Hi all,

Seeing that the competition season is now open I thought I'd ask how people decide which image to enter? 

Canon have given some judging guidlines for their competition:

1. An original eye
2. Thoughtful composition
3. A story-telling element
4. Clean, sharp exposure
5. Something unusual, unique (not clichéd)
6. A strong, simple image
7. An emotional connection
8. A caught moment that reveals something special

But when your looking through your images how do you decide which one is THE one?  

At the moment O don't have any images that meet all of the above.  I'm not sure how to add a story telling element to a landscape, or how to show a caught moment that reveals somethings special in a Macro photo.  Hmm.

I know that one of my weaknesses is my editing.  I often discard images that I then revisit a year later and think, hey, that's not so bad. 

So how do you do it?  I'm thinking of printing a load of 6x4's, putting them on the table and picking a favourite a day for a week.  Then throwing a dart at the 7 and seeing which stick

Interested to hear from any seasoned competitors on this!

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Hi, Martin.  I think the answer to your question is to think outside the box when looking for a winning image.  Most of us tend to shoot what we have seen in magazines and in forum galleries because a certain idea or look has taken our fancy.  And that's where we go wrong.  Judges see this type of image thousands of times when judging big competitions and just get bored or totally fed up seeing them.  Just look through the user galleries on this site and see how many similar shots there are.  Also, a lot of entered stuff doesn't fit the brief, and so it gets rejected even if it is a stunning picture.  Take HDR, my pet hate!  How many HDR images will end up on the judges desk for the Canon Assignment competition or the DCM 2008 POTY?  Hundreds, if not thousands I would say.  This will also go for those cutsy shots of pets and children; and the badly shot sunsets; the slow shutter speed waterfalls - ad infinitum.  The winning image will be simple, perfectly exposed, and very sharp image of something quite out of the ordinary, something most of us would have passed by without a second look.  That's the reality mate.  On that basis, I don't even have a chance of getting close.

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[Digital Black and white]

I think what Keith is saying is you need a image of a third world person, in poverty and almost certainly from the far east!

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SK
The Best Photographer in the world 4th November - 5th November 2006 & 17th-18 November 2007
Oldboy’s Gallery

OldBoy:

I think what Keith is saying is you need a image of a third world person, in poverty and almost certainly from the far east!

Nah!  Even they're considered a bit cliche these days, OldBoy.  Mind you, I blame digital and credit for this.  Travel has increased, so a lot more far-eastern shots are coming through; image making has increased, so many cameras out there taking piccies of just about anything; poverty is on the increase and will eventuall hit the west in a big way.  As a doom and gloom merchant, UK Plc will soon be like one of these third world countries as far as poverty goes, so maybe there will be some photo opportunities to be had in good old blighty this coming year.

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[Digital Black and white]

crinkly and destitute model for hire - reasonable hourly rates - pm if interested.

Just send the ones you are proud of - sod anybody else's suggestions. You know the ones you think are best - if the judge doesn't think like you that's his problem...

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"Every day is a nice day - if you wake up - even nicer if you are dining at Cann Office"

My gallery

I agree with CannOffice at the end of the day.  Just put up the one's you like best.  My best won't win any prizes, but I like looking at them.

I don't need to hire any crinkly or destitute models, Forseti.  I have plenty of self-portraits knocking around that will do the trick free of charge.

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[Digital Black and white]

Cheers for the input all, I shall certainly be puuting forward entries that are my favourites (I wouldn't be happy with anything less).  Looking through some of the entries I do wonder if people think that their entry is really good enough, or if they enter for teh sake of entering.  I must admit that I do get bored with the cliched images unless they are done exceptionally well. 

So, a technically perfect image that I'm happy with and  that catches a judges eye.  That doesn't sound so difficult after all

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I've never entered any major comps but have been looking at these two. The question I am asking myself is when to post an entry? Do I upload a shot now or wait until near the closing date in the hope of getting that 'winning' shot between now and then?

 

Darren.

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Darren.

Forseti:

crinkly and destitute model for hire - reasonable hourly rates - pm if interested.

Has anybody pm-ed you?

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SK
The Best Photographer in the world 4th November - 5th November 2006 & 17th-18 November 2007
Oldboy’s Gallery

dathersmith: I don't think it matters when you upload your shot as I think you have every chance of making the Editor's Choice shortlist whenever you upload.  As the deadline for each category is no longer staggered and they all finish on the same date, I think the question you should ask yourself is "Will I get a better shot between now and the closing date?".  If the answer is no, then upload your shot now.  If yes, then hold off and upload later.

I remember entering one of my images last year in the middle of the allowed timeframe and was fortunate to be on the shortlist for the Fine Art category (although I was asked to send a higher res version, I was sadly not a winner).

CannOffice:

Just send the ones you are proud of - sod anybody else's suggestions. You know the ones you think are best - if the judge doesn't think like you that's his problem...

I could not agree more...

If you like it.. then you have succeded.

If someone else likes it...thats a bonus.

And if a judge likes it...thats a bloody miracle!

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Paul
My glass is 4/3rds full :)

MY GALLERY

My DCM Gallery

Everybody that entered last year will remember the mayhem that ensued when last minute postings on some categories blocked the system and deadline dates were extended. With all categories ending on the same date this year is the same thing going to happen again only on a grander scale?

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FACES,STREET,PROTEST & CANDID
A BLOG
My Flickr

I just want to know; is it okay to enter a photo and then later remove it and replace it with a new one?

Well thanks for all of the advice, I have uploaded my first image and used the selection method of "I like it"

Thanks for voting for me...Oh, you haven't yet?  Well here's a link http://poty2008.dcmag.co.uk/3913562626295262669/peony-rose.html

Shameless I know

Bert - as far as I can see you can't remove an image once uploaded, or change it in any way.

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