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Screening past & present

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  • Screening past & present

    Hi all , after reading opinions on why images were rejected and general thoughts and comments about screening processes i thought id post some of my thoughts ( valid or not ) this is how i see it.

    I personally have had the distinction of being a screener at all 3 of the major aviation image sites so hopfully i may be a little experinced in what im going to say

    I think we all are guilty of wondering why a particular image has been rejected and being a little fed up im sure ... after all we've perhaps put a lot of effort into the processing of any particular image , BUT no matter where an image may have been rejected there is a valid reason behind it ... IT CAN BE BETTER , of course the last thing the screener wants is to reject an image , after all without images the site will cease to exist !

    As a screener you have to be un-biased and fair as you are after all responsible for the upkeep of the site in question , you dont/ should not be looking for reasons to reject an image and im not sure if its still the case the pluses should outway the minuses , they shouldnt reject a shot if it has a tiny flaw ... after all its nigh on impossible to get a perfect shot in every way im sure.

    Sure .. the monitor you use to screen/process has to be upto the job , i still use a CRT monitor to process images ( i no longer screen anywhere ) as im still of the old school of TFT monitors i personally feel are not trully upto the job yet .. perhaps some maybe closer than im aware of .. but in general you still cant beat a good old tube .

    Im not convinced that a super great high resolution graphics card is the answer ... in previous experience it is without question possible to judge your image on a basic onboard / budget card .

    Its not all rush , rush , rush .. to get a picture processed quickley and uploaded , youll survive if you take over 30 seconds to process your pics.. take your time and check over the pic 2 or even 3 times .. sometimes you'll miss something simple , like the odd dust spot that escaped your notice ... its very easilly done , take time and "self screen" your images.

    If you get rejections , take time to read the reason , look at the images already on the database & compare like for like .... you may think its exactly the same but .... thats human nature , you never tend to want to see your own flaws , be unbiased to yourself , read the forums . Not just JP but on the internet there litterally 100's of general photography related sites to help people take the better picture ... planes or landscapes the idea is generally the same and you can pretty much put anything into practice .

    So ... in fear of babbling on to long ill sign off for now ... please feel free to comment ... after all .... this is in no way shape or form critisizing the site.

    post your thoughts ...

    cheers all

  • #2
    Good post i really agree.

    When I stopped saying mine's better then those already up and started asking what can i do better my acceptance rate went from below 20% to around 65%-70%.

    Comment


    • #3
      Good post, Cosmo. One thing I can add is: process your photo and wait a day or two before uploading. Check the photos again .... some will look different.

      Off topic: I still remember someone not really feeling comfortable photographing out of the 12th floor of Parking F at ZRH in May 2003 You don't happen to know him, do you?

      Cheers
      Gerardo
      My photos on Flickr www.flickr.com/photos/geridominguez

      Comment


      • #4
        Great post Cosmo, thank you for it.

        I'm gonna take the opportunity to add something too...
        - Some people should try to take the time to read the comments from the screeners in their rejection mails. I see more and more appeals that could have been avoided just by reading the comments we leave. Many of us leave messages to explain either the bad info or the category rejection, that takes time and we spend quiet a few minute to look for the correct info on the web to give it to the photographers...

        That's all I wanted to say. I hope that we'll get a lot of constructive thoughts here and really looking forward for different opinions and ideas.
        Thanks

        Alex

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Omar Alex Saffe
          Great post Cosmo, thank you for it.

          I'm gonna take the opportunity to add something too...
          - Some people should try to take the time to read the comments from the screeners in their rejection mails. I see more and more appeals that could have been avoided just by reading the comments we leave. Many of us leave messages to explain either the bad info or the category rejection, that takes time and we spend quiet a few minute to look for the correct info on the web to give it to the photographers...

          That's all I wanted to say. I hope that we'll get a lot of constructive thoughts here and really looking forward for different opinions and ideas.
          Thanks

          Alex
          Good tip there, i have gotten to where I reply to the screening email if I have questions or disagree with the rejection before i appeal...course its annoying when the emails get bounced back as undeliverable.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by LX-A343
            Good post, Cosmo. One thing I can add is: process your photo and wait a day or two before uploading. Check the photos again .... some will look different.

            Off topic: I still remember someone not really feeling comfortable photographing out of the 12th floor of Parking F at ZRH in May 2003 You don't happen to know him, do you?

            Cheers
            Gerardo
            Errrrm ..... maybe i do know him ... ... errmm...

            still taking pictures with both eyes closed at times .... hmmm... wonder if thats why i get rejections .....

            cheers

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Christobal65
              Good tip there, i have gotten to where I reply to the screening email if I have questions or disagree with the rejection before i appeal...course its annoying when the emails get bounced back as undeliverable.
              Don't worry! The mails may not get to all crew members. What you get are error messages from individual crew member inboxes. But a large part of the crew wil get your mail. Of course, this doesn't mean that anyone will reply

              Gerardo
              My photos on Flickr www.flickr.com/photos/geridominguez

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by LX-A343
                Don't worry! The mails may not get to all crew members. What you get are error messages from individual crew member inboxes. But a large part of the crew wil get your mail. Of course, this doesn't mean that anyone will reply

                Gerardo
                you guys probabally see my name and hit delete....I know i am scary and no one wants to deal with me

                I actually love these threads cause it helps me help you guys by not uploading crap that wont get in, less stuff in the queue means my photos get screened faster

                I may disagree with a rejection from time to time but I do for the most part love you guys

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Christobal65
                  you guys probabally see my name and hit delete....
                  Ever heard of mail filters? There's no need to see your name, if I don't want to

                  Back to the topic. I wonder sometimes, how long some photogs need to process a photo. Once I have the photo in Photoshop, if I don't get something reasonable - i.e. where I see, that with the usual tweaks I know I will get a good photo - within 30 to 60 seconds, I'll drop it. All in all, from opening a photo in RAW shooter until saving as JPG, I guess I need some 2-4 minutes for a photo (wild guess).

                  I just wonder, because we get to see sometimes perfect photos with for example a tiny bit of white border on a corner, caused by rotating the photo, or a big dust spot and so on. I then think: "if (s)he only invested 10 seconds in a final quality check, the photo would be 100% perfect!"
                  My photos on Flickr www.flickr.com/photos/geridominguez

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Gerardo is quite right too....

                    Generally you can tell if the image is workable just by opening it up in any browser ....

                    sometimes just a quick resize n sharpen is required , but sometimes a little more work is required , but all in all you'll know by a quick view !

                    Some are worth more work if the original image isnt that great for example... a new scoop or something really nice etc.etc

                    cheers

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      A good and interesting post.

                      I find the best way to process images and then check their validity for upload is to edit them, look at them a couple of times that day. Check back the next day and then if i have no hesitations about uploading i'll do it. If i can see something or feel something is not right i'll get some mates on msn to look at it for me and give their opinion, then change it and do the same until im happy.

                      I've been away from uploading and shooting for a while now but im slowly getting back into it. Had a mad last year at uni and now im settling into it i feel i have the time to edit, upload and come back to the hobby a bit.

                      Chris
                      Chris Sharps
                      5D3 | 5D2 | 7D | 1D2 | 10D | 400D | 1V | 3
                      17-40F4L | 24-105F4LIS | 70-200F2.8LIS | 100-400LIS
                      24F1.4L II | 50F1.2L | 85F1.2L II | 15F2.8 Fisheye | 50F1.4 | 100F2.8 Macro
                      1.4x | 550EX x2

                      Fuji X100

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by LX-A343
                        Back to the topic. I wonder sometimes, how long some photogs need to process a photo. Once I have the photo in Photoshop, if I don't get something reasonable - i.e. where I see, that with the usual tweaks I know I will get a good photo - within 30 to 60 seconds, I'll drop it. All in all, from opening a photo in RAW shooter until saving as JPG, I guess I need some 2-4 minutes for a photo (wild guess).
                        Im pretty much the same, but then i add in the question, is it worth my 2-3 minutes to edit at the moment, "nah, ill do it later", then never get around to it
                        Sam Rudge
                        A 5D3, some Canon lenses, the Sigma L and a flash

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Its also pretty good to see the end result of a shot which has been a challenge , dark and gloomy to start ... then brighter and crisp at the end !

                          Sometimes the challenge is well worth the time !


                          ** speaking as a MAN photographer

                          cheers all

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Yeah, good words Mr S, the only thing I have to add that it helps to have a good canvas to start editing on in the first place. In other words the photo that comes out of the camera needs to be right as there's no point in trying to edit something that is clearly not fixable, eg it's come out of the camera blurry or it's so MAN gloomy that it's almost pitch black, or you've managed to spend the day shooting in ISO 1600 without checking (oh boy have I done that before ).

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              or you've managed to spend the day shooting in ISO 1600 without checking
                              Nob!

                              I admitedlly have also done that, spend a morning shooting track cars at Brands Hatch at ISO 800!
                              Chris Sharps
                              5D3 | 5D2 | 7D | 1D2 | 10D | 400D | 1V | 3
                              17-40F4L | 24-105F4LIS | 70-200F2.8LIS | 100-400LIS
                              24F1.4L II | 50F1.2L | 85F1.2L II | 15F2.8 Fisheye | 50F1.4 | 100F2.8 Macro
                              1.4x | 550EX x2

                              Fuji X100

                              Comment

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