Steve'sDigicams

lesmore49 · Jun 25, 2012, 12:18 PM

I've never entered any photography contests.

However friends have and one issue that has come up is the idea of what constitutes a 'photograph' entered into a contest.

The photographs friends entered were pretty well as taken from the camera. There had been a bit of cropping...but that was about it.

In contrast, some photographs entered by other individuals had been been extensively post processed by after market processing programs. Some photographs showed signs of amalgamating several photographs into the finished work and were triumphs of what we used to call in the film days...lab work.

Don't get me wrong...my issue isn't the fact that some process their original photograph so extensively that little remains of the original photograph as taken.

Different strokes for different folks as we used to say...way back when.

My issue is....in a photography contest...shouldn't their be different classes for these two types of photography ?

One would be for ...photographs relatively untouched from the original shot taken through the camera lens...the other should be...photographs that have been altered extensively through post processing.

What's your view ?

JohnG · Jun 25, 2012, 1:11 PM

My view is: digital photography has been around long enough now that anyone holding a competition should be aware of these potential pitfalls and should explicitly state what is and is not allowed. I don't have a problem with whatever rules are put in place. If a person doesn't like the rules they don't have to enter. But if the rules don't explicitly discuss what editing is and is not allowed that's an issue.

tclune · Jun 25, 2012, 1:53 PM

My feeling is that, if you want to dictate the rules for a contest, then host the contest. If you don't like the rules of somebody else's contest, don't enter it.

lesmore49 · Jun 25, 2012, 2:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tclune

My feeling is that, if you want to dictate the rules for a contest, then host the contest. If you don't like the rules of somebody else's contest, don't enter it.

It is not a question of dictating or not dictating rules...it's a question of being clear what the contest is about...is it a lab tech contest...or is it a photographer's contest.

lesmore49 · Jun 25, 2012, 2:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnG

My view is: digital photography has been around long enough now that anyone holding a competition should be aware of these potential pitfalls and should explicitly state what is and is not allowed. I don't have a problem with whatever rules are put in place. If a person doesn't like the rules they don't have to enter. But if the rules don't explicitly discuss what editing is and is not allowed that's an issue.

Yes, I agree.

tclune · Jun 25, 2012, 2:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lesmore49

It is not a question of dictating or not dictating rules...it's a question of being clear what the contest is about...is it a lab tech contest...or is it a photographer's contest.

Well, just so long as you're not being judgmental...

VTphotog · Jun 25, 2012, 5:29 PM

How can you tell the difference? Camera settings can be adjusted to give many of the same effects as photo editing software, making for a 'straight from the camera' shot that is entirely unrealistic. All that can really be judged is the final product.

brian

Bynx · Jun 25, 2012, 7:27 PM

I tend to agree with the original question and solution, however, the better one is at post processing the less likely you will notice the processing. So unless one can prove that a pic is straight from the camera then how can you separate processed from non processed images?

wave01 · Jun 26, 2012, 4:05 AM

I do club photography and you can do pretty much what you like as long as its your work. I dont have a problem with this, we have done this in the darkroom before digital came along.

Jun 25, 2012, 12:18 PM	#1
lesmore49 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Western Canada Posts: 2,925	Photography contests I've never entered any photography contests. However friends have and one issue that has come up is the idea of what constitutes a 'photograph' entered into a contest. The photographs friends entered were pretty well as taken from the camera. There had been a bit of cropping...but that was about it. In contrast, some photographs entered by other individuals had been been extensively post processed by after market processing programs. Some photographs showed signs of amalgamating several photographs into the finished work and were triumphs of what we used to call in the film days...lab work. Don't get me wrong...my issue isn't the fact that some process their original photograph so extensively that little remains of the original photograph as taken. Different strokes for different folks as we used to say...way back when. My issue is....in a photography contest...shouldn't their be different classes for these two types of photography ? One would be for ...photographs relatively untouched from the original shot taken through the camera lens...the other should be...photographs that have been altered extensively through post processing. What's your view ?

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

Steve'sDigicams

Recent Camera Reviews

Most Active Forums

Most Popular Deals

Latest Feature Articles

Jun 25, 2012, 1:11 PM	#2
JohnG Moderator Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 8,242	My view is: digital photography has been around long enough now that anyone holding a competition should be aware of these potential pitfalls and should explicitly state what is and is not allowed. I don't have a problem with whatever rules are put in place. If a person doesn't like the rules they don't have to enter. But if the rules don't explicitly discuss what editing is and is not allowed that's an issue.

Jun 25, 2012, 1:53 PM	#3
tclune Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 1,091	My feeling is that, if you want to dictate the rules for a contest, then host the contest. If you don't like the rules of somebody else's contest, don't enter it.

Jun 25, 2012, 5:29 PM	#7
VTphotog Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Extreme Northeastern Vermont, USA Posts: 3,529	How can you tell the difference? Camera settings can be adjusted to give many of the same effects as photo editing software, making for a 'straight from the camera' shot that is entirely unrealistic. All that can really be judged is the final product. brian

Jun 25, 2012, 7:27 PM	#8
Bynx Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 7,787	I tend to agree with the original question and solution, however, the better one is at post processing the less likely you will notice the processing. So unless one can prove that a pic is straight from the camera then how can you separate processed from non processed images?

Jun 26, 2012, 4:05 AM	#9
wave01 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: North West England Posts: 1,429	I do club photography and you can do pretty much what you like as long as its your work. I dont have a problem with this, we have done this in the darkroom before digital came along.