Mini Comp entries

[Ati]

One could imagine, not a 'mini-comp C&C', because they go by so fast, but a parallel 'why I voted for the one I liked best' thread. What do you think ?
Example : Overeasy's shot 'On the Corner' in Monochrome mc #749 just hits me, it's incredible, but I'd have to put some hard thought into working out why. That would be a useful exercise.

[Brownbear]

Nice idea... Another might be to install a button that entries could click to indicate that they would love to hear some C&C after the Mini Comp was over, perhaps in a private message to the person so they can learn from the experience...

The person entering the mini-comp clicks the "How could I do it better" to indicate that they would love to hear how they could improve their shot...

[Dave Humphries]

Nice idea... Another might be to install a button that entries could click to indicate that they would love to hear some C&C after the Mini Comp was over, perhaps in a private message to the person so they can learn from the experience...

The person entering the mini-comp clicks the "How could I do it better" to indicate that they would love to hear how they could improve their shot...

Hi Christina,

I understand you motive for asking for this, and I too once held that view, but sadly I'm not sure this would work as well as we'd like.

In the "C&C" forums, you'll no doubt agree that we often find it difficult to make useful comments on an image when we don't know anything about it. This is so much a problem that we have this thread to refer people to;
How to Get Effective Feedback for your Posted Images.
We need to know how pleased someone is, whether they consider themselves skilled, what settings were used, what deficiencies they already know about, what software they have, RAW of jpg capture, etc., before we can make a reply without a lot of guesswork or (quite possibly confusing) alternative scenarios.

My observations are that Mini Comp entries are usually just posted without comment or EXIF data, as some have said above - this is often because they may be too shy to impart that information, or just don't know how to.

Additionally, we occasionally have the odd very new member posting advice before the voting has closed and I fear this would increase dramatically.

I do appreciate that if someone is shy, they may find a private response less scary than having their image discussed 'in public', so a quick, non-verbal method of asking for help would suit them.

However, in general, we do try to steer people away from using PMs to request and pass on advice, because only the two parties involved ever see it and that robs anyone else of benefiting from it - or occasionally; for someone else to politely correct an accidental error that may creep into the advice provided (I have 'got it wrong' more than once ).

Also; a "How could I do it better" button/check box would almost certainly require special coding in the website to work - and that's something else we need to avoid for technical reasons.


Therefore; I do think if people want advice, they should ask for it - in their own thread with the image in question there for all to see, and with as much supporting info as possible - for example; how can we advise on sharpening if we don't even know whether the person shoots jpg or RAW? (and what they Post Process with?) - the correct answer will differ depending how they shoot and PP, a guessed answer may well confuse the heck out of them.


It is sad to see some people making the same 'mistake' over and over again in their Mini Comp entries - they never seem to realise, nor do they ask for help - very occasionally I have PM'd the odd one, or posted in the thread after voting closed, but from memory, I've never got a reply with either method

Does that make any sense?

[Brownbear]

Thank you Dave... Yes, it makes perfect sense and I am in full agreement...

Easy for me to say (an idea person) why not create an extra button when I don't have to do the technical work... And yes, I was thinking of a way to benefit shy individuals.. But when all is said and done, if we really wish to learn more, it is up to us to take the initiative to post our images and specs and ask for feedback and doing it publicly allows everyone else to learn.

Back to my gain up control

Thank you.

[Dave Humphries]

Do keep the ideas coming though

Back to my gain up control

Dare I ask?

[Brownbear]

I think we have solved it, and quickly too.. Just waiting for confirmation from others

Nikon D80 - What is Gain Control

[drjuice]

Hi, Designer -

I ditto those who say post it here.

For newbies, one thing I've done ever since I got my first 35mm SLR almost exactly 50 years ago, is to keep what I call my 10 Best. These are images that I've printed and mounted. I've converted all the film images to 38 megapixel TIFF files.

Any of these images are subject to being dumped if I decide a newly taken image is better. I still have an image of JFK I took before his Texas trip in November, 1963; an image of the center portion of the US Capitol taken in July 1964; an image of two stacks of barroom chairs outside a bar near the main train station in Strasbourg, France, where the owner has just washed down the cobbles, chairs, and windows, and the early sun is glinting off the wet surfaces, taken in 1977. Well you get the idea. My point is that by looking through these these pictures regularly, I continue to learn other ways that I could have framed these pictures. And, after a big trip (4-5 times a year), I pick 5 images to check against the then-current 10 Best to see whether any of the current 10 Best in preference to my new images. The latest replacement for one of the 10 Best is an oak tree in the front yard of the Charles Pinckney National Historic Site that was taken in January, 2011.

Hope this helps.
virginia

[TommyGuido]

Why go the to trouble of posting an entry, when they haven't taken the time to correct some very basic errors.

Ummmmmmm........maybe they didnt know for whatever reason they were making basic errors.

I found this site recently in order to gain some knowledge on how to improve my images especially in p/p. In order for me to do that I have to ask questions and post images in order to get some type of feedback. I am not going to up and die or go running and crying boo hoo if someone gives me feedback pointing out mistakes I may have made with suggestions on how to do better.

How do you react to constructive criticism towards the photos you post here?

I am pretty sure you were at a point where you may have made basic mistakes and didnt even know you were doing so.



Why not you take a little time yourself by giving someone with lesser skills than you a helping hand in order to make them a better photographer than what they currently are. It makes you a better person for helping someone while making them a better photographer at the same time as well.

[drjuice]

Hi, Jim aka Designer -

First, if I'd come on this site when the web first started in 1990-1 (I wrote my first web page over Christmas vacation 1990, having learned to write HTML over Thanksgiving vacation), I'm not sure I would have worried about having a horizontal horizon. And, once in a while, a non-horizontal horizon is absolutely appropriate.

Second, one of the very first things I learned when I was becoming a professor was that it is possible to criticize in ways that don't inflame the relationship between the critic and the author/creator/inventor of whatever is being criticized. This is a gentle suggestion that you spend some time learning how to do that, essentially without added adverbs and adjectives, even as mild as "bad".

Finally, this is a learning environment that I personally much prefer to other sites. I especially enjoy Christina S.'s contributions to beautifying the world. That is not to say other folks' contributions are, in the words of some folks appending to this thread, "junky", "crappy", "awful", or "What were you thinking when you submitted that image?". This is a "what floats your boat" kind of place and I hugely appreciate that!

JMHO.....

virginia