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A couple of you have PMed me w/ the above categories & I like them all so I am putting it out for everyone to vote on. I like the idea of having not only boys & girls but also candid & staged b/c some of us have pictures that we have set up for the letter while others of us use pictures that we may gotten on the spur of the moment & used for that particular letter. I also like the fact that we could separate professionally taken photos & ones we take.
Soooooo...his is my idea. If everyone likes the 3 categories then when you submit your photo, you need to tell me which of the 3 categories you would like your picture to be in. I will put all the pictures in their appropriate category & we will have a winner for each.
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I am not so fussed about the boys/girls category, although it would make a reasonably even split for the voting whereas the other two could have heaps in one and not in the other categories. I do think the other two are great options though, as I tend to find I'm attracted to better 'taken' photos (regardless of the content) having an SO who does web design and photography as a hobby, who drills me on the 'right' way to take a good photo. Candid and staged in some ways would be the same thing as professional or not in my view, as with a staged photo you have more opportunity to set up lighting and props to look professional. KWIM? Without blowing my own trumpet mum told me off for paying for a photoshoot when she my most recent pics of Zeke because she thought they were professionals when I had just posed him myself with a good backdrop.
Did any of that help or did I just babble? It's 2am I'm heading to bed!
I sort of like the idea of candid/staged or pro/un-pro because it does seem like the winners and runners up of the last two contests have been professional or staged pics.
geez...I didn't realize any of the submitted photo's were professionally done, I just assumed that it was all the mommies taking the pics
I thought that was how it worked. I find personally it's hard to not do a staged photo for the contest, just because I can never think of a picture I have on hand to go with the letter so I can see seperating those two - staged or candid.
I voted no on the other two categories. I think boy vs girls is fun, but staged vs candid seems unnecessary to me. The point is how it incorporates the letter not how you got the picture. I also thought it was mommies taking pics as professional may have an unfair advantage. JMHO!
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I voted no on the other two categories. I think boy vs girls is fun, but staged vs candid seems unnecessary to me. The point is how it incorporates the letter not how you got the picture. I also thought it was mommies taking pics as professional may have an unfair advantage. JMHO![/b]
True, but you have to admit that ones that are taken with higher quality digital cameras and ones that are staged catch the eye more. Plus, submitting professional pictures definitely is an unfair advantage.
True, but you have to admit that ones that are taken with higher quality digital cameras and ones that are staged catch the eye more. Plus, submitting professional pictures definitely is an unfair advantage.[/b]
Agreed, but my understanding of the contest was to have the most creative picture, therefore staging would be necessary in most instances. I don't think camera quality has anything to do with the creativeness behind a photo and a cute picture is a cute picture regardless of the camera it was taken with. Again, JMHO and not an argument as it's really not a big deal. I just thought with all the categories it would get unnecessarily complicated and may deter voters.
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It does seem to me that the pics that are 'staged' are getting most of the votes (because they are incredible pics!!!)--but the pics that arent staged arent getting too many votes, even though they are still cute pictures. So I voted yes to candid vs. staged to maybe make it more fair to the babies who may not have very creative parents
Ok, I would love for anyone else to throw in their votes & opinions! I'm going to hold off on the letter "C" submissions until tomorrow. So far it looks like we will have 2 categories (if we go w/ majority votes). These will be Boys & Girls AND Staged & Candid.
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Here's my two cents worth...hope I don't offend anyone!
I think we should have boys v. girls, if we have to pick a category. It would be evenly distributed (most of the time), and easier (I think) to pick a winner for each category.
Again, just my opinion, but I think the pictures are all "staged" to some extent, because we have to find things that are linked to the letter we are doing that week. But I don't think professional pictures, or pictures that have the item photoshopped in should be submitted. It's totally cool to crop and work with colors and such, but to me it takes more creativity to find something in your house and take a picture of your child with that, than it takes to photo shop in an item into a picture you already have. And professional pictures don't showcase your creativity, they show the photographer's creativity. Now if you are the photographer, then you go, girl! Whatever we decide, I think the most important thing is to keep it fun, and not worry too much about the rules.
But I don't think professional pictures, or pictures that have the item photoshopped in should be submitted. It's totally cool to crop and work with colors and such, but to me it takes more creativity to find something in your house and take a picture of your child with that, than it takes to photo shop in an item into a picture you already have.[/b]
Yes! I agree with you there! I also don't feel like the pictures should be photoshopped or "doctored." It's very cool when it's done, but there are some ladies who don't have photoshop or some kind of picture altering program.
I agree....it should be fun! But, it should also be fair to all the mommies.
But I don't think professional pictures, or pictures that have the item photoshopped in should be submitted. It's totally cool to crop and work with colors and such, but to me it takes more creativity to find something in your house and take a picture of your child with that, than it takes to photo shop in an item into a picture you already have.[/b]
Yes! I agree with you there! I also don't feel like the pictures should be photoshopped or "doctored." It's very cool when it's done, but there are some ladies who don't have photoshop or some kind of picture altering program.
I agree....it should be fun! But, it should also be fair to all the mommies.
[/b]
For the last submission I did use the photo editor on photobucket to add a picture frame and a couple hearts in the corner of the picture, however the "b" in the photo was the real deal . I think that's fair....because most of us use photobucket and it's free. But I'd be okay with no altering or adding. Whatever works for everyone. It just has to be said or decided on so we all know what's what.
I don't want to add something....then be seen as unfair KWIM?? Or not add something if others choose to.....
Hmmmm...I'm guilty of using a photo editor. I never thought of it that way. Great point! I don't want to put too many rules on all this. The only reason we need categories is b/c of how many submissions we have. We can keep it simple & do just boys & girls. No problem there. I just want everyone to voice their opinion & share what they believe.
For the record, I did vote yes for candid & staged though. I just think it would be more fair but that is JMO.
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All proceeds go to a family struggling w/ infertility!
But I don't think professional pictures, or pictures that have the item photoshopped in should be submitted. It's totally cool to crop and work with colors and such, but to me it takes more creativity to find something in your house and take a picture of your child with that, than it takes to photo shop in an item into a picture you already have.[/b]
Yes! I agree with you there! I also don't feel like the pictures should be photoshopped or "doctored." It's very cool when it's done, but there are some ladies who don't have photoshop or some kind of picture altering program.
I agree....it should be fun! But, it should also be fair to all the mommies.
[/b]
If we are going to separate by staged and candid, then there is no reason to separate boys and girls.
I think that we don't want too many rules. I personally thought that the pics were supposed to be taken at home, not by a professional. I agree with those that said it would be un-fair. I do think basic photo enhancement (fixing color, switching it to B&W, cropping, etc.) should be ok. But not true photoshopping, adding things that weren't there, stuff like that isn't fair, because we can't all do that. Programs for fixing the basics are available to everyone though.
Really, the staged and candid is kind of one way or the other. Every one has the ability to stage a picture, that isn't an unfair advantage. If you do't happen to be creative, ask others for ideas...I know I do...lol.
Maybe we should only break the groups down when we have to? If there are less than the max for the poll, we put them all together. If there are too many then we separate by B/G or S/C.
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