WonFes reject AGAIN! WTF?
I've entered every single WF contest, but only won a figure (metallic miku figma) during the first one. After that, nothing....haven't even made it to the finalists list. I'm beginning to think there's a conspiracy against me, hahaha! I'm still wondering who actually picks the top pics, and what are their criteria.
But judging by all the pics I've seen during the current and past contests, they seem to like silhouettes, nendos and flowers, figures in open fields looking up at nothing in particular, and figures in pockets. Knowing this, I always end up trying something new (more or less). I could have sent in one of my million silhouette pics and played it safe, but where's the fun in that?
Anyways, here is the pic that got rejected this time around. I thought, for sure, this was, at least top 200 material. Oh wells....until the next contest.....
I also failed, with this
http://myfigurecollection.net/image/Strife2121292896112.jpeg
If I was to critique this with my 'artist training' here's what I might see working against this photo. I'm only throwing out ideas, not trying to say it's a bad photo or anything, since I'm not a professional photographer.
1. What ISO did you shoot this in? I'd suggest to lower the ISO some more because you can still see a little of the 'fuzz' you get when you shoot at higher ISO levels, especially around the blue background. If you're shooting this with a DSLR, I'd suggest playing with the f-stop too, because if you lower the depth of field, you really get a good sense of space and figures/dolls/humans often have a softer quality to them rather than a rigid crisp line. Depends what you're going for.
2. This is a general rule of thumb, but lighter images are often easier to look more appealing than darker images. I actually haven't seen what the WF contest photos look like so I don't know what the judges are looking for, but more often than not, my professors and people in general respond to bright images much more positively than dark ones. This isn't to say dark images don't work, it's just more difficult. This would explain the success of nendos and flowers, figures in open fields ECT.
3. The overall composition is pretty interesting, and the reflection was a good idea. EXCEPT, the reflection plus the darkness of the image loses the detail of the nendo BRS and DM, it takes quite a bit of effort to make out what's there. The bear's a nice touch, because it's sort of a compliment to BRS's blue.
4. The lighting is nice, the only issue is the spotlight on the wall by the bottom left corner. If you diffuse the light by simply putting some transparent sheet over the light, it'll soften the effect and you won't get those spots of white. The only reason I'm pointing that out is because if the spotlight wasn't there, the whole image would have a really surreal quality to it, the blue would seem like a sky while they're standing on some slanted metal ground. Wow. How cool. The fact that you can see the texture of the wall reminds the viewer that this is probably done on some tabletop by a wall, it loses its fantastic illusion.
That's all so far. I'd also like to note that the judges probably don't spend TOO much time analyzing each photo, since they probably have a huge amount of photos to look through, each might get 10 seconds of viewing time at max?
I hope I didn't come off sounding too harsh, I just want to throw some advice so next time you'd post about how you win WF :) Good luck!
No worries :)
The iso was set at 100....the fuzziness was caused when I bumped up the colors to get the wall that color.
The DoF was set high (forgot what I had it set to) to get everything in focus. I didn't want the shadow to become bokeh-looking.
I actually liked the harsh light at the bottom left...I don't know why...to me, it made the scene a little more dramatic. Also, on the monitors I've viewed this on, I can see the Nendos quite clearly. There were a few finalist pics that were waaay darker and harder to make out than this.
Thanks for your input.
What I meant about the detail is the space between DM and BRS is kind of confusing. I actually JUST noticed there was a dark bear next to the yellow bear. At first I thought it was some weird extension of BRS. Anyways, good to know. :)
I also want to add there's a really nice glowing effect on the skin/bright parts of the nendoroids. Are you allowed to put up your photo here before you submit it? Because I'm sure you'd get a lot of helpful suggestions/viewpoints if we had time to look at it before the competition.
Funny thing about the dark bear. I didn't notice it fell down until after I sent the pic. She was perfectly upright next to BRS.
I failed too, I also entered photocon 11 and 12, but no luck ｡゜(｀Д´)゜｡
So, cheer up! and keep trying!
This was my entry:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kokosmakron/5312261475/
That's a really cute photo! There must be some SERIOUS competition out there lol.
Hehe! Funny pic.
Funny pic~
xD
Oh man, I loved this when I saw you post it earlier! <3
I'm surprised you didn't make it. It would've had my vote! TTb
Thanks. I'm pretty much over the disappointment :) I have to realize these things are subjective in nature. I should be blaming myself. I know what they're looking for, yet, I always decide to buck the trend, hehehe.
@LsdyUsada: I just realized you were commenting on the other person's pic, lol!!!!
Did you all send more than one entry? ._.?
You can't send more than one entry. ^^;;;;
I sent just one :)
Failed as well with my Tenshi :P http://myfigurecollection.net/picture/145829 Maybe next time ;)
I really like your photo, an interesting idea.
I am not a professional, but your picture (compared to many others), lacks concept and theme. Assuming that they receive a huge amount of pictures every year, they won't be able to dig deeply into every single picture. Next time, try to enter with a shot that conveys some of your personality and ideas.
Well, the title of the pic was "Scary Babysitter". The Nendos are the kids, and the teddy bears help convey that. And they have a scared look because the babysitter has arrived.
At least you have won in the 1st one, be glad about that. ^ ^
The staff members pick the top 200. Criteria? None, they just pick what they like.
It is a wonderful photo and I like it. ^ ^
I am sure that you will be able to make it again.
Thanks :)
"/Kobato voice: Motto ganbarimasu!!!" That's all I can say... ^_^
Well, you should be grateful you won at least once, some never win ever, right, right?
I'm greedy, hehehe, just kidding. I'm not as mad as before. This posting has helped me get over it. Just frustrating not to even be in the top 200.
Dude... you still won something at least once O____O why complain??? XD
Just needed to vent. Like I said, I'm over it now.
brilliant with the horns! xD lol
Nice Shoot. Not a professional advise. But I feel if I am the judge I will also fail your pic. The reason to me: it takes too long for me to understand the shoot. It is great, but I have to look at every single details before I feel the photo is nice. During this time you will lost the wow factor for someone who have to go through thousands of shoots.
i failed with this D:
http://myfigurecollection.net/picture/140644&ref=user:silkhat
I failed too, this was my entry:
http://myfigurecollection.net/picture/145281