

As a general observation: more rules, less fun

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Hi Frank,

That my friend - encapsulates beautifully - why I try to keep the mini-comps as rule / administration free as possible.

They used to be one heck of a lot of work for us, but now (thanks to Sean's automation) they're pretty much on autopilot.

I've always strived for a "keep it simple" approach with them.

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Originally Posted by Colin Southern

I've always strived for a "keep it simple" approach

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Colin, there are days when you just warm the cockles of my heart with your logic and insight! :D

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Originally Posted by FrankMi

Colin, there are days when you just warm the cockles of my heart with your logic and insight! :D

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Ditto here.

My comp entries are there for only one specific purpose - to win is nice but not that. I want to know what others think of them. Those with low votes I will go over the why and draw some conclusion from that. Framing? Composition? Presentation? PP? etc. That give me inspiration to do better - not that I do most times.

However a good landscape trumps everything else. That is not so good IMHO. As things stand perhaps the colour version should be changed to just Landscape comp and a new one created for non-landscapes.

Damn...I wish I had read this thread before entering one of my pics into the B/W mini comp :D

To be truthful, I only done it for fun. I certainly don't expect to win and will be amazed with any result thats greater than 0. But even if I receive no votes, It certainly won't bother me so much as it may a more seasoned photographer as my expectations are so much lower.

I think a beginners comp would be good though.

It is very difficult to define a beginner in a programming sense. Posts, length of membership, etc?

Just an example - some could be very accomplished togs switching to digital and joined board recently. Beginner?

Sometimes these comps remind me of an old saying ...

"If you love something, set it free - if it comes back then it's yours - but if it doesn't, then hunt it down an kill it" :eek::D

Seriously, I would encourage folks not to get too caught up in them - win or lose there is still more to life (like how Kimi Raikkonen will perform in F1 for Renalt next year) ...

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Originally Posted by Bobobird

It is very difficult to define a beginner in a programming sense. Posts, length of membership, etc?

Just an example - some could be very accomplished togs switching to digital and joined board recently. Beginner?

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This is true I guess.

As for me, I bought my first SLR in 1988 but quickly moved over to video to record my children growing up. Last year I bought a digital bridge camera and now own a DSLR. I would still class myself as a beginner :)

I never play in any photo competition, because each picture is unique.
My problem is mainly with all the software corrections. I like to see the picture as is.
And still I have my privileges, because I like architectural more than portrait and macro better than landscape.
Further I am also a newbie and do not know the top of the crop and the average.
This is the first time that I have voted.