[MrApollinax]

I will only vote "yes" for a photo on PPG if; saturation, sharpness, and contrast are all turned up to 11.

That should be the next Pentax Camera: K-11... "Cause it goes to e'leven"

[PDL]

I try and apply the following:
12 Elements of a Merit Image | Professional Photographers of America

Simple and straight forward.

The Elitist - formerly known as PDL

[stevebrot]

Care to explain what you mean by "macro for the sake of macro"?

Also, surely people post two similar photos because they love both but cannot decide which is the best. Thats where us the voters come in and decide which is best. Voting no on two+ images solely because they are similar or the same subject is pretty lame IMO....

"Macro for the sake of macro" means a photo of something tiny that lacks any particular appeal beyond technical merit. I am guilty of this as much as anyone because I really like the world of small things. Despite my personal interest, I frequently have to remind myself that a macro should have a compelling subject or paint a satisfying abstract if you expect other people to like it as well. (For some reason nobody seems to want to see my lentil pictures...)

As for the duplicates. I listed this under things that I have a difficult time judging. I don't know that I said anywhere that I always vote no. When a member makes multiple submissions, it makes it difficult for the voter. I have seen as many as five almost identical images of the same subject presented in different sets over several days. After giving the thumbs up to the first one, I am hesitant to do the same for the other four. After all, I sincerely doubt that the submitter really wants his gallery full of five almost identical shots. I would have preferred to have chosen the best from the five, but the gallery software does not support that.

Steve

[MSM]

...Also, surely people post two similar photos because they love both but cannot decide which is the best. Thats where us the voters come in and decide which is best. Voting no on two+ images solely because they are similar or the same subject is pretty lame IMO....

I disagree. It is not the voters job to edit for someone else. Self-editing is part of the process of good photography. All photographers have had poor shots it's just they never showed them. I saw an individual's set recently that had identical images yet one was in sepia tone! I doubt that was a case of the photographer trying to decide which tone to use. Seriously, do the voters need to decide on the artistic direction for someone else? If that were me, I would be embarrassed. I would delete one of the images, but that is just me.

I do hear what you are saying, though. Sometimes I like two of my images that are similar. I just look at them with a critical eye and make a decision based on my feelings and intent.

I just don't believe based on what I have seen (and suffered through) that ten images of the same person, pet, bug or thing or underwater dive, etc. is really a simple matter of the photographer struggling to decide which is best. Does it happen? Perhaps. But, three + shots of the same model in the same studio, come on now. This to me more represents sort of a spam attempt to get submissions accepted - nothing more.

Girl #1 , Cute dog #5, Sunset #2 titles all get the no vote without consideration, sorry.

[stevebrot]

I try and apply the following:
12 Elements of a Merit Image | Professional Photographers of America

Simple and straight forward.

The Elitist - formerly known as PDL

Thanks! I have read these before and consider them to be a great set of guidelines for objective judging. While not all of the 12 points apply to PPG (framing for example) the list is still useful.

Steve

What I do is to vote yes on every other picture, every third picture, depending on how I feel that day, and on certain days I feel so crappy that I spend hours on that site voting no on every single picture until I have something better to do. On other days I vote yes on pictures that I don't like. It is kind of like playing a video game mindlessly.

The thing is that they are all pretty good pictures anyway.

I think we take it way too seriously.

[Nomad]

What I do is to vote yes on every other picture, every third picture, depending on how I feel that day, and on certain days I feel so crappy that I spend hours on that site voting no on every single picture until I have something better to do. On other days I vote yes on pictures that I don't like. It is kind of like playing a video game mindlessly.

The thing is that they are all pretty good pictures anyway.

I think we take it way too seriously.

I seriously hope that you are kidding with this post.

I take my submissions to ppg very seriously and only submit what I feel to be my best images. I would hope that people would judge them on merit and any feeling that they evoke and not just breeze through voting.
I have no illusions about my talent or lack thereof, nor do I think that I could ever make a living with photography but little accomplishments such as acceptance to juried exhibitions or galleries are something that I do hope to accomplish.......eventually.

[TOUGEFC]

I seriously hope that you are kidding with this post.

I take my submissions to ppg very seriously and only submit what I feel to be my best images. I would hope that people would judge them on merit and any feeling that they evoke and not just breeze through voting.
I have no illusions about my talent or lack thereof, nor do I think that I could ever make a living with photography but little accomplishments such as acceptance to juried exhibitions or galleries are something that I do hope to accomplish.......eventually.

Agreed with Nomad.

BUT, I was also sort of kind of making fun of this selection criteria business, which I consider to be almost just as weird and absurd.

When I take a picture, I have a theme, or a message that I want to express. Naturally, I would be curious if observers would see what I intended. "Yes/No" response is not what I am looking for. If someone saw exactly what I intended, then I pulled it off (rarely happens, if at all ever). If someone saw kind of sort of what I intended, then I may be onto something here because now I get to analyze why this person saw it this way or that. Then, I can try again, not necessarily "improving" it, but refining the thought process, more or less. At least for me it is this process that I have enjoyed the most in photography. Don't get me wrong, I am sure that the "aim" of PPG creators was very true, but this kind of set up really prohibits photographers from participating in that process I consider very important. For example, even if my work got accepted, I would not know if the observer really "got it," or not. If peopled like my photos because they thought that the "colors" were pretty, then I would be very very disappointed. I am very much a scrooge in that way.

Now I am NOT saying that the 12 step eval for competent photo is a bad idea. But just remember you don't have to have all of it to successfully convey a message. I am not even sure if you need ANY. I do think that these are very neat ways of helping a photographer how he or she can go about his or her business. It certainly saves time, perhaps allowing you to shoot more photos. But that is about it for me. I am very weary of being trapped in those kind of "framework" because once that happens, I am afraid that all of my pictures more or less start to look the same. This thought of many of the pictures looking the same is something that I often feel at PPG, although I do agree that there are many many stunning and fantastic photos there. That is for sure.

[Gene Temple]

I've only had 3 accepted, and I can "now" tell why some were declined. Its actually made me think about things more. I don't think my images are pro level by no stretch, but I don't think they're crap either. What makes a photograph interesting and exciting to one will be boring and "ugly" to another, as one unamed moderator called one of my photo's. I don't take this stuff too seriously and unless you're losing money or reputation over it, I'd say..........have a drink or something and relax. I'm happy theres a place to post photographs I've taken, because I do take pride in it. I feel the same with my other hobbies, I take pride in them, but don't have a cow if somebody doesn't get it or if someone elses stuff I don't find to my liking gets recognition.
I did vote the other night, and its alot harder than I thought. I try to be honest and forthright in every endeavor, it just seems overly critical when somebody is looking at your baby. I like what I like, and everyone else likes what they like.

[seacapt]

I just got done looking through a book, "The Great Life Photographers" .The work in this book once again reaffirmed my belief that a picture does not have to be technically perfect to be great. That being said , when I vote in PPG I really look for pictures that inspire , touch an emotion , would look great on the wall and are in some way unique.
Technical perfection is something the photographer should strive for but it's not the be all / end all of the art.
Finally I'd like to say that in my opinion pixel peepers are simply technocrats , with no feel for art.

[casil403]

I'm a bit like you Seacapt...for me it's how a photo makes me feel that gets the majority of the thumbs up or down.
I look for basic things like composition, dust spots, proper exposure and sharpness or lack thereof in the technical aspect .I'm not technical enough to know the ins and outs or the nuances of photography being still a bit of a newb at all this. Other than that it is how the photo makes me respond when I see it. I think you can have a technically perfect photo that is a "meh" just as much as you can have a not so perfect that is a "wow".
I guess in the end I go with my gut...which is what I do in most situations anyhow.
I do however after reading this have a bit of a better guess as what others look for when judging a photo which was my intent when I started this thread.
I can see to why some of mine were rejected and I have a better idea when i post stuff for judging what may/may not get accepted and my sense are pretty much bang on now....lol!

[edumad]

The photo has to catch the eye. Before I look carefully at composition, exposure, WB or subject matter. It just has to pop.
Then composition and subject matter is very important. If composition makes an image pleasant to look at and/or wether the the subject matter is appealing.

Finally technical well made (WB, exposure, etc) these can be substandard is the above are very strong, but if not, they can kill it for me.

I have to disagree that a photo "has to" do this or that. If POP is all we are looking for, then photography is so simple. Look for vibrant colors, shocking subjects like a dead body with blood all over, for example. To me it is a cop out. It is very much like a work of fiction where a likable main character is to die at the end of it all. It is nothing more than a trick. I think it has to run much deeper than just the first impression. Aesthetics is to me not that shallow.

But then, this is just one person's opinion, obviously. That is what photographers who crave for others approvals are up against; a completely irrational entity. To me it is harmful to try to get anything meaningful out of that.