Photography

[down2earth2]

The photgraphy guidelines are good as they are, and an instructive challange. But I wonder if there shouldn't be a second kind of photography contest where more photoshop changes are allowed. In the real world we remove blemishes or a distracting item like an unfortunately positioned branch, chair, or mother-in-law. Certainly the photographs we see in magazines are all touched up.

To me this seems to be one of the primary uses of Photoshop. Maybe we should have a contest that is the same.

[libra]

lol, why would you want to remove your mother-in-law d2e2???

[D Rock]

wouldnt that kinda be like the other contests tho? photography in itself is an art that requires a lot of skill. And to get it right without photoshopping is always a good challenge :)

[Dave]

Removing a mother-in-law is easy, first hide the gin ..... :)

Surely what you suggest is photoshop not photography. Maybe the phtoshop contests aren't as subtle as some of the work that goes on for magazine publication but the principal is the same.

[Newby]

I agree with D Rock, I don't think we should use anything besides what is laid out in the rules already. Doing that does just turns it into a photoshop competition. Besides, part of learning photography is learning how to compose shots and what filters to use to give you desired effects. It is an art form, and I know that many people do touch up work on photos, but think about it if you go to take photograph with the mindset "that I can fix this in photoshop" then you are not getting the most out of the picture, and more than likely you're not going to take a good picture. And trust me I'm speaking from experience.

[down2earth2]

All good points, and I guess I have to agree. Sometimes there's some minor flaw that really diminishes the picture that seems to cry out for fixing. I guess I think that fixing some minor flaws would still be photography and not photoshop, but there's no way to draw a clear line about what would be allowable anywhere except to say no fixes at all.

[Saltoria]

Great idea and I agree!

Let me be clear on what I agree with....I agree with Down 2 Earth that processing photos, much like you would in a darkroom, should be allowed. People should be allowed to make a photograph as good as it can be. Start with the camera and improve it in Photoshop...make it look good enough to print. There is a clear distinction between processing an image to make it better, and manipulating the image to be something that original image was not, (e.g. different face on a body etc. like the other contests require). Let's get with the real world of photography and use the resources available for improving our REAL photographs. Afterall, real photographs are what are most people want and appreciate......

With respect to what Newby is suggesting about photography and thinking "I can take a crummy photo and fix it in PS," all you are going to get is a crummy photo that you tried to fix in PS. To have a high quality image enhanced in PS, you need to start with a high quality image from our camera, and simply make it better. I know from experience....:))

[PDG]

We do offer these types of contests. The FAQ lists them as "Creative contests (http://www.pixeladdiction.com/bb/faq.php?faq=entering#faq_photography_guidelines)". Hopefully we'll run one of these in the near future.

[swillox]

Yes but I also would like to see a "photo-shop unlimited" contest... problem is I don't have any idea for the subject...zzzzzzzz