JBerman Photography wrote:
Aperture_Photo [url=http://modelmayhem.com/portfolio/pic/25369694]



I always thought this was a winner!

the majority would rather discuss if she brought an escort

Not everyone owns a classic car

PictureItYakima wrote:
There are contests on MM?

Nah...only in the Forums will you find the real deal.
Come join the fun and the pleasure of it all !
It costs nada a penny.

Harold Rose wrote:

It seems like we have gathered  a lot of beginners..  and some pro-s  that do not like to participatge on that level..

You are the only person I have seen that has rolled over their posts count.

dgold wrote:
...tune in for a moment or two to the Forum Competitions - they have always been and hopefully will continue to be so, and enjoy top shelf images - both digital and film, Udor.
I agree that in the POD Original contest, many more digitally engineered/manipulated images win the daily vote. Lately I have been enjoying the art and work of most who post and voting on what I consider the best image of the day that pleases my senses.

Thanks for all your input!

It's a valuable and true observation and you deserve all the awards that you are getting, because you are an outstanding artist!

Most of what I am showing is part from paid work, one way or the other... and hence not so exciting as a stylish executed photo with perfect retouching...

See my last few uploads, those are from two shoots, one for a mens wear company, and the other one for a women's line... mission accomplished, love what we produced, but none of it is "competition" worthy.

So, I am not complaining, I just decided long time ago that my work has no chance in any MM competition. 

dgold wrote:

Nah...only in the Forums will you find the real deal.
Come join the fun and the pleasure of it all !
It costs nada a penny.

How were the tradeshows in Chicogo? Are you going to the renamed Photokino in NY? in a couple weeks? You should check out the Franklin NJ Mineral Show.

udor wrote:

Thanks for all your input!

It's a valuable and true observation and you deserve all the awards that you are getting, because you are an outstanding artist!

Most of what I am showing is part from paid work, one way or the other... and hence not so exciting as a stylish executed photo with perfect retouching...

See my last few uploads, those are from two shoots, one for a mens wear company, and the other one for a women's line... mission accomplished, love what we produced, but none of it is "competition" worthy.

So, I am not complaining, I just decided long time ago that my work has no chance in any MM competition. 

Same here on assignment.

Kent Art Photography wrote:
I did mention to JoJo that sometimes I struggled to find three images to vote for, and I would rather vote for up to three pics.  She replied that the change was being considered.  That would reduce the vote count (which is what this thread is about), but I don't know if it would make the competition any better or fairer.

As I've pointed out before, there's nothing stopping you from voting for one, or two, images of your choice now.  Three is a limit, not a requirement.

Sungoddess Studios wrote:
How were the tradeshows in Chicogo? Are you going to the renamed Photokino in NY? in a couple weeks? You should check out the Franklin NJ Mineral Show.

The IMTS(International Machine Tool Show) was a great success - both for dgoldphoto and LNA Laser.
The "Banned as Avatars On MM" Android photos (airbrush artist MM's own Paul Roustan) that were blown up from film as backdrops for the show in Italy were a huge attraction for photos by attendees( 86,000 attendees) and further draw to the LNA Laser booth where my son's company has a $250,000 CNC laser marking system and marked I-Pad cases for visitors.
Business in my industrial world as well as my son's is very busy...both domestically and globally.
Gold Machinery Group no longer does jewelry and precious metal shows - that world comes to our 87,000 SqFt on 2 1/2 acres at the Foot of Exit#26 North Interstate Route 95 showroom in Rhode Island.
We are very lucky.
Photokino sounds interesting, but, I keep busy in Studio Gold.
Thank you for asking.
Enjoy!

udor wrote:

Thanks for all your input!

It's a valuable and true observation and you deserve all the awards that you are getting, because you are an outstanding artist!

Most of what I am showing is part from paid work, one way or the other... and hence not so exciting as a stylish executed photo with perfect retouching...

See my last few uploads, those are from two shoots, one for a mens wear company, and the other one for a women's line... mission accomplished, love what we produced, but none of it is "competition" worthy.

So, I am not complaining, I just decided long time ago that my work has no chance in any MM competition. 

Do not sell yourself short my dear friend, Udor.
I am a big admirer of your commercial work and the artistry/though and execution that go along with what you do...

And, your compliment is much appreciated.

MCPHOTO wrote:
maybe people don't really think about viewing or voting on the contest's.

It must be the high altitude

MCPHOTO wrote:
maybe people don't really think about viewing or voting on the contest's.

I never really thought many people voted in contests at all. It always seemed like a joke when people on MM proudly display their model or pic of the day medallions. I would hardly say having a handful of people vote for your image is really worth bragging about. Plus the contests are rather meaningless when you consider the voters are probably the same people that gush over cell phone pics in portfolios and make lists like "Hottest pics of models wrapped in caution tape".

udor wrote:

Maybe contests are fun... I don't think that I have ever entered one!

I guess I also saw that most contest winners are masters of photoshop and retouching and with that, people used to judge based not so much on the story that the photo tells, but how flawlessly it was edited.

Hence, I personally never saw a chance to measure up and didn't enter.

But... I have my market, I have the people that enjoy what I do and people hire me to do my thing... so, in the course of the years, that's where I get my validation from...

I have to agree with Udor on this.

JAE Photography PA wrote:
I have noticed a lot less models signing up locally now.  The ones that do don't seem to use the site too much.  It seems like a lot of people just do everything through Facebook now.

This is consistent with what I see.  Many fewer new models coming in.

zardoz35 wrote:
The photoshopping of the images renders them less photography than computer graphic work. Just have the contest named "Best Photoshopped Image of the Day" and let it go at that.

+Ka-jillion

Gary Melton wrote:
There are 600,000+ MM members.  I don't think that more than 200-300 people have EVER voted on a single (daily) MM contest. (I don't know that for a fact, but I've certainly never seen it in the 6+ years I've been here).

Typical winning pics get 20 - 75 votes.

You do the math...

I never voted on MM...   I am a nudest and I do vote.  cant wait till Nov 6th.

Moon Pix Photography wrote:

For the most part, MM contests have turned into who has the best T and A with photography skills and creativity being a distant second.. At least that's my take.

+10

William Kious wrote:
The contests became utterly pointless. When you see an absolute crap shot with more votes simply because there's pussy or cock, well, it makes the exercise of having a contest a complete joke.

+1000%

Ljs Photography wrote:
Hello MMers, I have recently noticed while viewing contests that the vote counts are really down, even for the winners. Is Model Mayhem on a decline in viewers and subscribers?

The numbers are down.  Maybe some members are leaving, but I believe it's because members are spending more time on Facebook, or have better things to do.  I know I don't spend nearly as much time here!  Voting?  Forget it!

William Kious wrote:
The contests became utterly pointless. When you see an absolute crap shot with more votes simply because there's pussy or cock, well, it makes the exercise of having a contest a complete joke.

Exactly and as others have point out, the winners have only a handful of votes.  Most gave up long ago.  They tried to make it better by hiding scores during the process and it did cut down on the vote for me crap.  But it's still mostly T&A&C that wins and a who can ask the most friends to vote.  There are some other issues with how it's run but that isn't a conversation for the forums.

William Kious wrote:
There are some other issues with how it's run but that isn't a conversation for the forums.

Where should this be discussed then?

Moon Pix Photography wrote:

For the most part, MM contests have turned into who has the best T and A with photography skills and creativity being a distant second.. At least that's my take.

Yes and since many new and old members like T&A the contest will live on being viewed but distancing itself from a real contest.

udor wrote:

I guess I also saw that most contest winners are masters of photoshop and retouching and with that, people used to judge based not so much on the story that the photo tells, but how flawlessly it was edited.

Hence, I personally never saw a chance to measure up and didn't enter.

That, plus I think MM should add a handicapping system with spread-shots getting a 20 vote handicap to level the playing field.

Ljs Photography wrote:
Hello MMers, I have recently noticed while viewing contests that the vote counts are really down, even for the winners. Is llama Mayhem on a decline in viewers and subscribers?

Don't quiet get your logic? If you don't vote or view the contests you don't exist?

I rarely look at the competitions, doesn't mean I'm not active on MM elsewhere.

dgold wrote:
Do not sell yourself short my dear friend, Udor.
I am a big admirer of your commercial work and the artistry/though and execution that go along with what you do...

And, your compliment is much appreciated.

Thank you so much!

See, this is another thing, getting complimented from an esteemed colleague as yourself, means a lot to me!

rp_photo wrote:
It's all about being the best at vote begging, not the best work.

Okay, read the thread top to bottom and this is just unfair.

There's some great work in the Contests from very talented artists.

Of course, imo, way too many spread shots win and way too many 'facebook love' shots win through vote lobbying. But that doesn't mean that everybody that enters pull tricks to win.

Don't hate.

KModel Photography wrote:
So what happened in Sept 2011 that started the steady decline?

Vacation time is over and people went back to work.

udor wrote:
Vacation time is over and people went back to work.

Could be true.  Quite a few models I've talked to lately are having trouble getting some free time to shoot, too busy at work..

udor wrote:
Vacation time is over and people went back to work.

For over a year now. That is a good sign, right?

But somehow it doesn't seem to account for the current traffic rank approaching 10% of the peak in 2011 does it?