Photo screening decisions, opinions please.

[Downunder]

Some interesting feedback & points of view.

Frank, Steve,
In regards to Steve's comments on the Editors Choice, I see it as Frank is the Editor and as the Editor it's Frank's choice what photos get selected.

As a suggestion and in an effort to give balance is it possible to have a voting system where Photographers and or the general viewing public can vote on photos and give comment.

Those photos that received substantial votes & constructive comment could then be used as examples of what a good quality photo should look like?

Cheers
Chris 

[Frank]

As a suggestion and in an effort to give balance is it possible to have a voting system where Photographers and or the general viewing public can vote on photos and give comment.

Good thinking Batman!

I dusted off a piece of code I wrote a few years back that allows people to rate pictures & add comments and have integrated it with the WorldAirPics.com website only. You can see an example here:

http://www.worldairpics.com/photo/1038608/

The rating votes & comments are going to be anonymous as we still only have a small group of photographers, a lot of whom know each other, and I believe this will let people be accurate with their votes.

Regarding the comments, I think it's best if all comments should be positive in nature, if you think the picture is complete rubbish the simple thing to do is give it a rating of 1 Star. And if you want to complain about the picture contact the photographer directly.

Only registered WorldAirPics.com forum members can rate pictures & leave comments, and all comments will be screened by me first before they appear on the website.

As always comments and suggestions are welcome.


Regards,

Frank.

[thurian]

Hi Frank, I just noticed the rating stars on my latest uploads, great addition to the site, I've often wanted to comment on someones photo without having to contact them directly. BTW, your sample pic is definitely a five star

[Irish251]

Ahem....can you ensure that people don't rate their own photos?

[Frank]

I've made sure that can't happen, double voting is locked out too!

[Frank]

Just to give an update on the picture rating system...

When you click on a star to rate the picture a window pops up that confirms your vote and also allows you to add a comment (the comment is optional).

To close this window simply click the "close this window" link or hit the "ESC" key on your keyboard.

If you do not want to rate the picture but wish to leave a comment click on the comment icon (looks like a speech bubble to the right of the rating stars).

Again a window pops up for this, you then have another chance to rate the picture as well as leaving your comment (make sure you rate the picture before leaving your comment as the comment box will be refreshed)

No emails will be sent to inform you that your picture has been rated, I have added a rating indicator to the search results page so that you can see at a glance if your picture has been rated or not.

-------------------------------------

Now, with regards to the screening decisions, feedback has been a bit slack to say the least, so am I correct in assuming that all photographers who submit to the site are happy with the criteria I apply?

If I don't get any feedback I can only assume that I'm doing a fairly decent job with the screening, is this correct?

I admit I've occasionally been a bit inconsistent every now and then, if you don't tell me where I could do with improvement I can't meet your needs, I can only take a best guess.


Regards,

Frank.

[corkspotter]

I 4 one think your doing a great job  and will not be asking you to remove my photo's, only 5 more to go before I hit the 2000 mark!!!!

Regards,

Paul

[Frank]

Post removed to avoid panic in light of SF's reply below 

[thurian]

Maybe just a personal thing but I wouldn't have uploaded that pic in the first place because it's badly cropped (IMHO). If it was the only pic I had of the aircraft I'd crop it right down to a nose and engine shot and hope for the best, but I suppose that's not what's being discussed here. Sorry, I'll go get my coat!

[Irish251]

You're getting very scientific here, Frank.  Personally I think I would tend to be be dissuaded from uploading if I felt there was a new set of rules to be complied with, especially one that pushes the photographer in the direction of offering shots of a complete aircraft with a defined space (+/-) around it.  That may not be what you intend, but I think it could have the effect of standardising the notion of what is acceptable and reducing the likelihood of more interesting compositions being submitted. As a rule I don't tend to click on standard side-on or "record" shots unless of a clearly interesting subject, whereas a closer-in view, perhaps with some cropping of the aircraft, often works better in terms of creating impact.  Those are just my thoughts and of course everyone will have their own perspective on what works for them.

[Frank]

Lads,

I'm just throwing ideas out here. In light of criticism of my past screening decisions and inconsistency on my behalf I'm just trying to see if I can improve matters.

Only a handful of people have replied to this thread and I want to be sure I'm doing things right, especially now seeing that Joe & Paul have now been let loose on the screening system.

That's all, sorry if I caused any panic!


Regards,

Frank.