April 05 Contest Discussion

[T Paul]

Add your comments, questions or general discussion about the April Contest entries as well as the contest itself here...

[chrishoggy]

Deleted and leaving this forum due to the actions of member rondon

[Doug Nelson]

Correct. Presumably they'd use a real frame.

[chrishoggy]

Deleted and leaving this forum due to the actions of member rondon

[Gary Richardson]

Added my entry, but have to say that getting an 8M file down to 100K has lost any texture and detail that was in the image. The image posted has posterised quite noticeably because of this. I have to ask if the 100K limit is sufficient for judging a retouch of this nature on anything but the most superficial impression.

[Doug Nelson]

We were expecting heavy cropping, etc., to get the stylized romantic portrait. That's why the original is at such high resolution. It never occurred to me that people might just leave it as-is.

[cedwar]

I was wondering about that. The colorful window could be something that the couple would want in the picture. But you'd have to know what the people were looking for, overall.

Cedwar

[T Paul]

Just a friendly reminder that in this contest you are the neighborhood photo retoucher and your goal is to present this couple with the best possible wedding portrait.

Take your time to look over the photo and decide what needs to be done…
How’s the lighting and composition? Does the color need to be corrected? Are there any distracting elements, should the bride be closer, should you crop the image and so on. Should it be a black & white, selective color, or full color? Do you want to diffuse it, add sparkles to their eyes, add cupids flying around their heads (well hopeful not the cupids -- you’d probably get fired, but you get the idea).

Now since this is a contest, we are not going to tell you exactly what to do. That's where your creative talents come to play. What you decide to do is up to you; it’s your call. Just approach this like the bride and groom are your clients. This is a treasured memory for them and you need to decide what needs to be done to the photo to give them the best quality portrait possible.

[Gary Richardson]

I didn't quite leave it as is, but obviously I didn't crop tightly either. It appears if I want to display anything like an acceptable image, I will have to crop really tight, but if everyone does that then there'll be little variety in anyone's entries.

[T Paul]

I'm all for variety!

[Hephaestos]

I'm waiting for the day (well, not "waiting", I intend to enter the contest), but anticipating the day that contests can be 200k as challenges are. 100k is just not sufficient to portray any kind of quality work.

[chrishoggy]

Deleted and leaving this forum due to the actions of member rondon

[kiska]

That might be a valid point. A person already entered can see things others have done, or something they might have overlooked, and keep changing until they have all the ideas of others combined into their image.
kiska

[chrishoggy]

Deleted and leaving this forum due to the actions of member rondon

[kiska]

But, also, if you wait to the very end to post an entry, you can still 'borrow' others' ideas. It's a problem, either way. I think I will wait till near the deadline. I was going to improve the full lenghth portrait, already had, when new posts suggested a more close-up version. Now, not certain which way to go.

Another forum (Innographx) I belong to just had a contest. No entries were 'published' until the voting began. All entries were then assigned numbers. You voted with a number and it was done. Very 'clean'. No tweaking of entries,no borrowing, etc.

But from what I saw of the colorizing discussions, this site does not have that capability. BUT, the moderator at INNO used a free image posting site to post entries for the voting. Didn't someone here do that with the previous contest??

[chrishoggy]

Deleted and leaving this forum due to the actions of member rondon

[Vikki]

Keep entires hidden until voting.
Assign numbers instead of names.
Publish entries in a gallery for easy viewing.
Allow all "registered" members to vote.

All those are excellent ideas.

[chrishoggy]

Deleted and leaving this forum due to the actions of member rondon

[Duv]

I think Vikki would be honoured if someone tried to copy or use some of her techniques, however, many can follow but few can lead. I changed my image at least 20 times in the first contest and look where it got me.

Dave

[kiska]

Sometimes people might not go back and check for changes.

[Doug Colwell]

Since editing was expressly allowed in the Mar. contest and nothing to the contrary was spelled out for this one, I don't think it should be an issue until the rules are changed. I didn't notice excessive editing in Mar. and most of those seemed to be as a result of mis-understandings about the contest. As for hiding entries until voting time, I would think this would negatively impact the interest generated in these contests (and the contest discussions). I personally enjoy checking-out the new entries as they dribble-in over the course of the month (not sure alot of people have the time or energy to evaluate all 40+ entries in one swell foop).

[Gary Richardson]

Chris,

If you don't want to change your entry, that's your choice. I changed mine because the original 100K posting did not reflect the work I had put into it.

So I chose a tighter crop and re-modelled picture as I felt it showed my work better.

My choice.

I did not "borrow" anyone else's ideas as is readily seen if you look at the "changed" submission.

If you don't wish others to borrow any of your ideas, don't submit your entry till nearer the last day of entry.

I've now finished with mine, if anyone wishes to borrow any of my ideas, they are more than welcome. I still see this as a friendly and open competition. It will not affect me in the least if others change their entry as often as they wish, that's their choice.

[chrishoggy]

Deleted and leaving this forum due to the actions of member rondon

[Doug Nelson]

I'd suggest waiting until the voting period starts before actually deciding on your top 5. Only one entry is allowed per person, but they can change that one entry as many times as they like up until the thread is locked and voting period begins.

[Doug Colwell]

Maybe the advantages and dis-advantages of editing balance out? Whether I use it or not, I take great comfort in the edit button - it allows me to sleep at night without worrying that I've over-looked the spinach on the bride's teeth, or the groom's open fly.

[chrishoggy]

Deleted and leaving this forum due to the actions of member rondon

[T Paul]

Originally Posted by Doug Colwell

Maybe the advantages and dis-advantages of editing balance out? Whether I use it or not, I take great comfort in the edit button - it allows me to sleep at night without worrying that I've over-looked the spinach on the bride's teeth, or the groom's open fly.

Doug you made me laugh!

[T Paul]

Don’t let a contest change the intent of this site. I think the real key that you need to remember here is that RetouchPro is for learning and more importantly learning from each other. The contest is just a bit more incentive to get more people involved…and more people means more ideas that can be shared.

Quite simply, RetouchPRO is a resource for anyone, professional or hobbyist, who is interested in photo retouching, restoration, and manipulation. It is a place to learn, to teach, to share, to connect, and generally to talk to others with the same interests.

[Gary Richardson]

No problems T, I was not really upset by Chris's comments, just expressing my own. I know him to be a fair and reasonable person from reading his past postings. I see this contest as a little bit of fun, and whilst I give it my best try, do not take it too seriously. I am more than happy to share information on anything I've done, and am sure that others here feel the same.

[1STLITE]

I agree completely with T Paul. You took the words out of my mouth. I think having the contests is a great thing and that having only those who enter allowed to vote is a good thing because it gets more people to enter, gives them more of a reason to at least try it. It is the only way to learn. And I love the extra incentive to try new things as well.

Dawn