A little competition amongs friends....?(for all "weddings" photogs)

jeffreaux2

In the spirit of teaching, learning, and of course....bragging rights....I am wondering how our "weddings" community here would respond to some friendly competition in the form of a themed challenge?

The idea would be to set a theme....such as "Rings"......or "Cakes"......and establish a clear entry deadline...at which point judging would begin. We could have a separate thread to discuss how the photographer went about setting up for the image....and general discussion of the images in a particular challenge....and THAT is, I think, where most of the teaching....and learning...would take place. Many contests have "windows", a set of dates, during which the image must be shot. Loosening such a requirment up to ANY shoot date would help to involve those here who don't shoot weddings every weekend...and I think that could be a plus....as those shooters stand the chance to learn the most by whatever feedback is given to their entries.

We could set up a poll for voting, but THAT might require more "work" than if we simply let the "winner" of each challenge select a top five and winner of the next challenge.

So, as a community.....how do you guys and gals feel about something like that here in "Weddings". Anyone interested? Any ideas for challenge themes? Any ideas at all?

Lets hear it.....:dunno

heatherfeather

All in favor... say I Do!

(sorry that was just too easy)




I'll be your huckleberry. When do we start!?

elizabeth_Luna

jeffreaux2

heatherfeather wrote:

All in favor... say I Do!

(sorry that was just too easy)




I'll be your huckleberry. When do we start!?

Well I dunno when we start... ....it wont be much fun with just us two.....although that would guarantee you a first place win...which would mean you would judge the next round...which would mean....

Okay...so that wouldnt be much fun for me.....Id lose every time.

....and whats a huckleberry anyhow?

jeffreaux2

elizabeth_Luna wrote:

Uh thanks Elizibeth.....Ill be sure to take all of your ideas and suggestions into consideration....


Seriously......any ideas?....suggestions?....questions?....fears?

heatherfeather

jeffreaux2 wrote:

....and whats a huckleberry anyhow?

Seriously??? Can the culture be that different in "Loueeesiiiaana" that you never watched Tombstone ??? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tombstone_(movie) Holy uncultured yogurt, Batman.

marikris

As a die-hard lurker, I approve of this idea ^_^

I want to say "posing" but that may be too loose a term. What about "profiles" (as in profile of the head and/or body, etc)? Or "kiss", or um "rings"... or "cakes"... ehehe.

jeffreaux2

heatherfeather wrote:

Seriously??? Can the culture be that different in "Loueeesiiiaana" that you never watched Tombstone ??? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tombstone_(movie) Holy uncultured yogurt, Batman. <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/rolleyes1.gif&quot; border="0" alt="" >

...and YOU have mis-spelled Louisiana!!!

Get yer act together FeatherHeather!!!


"
Huckleberries hold a place in archaic English slang. The tiny size of the berries led to their frequent use as a way of referring to something small, often in an affectionate way. The phrase "a huckleberry over my persimmon" was used to mean "a bit beyond my abilities". "I'm your huckleberry" is a way of saying that one is just the right person for a given job,<SUP class=reference id=cite_ref-0>[1]</SUP> which was used by the character Doc Holliday in the movie Tombstone. The range of slang meanings of huckleberry in the 19th century was fairly large, also referring to insignificant persons or nice persons.<SUP class=reference id=cite_ref-1>[2]</SUP><SUP class=reference id=cite_ref-2>[3]"</SUP>

jeffreaux2

marikris wrote:

As a die-hard lurker, I approve of this idea ^_^

I want to say "posing" but that may be too loose a term. What about "profiles" (as in profile of the head and/or body, etc)? Or "kiss", or um "rings"... or "cakes"... ehehe.

I think that especially with themes that are related to details such as rings, cakes, shoes, etc.....that maybe you could...de-lurk...and join in...eh?

marikris

jeffreaux2 wrote:

maybe you could...de-lurk...and join in...eh?

Pffft - I wish! Lol, I'm too nubbie for that

jeffreaux2

marikris wrote:

Pffft - I wish! Lol, I'm too nubbie for that

THAT is BS !!!!


...and is a great reason to GET involved.....for the feedback...alongside examples from others on the same theme.

Dont be scairt

mmmatt

heatherfeather wrote:

All in favor... say I Do!

(sorry that was just too easy)






I'll be your huckleberry. When do we start!?

gotta love this girl!

im downn for sure if you include8-22 in
the dates. This is awesome Jeff. Thanks!

matt

marikris

jeffreaux2 wrote:

Dont be scairt

You're so right. Busted. Alrighty, if I can submit something, I will

FedererPhoto

I'll play (or at least read about) your game.

ChatKat

Copy Cats
I 'd love to see that kind of thread - I don't know that it needs to be so much as a challenge with voting as much as being inspirational. Just a theme of the week/month could be fun.

the Kiss
Ring Shots
Shoes
The Dress
Sloppy Dancing
Flowers (no selective color allowed)
Venue
Sunsets
Blown Out something shots
Flower Girls
Ring Bearers

Just a few theme ideas.

jeffreaux2

ChatKat wrote:

Flowers (no selective color allowed)

YOU....are soooo my hero!!!

tenoverthenose

Count me in once we decide on a topic!

Shima

I'd totally be game, you know me, I love this section of the forums

Some additional ideas that my reading above didn't see (or missed if I read too fast)

-Capturing Emotion (we could break this into two parts - laughter and tears)
-Creative Ceremony shots (break away from the boring standards! use angles, effects, creative framing, etc)
-Airborne! (work on capturing the bouquet and garter tosses in mid air)
-Reception Dance Mood Lighting shots (no flash allowed)
-Zip it up! ( shots of the bride getting zipped in, buttoned up, laced up, etc into her dress)
-Bridal Party Bonanza (do away with traditional boring bridal party shots and get creative! and the classic "bridal party jumping in air shot is disqualified since it's too common)

Give me more time and I'm sure I'll think of more to go with these

heatherfeather

jeffreaux2 wrote:

...and YOU have mis-spelled Louisiana!!!

jeffreaux2 wrote:

Dont be scairt

And YOU mis-spelled scared. Great job with your copy pasting skills, too.

Blurmore

I'm down for whatever.

mmmatt

I don't think getting ready shots are best since not all brides want that. I would like to see something like best use of negative space or best use of motion, most story telling, or something else that could be shot at any time or multiple times during the day. Also imho stay away from specific techniques that may bring someone out of their normal style like off camera flash for instance, or prevent them from even being able to compete due to gear. Things like indoor ambient may be unfair since some people may have better quality high-iso than others. Maybe you could just use a phrase that could be interpreted many ways and let us decide individually what it means.

im on my phone so sorry if this post looks odd... **Edited**

My $.02, but I'll go with whatever.

Matt

JulieLawsonPhotography

I'm in if I have anything that fits with the particular category.

Scott_Quier

I'm down for this - I think it's a great way for us to expand our horizons, build more tools for our toolbox, etc.

And in that vein, I think I must respectfully disagree with Matt. If we attempt to limit something like this to the lowest common denominator, the result I fear will be that our growth potential will be limited.

For example - Assume the topic de jur (did I spell that right - I worry what with the spelling patrol out so strongly in this thread :lol) is "Best Use of Off-Camera Flash". Not everyone involved will have gear to do this, for example there might be some who are stretched to come up with a Canon 430EX. Does that mean that we can't show what is possible and, thereby, motivate this anonymous "someone" to investigate and then acquire some off-camera equipment? If we are able to do that, we've just made a quantum (no, not a reference to the brand name, but to physics - gee) improvement in that person's set of tools.

Addressing the teaching objective, I would propose that any and every posted image be accompanied with either a setup shot, a description of the setup, or a diagram or something from which others can learn. Requiring the less initiated reverse-engineer a shot is not nearly as conducive to early learning.

On the other hand, a "Reverse-Engineer This" thread once in a while might also be a good idea. Developing reverse-engineering skills are important to one's growth as a photographer - especially if one would like to "steal" technique from the masters.

Topic Ideas

• The Kiss
• Holding hands
• Ring shot, on the hand
• Ring shot, not on the hand
• Best use of selective color - Yes, Jeff I agree that this is so often done poorly. Are there any examples where it works?
• One of my pet peeves - re-creating a scene. There are some churches that do not allow photography during the ceremony, requiring the photographer and wedding party re-create portions. How to get the emotion to show in these shots. Yup - this would be a hard one to run.
• Posing
  • Even number of people
  • Odd number of people
  • We don't "Line 'Em Up and Shoot 'Em Anymore"
• Off-Camera lighting shots
• On-Camera lighting shots
• Shots in the limo
• Engagement Sessions
  • Rustic Environs
  • How to find a setting that matches the B&G
  • City/urban settings
  • Can we use a city park
• Bridal Portraits
  • Studio work
  • On the city street
  • Outdoors
  • Rustic settings
• The Gown
  • Gown on a hanger
  • Just to bodice
  • Is that the light at the end of the tunnel or just another Train
  • Veil with and without the groom in the shot
• Shooting the venue - for example, an outdoor reception after dark - excellent opportunities

I guess that's enough for now

Edit: A final thought. I think running this as a "competition" with monitary prizes might not be the best way to go. However, if the prize were simply prize bragging rights ... this might instill an appropriate sense competition while, at the same time, avoiding some of the sniping, infighting, politics, etc that other prize based competitions have suffered. An idea - someone with graphic talent develop an emoticon that could be included in one's signature - one for each win?

ChatKat

Spelling Police
Thanks Jeff - I think the hero part is the other way.

To one of my other heros, Scott - it's Du Jour en Francais. (sorry for the selective color)

jeffreaux2

I may not be responding to every post, but I am considering everything that has been brought up.

Scott raised a valid point about how some "contests" can end up with prizes on the line...and we sure don't want any of that here.

To be honest I really think that everyone could stand to learn something from this regardless of skill level or experience...and THAT is the main intent. A public "vote" or "poll" would require more work than simply having the winner of each challenge choose the winner of the next one...and it would (hopefully) require less "hands-on" from me. By passing the torch from challenge to challenge the ownership of the challenge would fall back on the forum members rather than a forum moderator. I think THAT model would work best. The mini challenges on Dgrin and some of the other forums (dpreview) operate in that basic model and seem to do well. All that would be required of a moderator is to keep things tidy, and to make sure the folks who are supposed to judge do their part.

The primary reason for even calling it a "contest" and naming a "winner" is to share ownership/stewardship with dgrin members(thats you). There are no prizes on offer...no blue ribbons....but I would certainly be willing to put up with allowing the "winner" to have their 30 days of fame....shake their tail feathers.....pound their chest.....or....whatever.....if only they will take the responsibility for the next round.

Keeping the entry thread clean of comments, and having a seperate thread devoted to the discussion of the images is something Id like to see also.

Keep the suggestions coming!:lurk

Oh...and.....What will we call it?

Agnieszka

No blue ribbons ... hmmmmm

Alrighty, I might join you guys too

zoomer

Sounds like fun.
1 photo limit.

Scott_Quier

zoomer wrote:

Sounds like fun.
1 photo limit.

Per topic, right?

Scott_Quier

Waaayyyy Off Topic - but .... deal with it

ChatKat wrote:

Thanks Jeff - I think the hero part is the other way.

To one of my other heros, Scott - it's Du Jour en Francais. (sorry for the selective color)

Wow!! To be considered a hero by someone I hold in such high esteem. That just made my day.

ChatKat

Scott_Quier wrote:

Wow!! To be considered a hero by someone I hold in such high esteem. That just made my day.

Thanks - made mine too. Let's call this the Mutual Admiration Society.

cdonovan

I wanna play too