good question , i have always wondered how a top 5 is picked when it doesnt have any comments when so many have brillant theme shots have comments as long as a footy feild and picked for fav's yet dont make the top 5 ???
no doubt picking the top would be one hard task and glad its them picking and not me .. so many great artist out there. :)
the number of views doesn't make sense though, because the ones posted earlier in the week would obviously have more views than the ones posted at the end of the week...
May be they pick on the basis of the principles followed by the photographer .. but some times i feel some of the far more deserving pictures are not picked in the top five...
The pictures are chosen by myself or the site moderators, it's a personal preference, we have a few tools to help choose but essentially it's what we feel are the best, it doesn't go on the statistics or anything like that. Obviously everybody will have a different opinion on which photos to choose, but there really isn't any other way to choose them (that we can think of). Suggestions are welcome though!
Hi Ross, came upon this topic and wondered what it was - thanks for the explanation.
I am sure that we would all pick different images for the final 5 but if we opened this selection to all members the way this site is set up (excellent though it is) means that to avoid favoritism or the members with the most friends always being picked as the winner in the theme competitions, all members would have to enter images and vote on images anonymously, this would mean having a section of the site completely separate from members 365 images, where members could upload their images which would creating a pool of anonymous tagged competition images (similar to club photographic competitions), then on the day of voting each member would be allowed one vote on any image (anonymously?).
Just an idea, is this possible or is there another way?
btw - keep up the good work
I think that even if all the members were to vote on what photographs should make the top five, there would still be people who disagreed with the selections and didn't feel that the most deserving photographers were being recognized.
That's the nature of any contest, no? Think about it. When was the last time finalists or winners were picked for anything and *nobody* complained?!?
Do I always agree with the selections of the site moderators? No. But it's worth noting that they devote a lot of time and energy to keeping this community going. Perhaps picking their favorites every week is a luxury they've earned.
I think the themes are just a bit of fun and shouldn't be taken too seriously. therefore i am more than happy for the mods to pick 5 and then we vote on those.
Ok - you may think others are more deserving of being in the final 5 but its always subjective. I could get far too complicated for what is essentially a way of giving us all ideas and motivation for photos for a week.
I would argue that the moderators do a good job of picking the top 5 based soley on the fact that we can't figure out what they are going to select. It seems that although the selections are just a matter of the moderators' preferences that they tend to choose a wide, varying range of finalists. Therefore, it is actually quite fair and random week to week :0)
My fav's don't make it lots of times, but I still look forward to seeing which ones were selected.
I totally agree with Murray! I think Ross & the site moderators are doing a great job picking the top 5, it can't be easy with all the amazing photos on here!! :)
Would i like any of my images to be selected of course. Do I go and cry when mine is not selected, not really. I am doing this project to help me learn more about this craft. I want to play with lights and see what they do. Every now and again I will do a family snap. I told myself early on that I will not have award winning shots every day (although I would love to). These themes are just a fun way to help me with my project, but if I don't get picked for the next one I will quit :) ok not really.
The voting is just for fun and the only prize you get is more views on your photo, maybe some new followers, and the biggest prize you get to select the next theme. So what are you really missing out?
Lets have fun and play with the themes and see what everyone comes up with.
That is my three cents since I rambled on I needed to throw in an extra one.
I think its fine for a few people to pick their faves for the theme each week, but i would also hope that in doing so they take care not to choose the same person more than once ( which would be easy if they already chose their style once before) so that everybody gets a crack at the whip at choosing the next theme.
Does the same work for the magic monkey's? I wondered why some photo's stay popular for several days whilst others pop up very briefly.
I'm more than happy to let Ross and the "Mods" select the top pics....it is fun....can usually see why photographs were picked and let's not get too serious over this! As for the magic monkeys....they do a great job too!!
I enjoy everything about this site, the good and not so good photo's and mostly the cute stories that accompany them. Hope that I never take it that seriously to worry about it. I'm not much of a competitor so I prefer the term THEME, keeps it more interesting for me.
What i like about this community is the support I feel from professionals and newbies alike. To maintain this feeling of community, the weekly competition should not be taken too seriously. I like Jeff's comment, "... biggest prize you get to select the next theme" and that benefits everyone. I get a momentary thrill when I make it to the popular page but I especially like that page as a way to discover new photographers. What's good for one of us, is good for all of us!
Okay...
For me its not about taking things seriously or getting offensive or taking sides or getting chosen or not chosen. I think its just abt curiosity and i feel that Emily has spurred a very valid and healthy discussion.
If by discussion and putting our minds together we can find a new way of doing things then that can be fun too :)
@Ross - here is my suggestion - How about some thing like "nominations" each member gets to nominate a few pictures that they think should appear in the top five.
I am sure there are many pros here who can judge pictures and even armatures can put their opinion in that way.
And later the moderators can choose from the pictures that are nominated most.
I'm with the others.... Yeah the recognition is nice, but i'm not going to loose sleep over not getting on the top 5 list.... I think it's all just for fun and to help with ideas for photos when inspiration is low....
The bottom line is that this isn't a contest site and to be honest I don't really want to see it turn into a contest site. I think this is a great community of pro and amerture photographers alike all sharing a common goal of 365 photos.... lets not spoil it by making it a popularity contest.
I am in full agreement with Tamara...and I am really glad this question was asked...I dont know why I didn't ask earlier...but now I know. I would have to agree that the top 5 photos for each week are very random..and actually like the fact that there are a few people who get few comments (that have a good photo) are picked. Otherwise certain photographers (who could be super great) would take over. I don't care if one of my pictures never get's picked...like Jeff, I am doing this project to get better at photography and to share my photos with whoever finds them enjoyable to look at. I love this site so much! and thanks to all of you moderator who are putting in so much time and work!
AGREE WITH ADRIAN, LAUREN and all others. I am in this project to push myself to have fun with the camera and learn from all of you. The popular page should be designed to help introduce us to many others---rather than be competition centered. I have learned much from studying others photos and the project has exceeded my expectations!
I just want to note that the photos on the popular page are not chosen by anyone. It uses a logorith based on view count, comment count and favorite'd count which are weighted in a different way to chose the photos to display.
Thank you for clarifying that Debbie, I have wondered it myself. I used to think they were hand picked. I started in January and had a popular picture about twice a week for a while. Now, I'm guessing because of the huge influx of new members, I haven't had one in ages. Good to know I shouldn't take that to heart!
For fun (and to look at all the entries) I go through all the theme pictures, pick my top five, and then look forward to see if it actually makes the top five. I like the way everything is set up on this site so far.
Ahhh I see...so the "crack team of monkeys" employed by 365, is actually driven by software. So in theory, it really depends on how many followers you have...as they will get the most views and no doubt the most comments. Yes, you may get the odd one that stands out for non followers to see on the browse pages but ultimately to get to the popular page this will be decided on your amount of followers.
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no doubt picking the top would be one hard task and glad its them picking and not me .. so many great artist out there. :)
I am sure that we would all pick different images for the final 5 but if we opened this selection to all members the way this site is set up (excellent though it is) means that to avoid favoritism or the members with the most friends always being picked as the winner in the theme competitions, all members would have to enter images and vote on images anonymously, this would mean having a section of the site completely separate from members 365 images, where members could upload their images which would creating a pool of anonymous tagged competition images (similar to club photographic competitions), then on the day of voting each member would be allowed one vote on any image (anonymously?).
Just an idea, is this possible or is there another way?
btw - keep up the good work
That's the nature of any contest, no? Think about it. When was the last time finalists or winners were picked for anything and *nobody* complained?!?
Do I always agree with the selections of the site moderators? No. But it's worth noting that they devote a lot of time and energy to keeping this community going. Perhaps picking their favorites every week is a luxury they've earned.
Ok - you may think others are more deserving of being in the final 5 but its always subjective. I could get far too complicated for what is essentially a way of giving us all ideas and motivation for photos for a week.
My fav's don't make it lots of times, but I still look forward to seeing which ones were selected.
I totally agree with Murray! I think Ross & the site moderators are doing a great job picking the top 5, it can't be easy with all the amazing photos on here!! :)
The voting is just for fun and the only prize you get is more views on your photo, maybe some new followers, and the biggest prize you get to select the next theme. So what are you really missing out?
Lets have fun and play with the themes and see what everyone comes up with.
That is my three cents since I rambled on I needed to throw in an extra one.
Does the same work for the magic monkey's? I wondered why some photo's stay popular for several days whilst others pop up very briefly.
For me its not about taking things seriously or getting offensive or taking sides or getting chosen or not chosen. I think its just abt curiosity and i feel that Emily has spurred a very valid and healthy discussion.
If by discussion and putting our minds together we can find a new way of doing things then that can be fun too :)
@Ross - here is my suggestion - How about some thing like "nominations" each member gets to nominate a few pictures that they think should appear in the top five.
I am sure there are many pros here who can judge pictures and even armatures can put their opinion in that way.
And later the moderators can choose from the pictures that are nominated most.
The bottom line is that this isn't a contest site and to be honest I don't really want to see it turn into a contest site. I think this is a great community of pro and amerture photographers alike all sharing a common goal of 365 photos.... lets not spoil it by making it a popularity contest.