want to submit for a photo comp

[courtney23cy]

I've never entered a real photo competition before and have decided to enter one for fun. This is the photo I want to submit. Do any of you know what they look for when judging? Will they laugh at this entry? I love this photo but I know the little branch poking her forehead is a little distracting to me, is it for you guys as well? Any other thoughts are appreciated as well.

[courtney23cy]

Sorry, I forgot to post it with the exif...

Camera Nikon D90
Exposure 1/2500 sec
Aperture f/2.5
Focal Length 50 mm
ISO Speed 200
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash No Flash
Exposure Program Manual
Max Aperture Value 1.4

[JFSanders]

You could crop it to eliminate the branch as the subject is her face. Something like this edit. I will remove it if you want. Also, posted photographs can be no longer than 700 pixels on the longest side so that they don't blow up the thread. Beautiful little girl and a well done photograph. I would enter it and they certainly won't laugh at you. Although you may not get feedback from the judges unless it specifically states so in the rules that you may ask for and receive it.

Jim

[ravncat]

Originally Posted by courtney23cy

Do any of you know what they look for when judging? Will they laugh at this entry? I love this photo but I know the little branch poking her forehead is a little distracting to me, is it for you guys as well? Any other thoughts are appreciated as well.

It depends alot on who is judging and what the goals of the contest are -

for example a judge who likes landscapes is going to favor different things than a judge who likes abstract images - couple that with if the contest is about expressing vision or color or technical skill etc... then the definition of the judge comes into play. Some judges may value technique over content - so don`t worry too much - are there any criteria for the contest? The most you can do is make sure your image fits those criteria

Any judge who laughs at an entry (as opposed to laughing with an image that might be comedic) is certainly not doing a professional job. I wouldn`t worry about that either.

The branch poking at her forehead - you could remove it or not - depends on your moral compass. People could argue all day over if it should be done. Some contests, doing such a thing can disqualify a photograph - I suggest you find out if such editing is acceptable - but don`t tell the judges if you don`t have too, such manipulation is a debatable topic and different judges will feel differently if they know - it may or may not matter...

Technically I see a bit of clipped and out of gamut purple in the shadows - maybe lowering saturation in those areas could help - depends on if you are printing or displaying via a monitor. Overall color seems fine, good skin-tones. Maybe her shirt is just a little bright. I don`t see any real technical "oh noes".

[3bayjunkie]

nice soft lighting, i like it

[courtney23cy]

Thank you JF for your input, here is my cropped version. I don't know which one I like better. I think I'm a little attached to the first... what do you think?

ravncat,
I can't tell you how much I appreciate all the info and input. The comp I'm entering this in is the WPPI online competition in the 'children' category. I read the rules and wasn't much to it other than the image can't be more than 2 years old and must be a"single work of original material". I thought there would be more rules, but I think that's from my military experience, I expect a book of regulations to go with everything How can I tell where the clipped and out of gamut purple is? Is that just your trained eye or is there a trick to seeing it like the clipped highlights? Again, thank you so much for all the advise!

[JFSanders]

How can I tell where the clipped and out of gamut purple is?

If you look up and to the right at about 1:30 oclock you will see the deep purple shadow inside the bush. It is showing some clipping which manifests itself as banding (goes from purple to black with an edge not feathered). Do you know if your camera is shooting in aRGB or sRGB? If you are shooting and editing in aRGB and then displaying in that color space the internet only uses sRGB and it will show such clipping of colors as the sRGB space is much smaller than aRGB.

Me personally I like both but since you asked I thought the branch was an issue for you. The face is what I keyed in on and it is perfect.

Jim

[courtney23cy]

Thank you Jim. I think I will go with the cropped version, thank you for your opinion The more I look at it the more I like it. I am shooting and editing in sRGB. I think I brought up the blacks a bit too much. I'll go back in and re-attempt my edit to see if I can fix that problem. Thanks for all the input!

[ravncat]

JF got the location of the clipped purples - they may not actually be clipped in the file or in a print - they`re probably just out of the range of what the monitor can display. One may be able to address it with processing - but it really is a very small thing.

One just has to train their eye, knowing what to look for helps - usually it`s when tonal transitions become jumpy or pasty - look up "posterizatoin". Other clipped colors just become one block of pure color with no tonal transitions in between. I really wouldn`t worry about it for the contest - I don`t think any judge is going to point to that little detail and say - oh this is no good - you lose. It`s those little technical differences that make a good print vs a great print. In the digital world, on screen and monitors, color management and display devices make a specific thing a bit more nebulous.

[ajax_andy]

I love this pic... and would definately advise entering it