# Your views on the mini photo comp



## spitfire (Feb 10, 2007)

As above, I'd like to give you this opportunity to express your views on the mini comp. Is it too hard, too easy or are the briefs not interesting enough. I'd like to try getting more people involved in using all those new cameras that were bought this year. What are your suggestions? You may be happy the way it is, if so, then let's hear it. Now's the chance to voice your opinion. TIA


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## pooma (Apr 12, 2008)

I like the mini comps, but does seem to be flagging in numbers of late. Must admit last months subject was a hard one. Also I've only had a punt in a couple of the comps as with my point and shoot I don't feel my photos can come close to others, roll on christmas as the wife has said santa may bring me a DSLR. So after some practice I might start entering more.


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

Great as they are mate. I like briefs that are not too descriptive, ie like the "Wind" we just had, as it leaves a lot to the imagination. Although i didn't have chance to enter the last one.


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## bretti_kivi (Apr 22, 2008)

I don't like the "publicness". I also prefer the requirement to get out and use the cam in a timescale. I haven't really entered, I've been concentrating on getting excellent pics on another forum's photo comp  

I'm also surprised at the lack of entries.

As far as "A dSLR is necessary" goes, that's simply not true. It's like a cook blaming his pans.....

Bret


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## spitfire (Feb 10, 2007)

bretti_kivi said:


> I don't like the "publicness". I also prefer the requirement to get out and use the cam in a timescale. I haven't really entered, I've been concentrating on getting excellent pics on another forum's photo comp
> 
> I'm also surprised at the lack of entries.
> 
> ...


Bret, could you expand on "Publicness". I'm not sure I follow. And yes I'd like everyone to get out there and photograph something new for the comp but I think there would be very few pics posted at the end of the day, and as Pooma said numbers seem to be dwindling lately as it is.


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## NickTB (Feb 4, 2007)

firstly, thanks for taking the time to organise it..

Personally, I'd like to see the winner of each comp choosing the theme for the following one? 

Just my penny worth!


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## Greg (May 16, 2006)

I'd like to know why on certain entries are put through to a poll, yet you'd like more entrants?


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## ozzy (Jan 1, 2007)

NickTB said:


> firstly, thanks for taking the time to organise it..
> 
> Personally, I'd like to see the winner of each comp choosing the theme for the following one?
> 
> Just my penny worth!


i like it whe way it is to, i am also a +1 with the comment above.


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## Gary-360 (Apr 26, 2008)

john said:


> i like it whe way it is to, i am also a +1 with the comment above.


+2 on that suggestion, it may give a bigger incentive to take part. I'd love to be more active, but time constraints for me limit my time with the camera.

Why not try an indoor theme so us lazy sods can plod around at home


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## buckas (Jun 13, 2008)

thanks for doing it dougie - like the idea of winner chooses next topic


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## pdv40 (Sep 11, 2008)

I like them, I'm just a bit put off entering due to my own inadequacies


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## minimadgriff (Jul 8, 2007)

I only take pictures of cars so if the subjects not cars im buggered :lol:


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## spitfire (Feb 10, 2007)

pdv40 said:


> I like them, I'm just a bit put off entering due to my own inadequacies


You can only get better by practice though. Sometimes you'd be amazed at what people vote for. Everyones tastes in what makes a good pic is different, so get posting.:thumb:


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## ksm1985 (Dec 27, 2008)

as a few people have said, thanks for taking the time to do it, i dont see a problem with the way it is and the topics let people be pretty creative


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## bretti_kivi (Apr 22, 2008)

well, there's a pre-selection and everyone can see whos pic is whose.

I like the idea of "post it up and we'll open them all up" but you don't know who took it. Yes, sometimes it will be obvious, but maybe you'll get more interest if 'the public' hasn't seen them before the poll. 

Regularity would also help - first of the month, there's a new comp and on day x, the poll is posted, that kind of thing. If you want subjects, all you have to do is ask.

Bret


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

bretti_kivi said:


> well, there's a pre-selection and everyone can see whos pic is whose.
> 
> I like the idea of "post it up and we'll open them all up" but you don't know who took it. Yes, sometimes it will be obvious, but maybe you'll get more interest if 'the public' hasn't seen them before the poll.
> 
> ...


So what you're saying is you think people may vote based on who they're mates with on the forum, rather than the individual merit of each photograph?!?

The only solution i can see would be to PM your entries to spitfire who would then post a poll with the top 10 without their names. Then once the poll has finished then reveal who the photos belong to....

It's certainly a different way of running it and maybe worth consideration.


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## dubnut71 (Jul 25, 2006)

I will not enter it whilst there is any association with someone I have on my ignore list. 

Well done for persisting with it though, I am completing a 365 and can attest to the effort it must take you to generate and compare all of the images that do get entered.


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## spitfire (Feb 10, 2007)

dubnut71 said:


> I will not enter it whilst there is any association with someone I have on my ignore list.
> 
> Well done for persisting with it though, I am completing a 365 and can attest to the effort it must take you to generate and compare all of the images that do get entered.


It really depends on the amount of entries. At times I've asked my wife for her opinions, and other times, like comp 7, they choose themselves after the pics that are outside of the rules are removed.

As for the other suggestions above, which I do appreciate BTW, I have some reservations.
For one, posting pics direct to me has the potential to fill my inbox fairly quickly because I tend to hold on to PMs for some time. I would hate to miss a PM'd pic because of this. Also on the face of it, letting the winner select the next subject seems not a bad idea, but I'd be concered that there might be repetition or it's possible that we'd get an unsuitable brief. Therefor I'd like to keep control of this aspect for now. Nothing is set in stone though and if things don't improve then it may be time for someone new to come in and take the comp in a different direction. For now though I'm happy to continue as I enjoy the wee comp as it gives those who are new to photography a chance to experience competition without being harshly criticised. It's just a bit of fun really and I'd be really surprised if anyone would vote for freinds when there's no prizes at stake. DW members are above that surely? Anyway, having said that, I will think some more on the points raised above. You have given me food for thought.:thumb:


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

spitfire said:


> It really depends on the amount of entries. At times I've asked my wife for her opinions, and other times, like comp 7, they choose themselves after the pics that are outside of the rules are removed.
> 
> As for the other suggestions above, which I do appreciate BTW, I have some reservations.
> For one, posting pics direct to me has the potential to fill my inbox fairly quickly because I tend to hold on to PMs for some time. I would hate to miss a PM'd pic because of this. Also on the face of it, letting the winner select the next subject seems not a bad idea, but I'd be concered that there might be repetition or it's possible that we'd get an unsuitable brief. Therefor I'd like to keep control of this aspect for now. Nothing is set in stone though and if things don't improve then it may be time for someone new to come in and take the comp in a different direction. For now though I'm happy to continue as I enjoy the wee comp as it gives those who are new to photography a chance to experience competition without being harshly criticised. It's just a bit of fun really and I'd be really surprised if anyone would vote for freinds when there's no prizes at stake. DW members are above that surely? Anyway, having said that, I will think some more on the points raised above. You have given me food for thought.:thumb:


I'm sure a friendly mod would suitably increase you PM box size since it's for a specific need that's of benefit to the members.


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## rr dave (May 26, 2008)

What about no shortlist. Everyone that posts a picture that meets the rules gets put up for vote?

It might encourage more people to enter as they know it won't be cut from final list that goes to the vote?


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## Buck (Jan 16, 2008)

Dougie

I'd say that this comp is good to have on the forum - keep it simple works well - I think you do this well so, thank you. :thumb: I'm getting back into photography and would have entered the 'wind' one but missed the bl00dy deadline as by the time I'd got a half decent shot the deadline had passed :lol:

I do think that all entries should get a vote though as this way it is the viewer/forum member that decides...

In terms of the winner choosing the next theme, I like that idea (seen it on some photography forums) and all it needs is a few simple rules i.e. keep it clean; accessable to all etc.

hope this helps


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## bretti_kivi (Apr 22, 2008)

rmorgan84 said:


> I'm sure a friendly mod would suitably increase you PM box size since it's for a specific need that's of benefit to the members.


but I know that as standard the forum software does not allow attachments to PMs.....I think Email is a good way to go, especially with relatively limited pic sizes.

Bret


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## pooma (Apr 12, 2008)

spitfire said:


> It really depends on the amount of entries. At times I've asked my wife for her opinions, and other times, like comp 7, they choose themselves after the pics that are outside of the rules are removed.
> 
> As for the other suggestions above, which I do appreciate BTW, I have some reservations.
> For one, posting pics direct to me has the potential to fill my inbox fairly quickly because I tend to hold on to PMs for some time. I would hate to miss a PM'd pic because of this. *Also on the face of it, letting the winner select the next subject seems not a bad idea, but I'd be concered that there might be repetition or it's possible that we'd get an unsuitable brief. Therefor I'd like to keep control of this aspect for now*. Nothing is set in stone though and if things don't improve then it may be time for someone new to come in and take the comp in a different direction. For now though I'm happy to continue as I enjoy the wee comp as it gives those who are new to photography a chance to experience competition without being harshly criticised. *It's just a bit of fun really* and I'd be really surprised if anyone would vote for freinds when there's no prizes at stake. DW members are above that surely? Anyway, having said that, I will think some more on the points raised above. You have given me food for thought.:thumb:


1.How about letting the winner suggest a topic to you via PM, then you can decide whether the subject matter has been repeated or is unsuitable.

2. This is what we should all remember, it's just a bit of fun and I for one enjoy looking through all the entrants before the shortlist is drawn up.


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

rr dave said:


> What about no shortlist. Everyone that posts a picture that meets the rules gets put up for vote?
> 
> It might encourage more people to enter as they know it won't be cut from final list that goes to the vote?


Whilst unfortunately it will mean a lot more work for Spitfire, i think this is a great idea.

Whilst it is great to make the final 10, it can also be very disappointing to not be selected. I can see that some people may be discouraged and not bother again if they have not made the final selection after entering a few of the competitions. It will also prevent any potential bickering if someone is not happy they were not selected.


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## Gruffs (Dec 10, 2007)

I like the current format.

I don't enter as often as i would like as i just don't always have the time.

I think you are doing a great job Spitfire and while there are some things that could be changed, i don't think there could be any that don't make it unnecessarily difficult for you to administrate. 

The current format is great. I look at not getting nominated in the final draft as an incentive to do better. I don't wish to sound harsh but if your image is not good enough to get into a top ten, it isn't going to win so what's the point in increasing Spitfire's workload for nothing? Please notice that none of my images have been nominated. 

Allowing the winner to pick the next catagory may just result in the winners picking a catagory that they have a strong image in IMO.

Lets just keep it a small mini comp. regardless of level of entry.


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## VIPER (May 30, 2007)

Dougie, I've just increased your PM box to 100 if that helps a bit (not sure what you had before - the standard 50?)

We're discussing other things in the Mod's section at the moment.


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## rr dave (May 26, 2008)

Gruffs said:


> The current format is great. I look at not getting nominated in the final draft as an incentive to do better. I don't wish to sound harsh but if your image is not good enough to get into a top ten, it isn't going to win so what's the point in increasing Spitfire's workload for nothing? Please notice that none of my images have been nominated.


Thats just it with photography its all a matter of opinion. An image you might not think worthy of entry to the final draft might get a few votes.
You might think the picture I have entered is complete rubbish but 2 people didn't think so.
I didn't vote for myself so I have the encouragment of knowing 2 people on here liked my image and thats good enough for me.

Anyway keep the competitions coming Spitfire. They are good fun nothing too serious the way it should be.


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## Gruffs (Dec 10, 2007)

rr dave said:


> Thats just it with photography its all a matter of opinion. An image you might not think worthy of entry to the final draft might get a few votes.
> You might think the picture I have entered is complete rubbish but 2 people didn't think so.
> I didn't vote for myself so I have the encouragment of knowing 2 people on here liked my image and thats good enough for me.
> 
> Anyway keep the competitions coming Spitfire. They are good fun nothing too serious the way it should be.


As a comp organised by Spitfire, i would expect the top ten to be his 10 favourite images. Whether we think it is rubbish or not is irrelevant.

Spitfire is good enough to run this for us and i would like it to continue. So it has to not take up too much of his time and not be a moral burden. To that end, keeping it to 10 and accepting his judgement as gospel is good enough for me.

That way we are likely to continue to see some great examples of photography.

On a side note.

Is there a way we could get the monthly comp winners made into a calendar and sold for charity or summat?


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## NickTB (Feb 4, 2007)

Gruffs said:


> As a comp organised by Spitfire, i would expect the top ten to be his 10 favourite images. Whether we think it is rubbish or not is irrelevant.
> 
> Spitfire is good enough to run this for us and i would like it to continue. So it has to not take up too much of his time and not be a moral burden. To that end, keeping it to 10 and accepting his judgement as gospel is good enough for me.
> 
> ...


+1 for this. Remember the lad who's Mum (I think) was posting on here? she was asking for cards to be sent in to him. Sadly passed away. I'm sure there was some kind of charity involved.
It would be great if we could do something for them


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## spitfire (Feb 10, 2007)

Shiny said:


> Whilst unfortunately it will mean a lot more work for Spitfire, i think this is a great idea.
> 
> Whilst it is great to make the *final 10*, it can also be very disappointing to not be selected. I can see that some people may be discouraged and not bother again if they have not made the final selection after entering a few of the competitions. It will also prevent any potential bickering if someone is not happy they were not selected.





NickTB;1807421[B said:


> ]+1 for this. Remember the lad who's Mum (I think) was posting on here? she was asking for cards to be sent in to him. Sadly passed away. I'm sure there was some kind of charity involved.[/B]
> *It would be great if we could do something for them*


There are some ideas which on the face of it seem good, but in practice would be difficult to achieve. The size of some of the pics posted in the comp may not allow for them to be blown up to an appropriate size without them loosing a great deal of quality. People wouldn't buy in sufficient numbers to make it viable I don't think. Fair play to anyone who wants to give a calendar a try though.

On another note it would be probably be good to have all pics voted on but the limit for a poll is set to 10. Some pics don't meet the requirements of the rules either, eg. 800x600 max, these need to be vetted. That is just an example. From a personal level I need to keep things fairly simple. I have asked Viper for some input from admin to see what we can do in relation to improving the comp from their perspective. We'll see what transpires. After more thought I may make a few little changes, we'll see. Thanks for all the ideas for now.:thumb:


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## carlwhitley (Apr 11, 2007)

I run a comp on VxON. There are some rules - but they're not that difficult to follow.

There's a timescale - images/photos must be taken within the dates. This is to encourage people to get out and about with their camera.

The winner chooses the theme for the next round. We have had 1 repeat in 2 years. I think there is sufficient turnover of photographers to generate different looking images, as long as they're not repeated more than once per year.

I have the entries emailed to me. Although the comp that I run generally attracts 7 - 10 entrants. Sometimes more, sometimes less. I don't run a vote with less than 3 images as I don't like the idea of a 2 horse race - so I'll extend the comp until I have at least 3 images. If you don't want your PM box filling up, then I'd suggest that you include an email address and ask for the images to be emailed. Or have people host their own images and email you a link.

Storing the images - I use my photobucket account, so it costs nothing. You may have other methods though - your own webspace for example.

I also run the competition on an anonymous basis. I ask that there are no watermarks on images or in the borders. I host the image as http://www.whateverwebsite.summat/compnum/entryxx.jpg (if that makes sense). This avoids the comp either being, or being conceived as a popularity contest.

As an aside...

Another forum that I use has a photo comp. They collate votes based on 'thanks'. Basically, someone takes a pic, hosts/attached the pic and posts. The most 'thanks' at the end of the comp timescale is the winner. But, I don't like this as this system allows for 'votes' to be allocated in advance of others.


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