Forums > Contests > PotD18+ Discussion Thread

Photographer

K E E L I N G

Posts: 39894

Peoria, Illinois, US

JoJo wrote:

First, a rant....

How many photographers take the time (or have the inclination) to reduce their finished work down to avatar size or contest thumb size before they release the image?
The presentation of the thumbnail in the contest is VERY important.
Most photographers and retouchers have never thought to do this. They figure the thumbnail is just the small version of their work.
Take a look at the photographers that consistently win - why do their thumbnails in the contest always look so much better than anyone else's entries?
These people know how to 'present' their work... and they win.

Next time you are about to enter an image, stop - reduce the image down to thumb size and take a long look at the thumbnail. What can you do to make the thumbnail look better?
You may say the full sized pic and the thumb are identical... and you would be both correct and incorrect. The two pics ARE the same but if you really take time to look you will "see" different things in the thumb/full sized pic.

No, JoJo has not been smoking her old socks - make your thumbnails POP and you WILL increase your vote standing in the contests - this is called 'presentation' and it DOES work wink


Now to answer your question...

A small percentage of voters vote just on the thumbnail - their loss.
A smaller percentage of voters just look for the pic they came to vote on - they never look at the other entries.
A very small percentage of voters actually vote from their phones/hand-helds in text-only mode.

During MM's image server problems there were entries that received multiple votes on pics that did not exist... even the thumbs did not exist.

The rest, the vast majority, actually look at the big pics before they vote.

The headshot regular winners have been doing that since the contests inception, and they win in large part because of it.  I've looked at some spectacular winning thumbnails in large version and realized quite simply that they are mediocre photographers with good hair/mua's and they know how to make their image much taller than it is wide.

They can have those wins, I don't want them.  I'd much prefer my few wins that I earned based on the image itself.  But that's just my opinion, others don't share it as evidenced by you actually recommending it to people... and that's fine.  My way isn't the only way.  smile

Feb 17 13 12:07 pm Link

Photographer

K E E L I N G

Posts: 39894

Peoria, Illinois, US

What's this mean JoJo....

Contest Moderation is processing. Please wait until 12:05 a.m to upload your photo.

Feb 17 13 12:08 pm Link

Model

JoJo

Posts: 26560

Clearwater, Florida, US

JoJo wrote:
First, a rant....

How many photographers take the time (or have the inclination) to reduce their finished work down to avatar size or contest thumb size before they release the image?
The presentation of the thumbnail in the contest is VERY important.
Most photographers and retouchers have never thought to do this. They figure the thumbnail is just the small version of their work.
Take a look at the photographers that consistently win - why do their thumbnails in the contest always look so much better than anyone else's entries?
These people know how to 'present' their work... and they win.

Next time you are about to enter an image, stop - reduce the image down to thumb size and take a long look at the thumbnail. What can you do to make the thumbnail look better?
You may say the full sized pic and the thumb are identical... and you would be both correct and incorrect. The two pics ARE the same but if you really take time to look you will "see" different things in the thumb/full sized pic.

No, JoJo has not been smoking her old socks - make your thumbnails POP and you WILL increase your vote standing in the contests - this is called 'presentation' and it DOES work wink


Now to answer your question...

A small percentage of voters vote just on the thumbnail - their loss.
A smaller percentage of voters just look for the pic they came to vote on - they never look at the other entries.
A very small percentage of voters actually vote from their phones/hand-helds in text-only mode.

During MM's image server problems there were entries that received multiple votes on pics that did not exist... even the thumbs did not exist.

The rest, the vast majority, actually look at the big pics before they vote.

K E E L I N G wrote:
The headshot regular winners have been doing that since the contests inception, and they win in large part because of it.  I've looked at some spectacular winning thumbnails in large version and realized quite simply that they are mediocre photographers with good hair/mua's and they know how to make their image much taller than it is wide.

They can have those wins, I don't want them.  I'd much prefer my few wins that I earned based on the image itself.  But that's just my opinion, others don't share it as evidenced by you actually recommending it to people... and that's fine.  My way isn't the only way.  smile

My rant was in response to:

Gaze at Photography wrote:
Do you vote on the thumbnail, or do you click through prior?

Translation: how do I get people to look at my big pic BEFORE casting they cast their vote?

Answer: Make the thumbnail pop - not changing the whole image, not the crop, not the image size/format, etc.

How?: Places to start... try adding 5% to 10% to the "brightness", maybe push the contrast a bit, push the basic colours of the model's skin, eyes and teeth, decrease the contrast and brightness of the background minimally.
This will 'lift' the subject in the image and in many cases make the image stand out from the rest - that's 'pop' - been used in the print magazine world for years.

This is not applicable to all images but if you will turn up the volume here, turn down bass and fiddle a bit with the treble many images will appear more appealing and thus become more clickable.

Feb 17 13 03:37 pm Link

Model

JoJo

Posts: 26560

Clearwater, Florida, US

K E E L I N G wrote:
What's this mean JoJo....

Contest Moderation is processing. Please wait until 12:05 a.m to upload your photo.

At 00:00 Pacific time there are a bunch of CRON processes done
(see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cron)
This puts a greater load on the system for several minutes.

The process of entering the PotD or PotD18+ requires processor load as the thumbnail needs to be made, the files written to the applicable files and a bunch of other behind-the-scene processes.

If you try to enter the PotD or PotD18+ within the first 5 minutes of the day sometimes the thumbnail id not formed or the BIG pic is inadvertently not placed into the contest queue.
When this happens I remove (not disqualify) the incomplete entry.
This is not a bug in the system, but rather a parallel to 'rush hour traffic' when you try to cram too much stuff into a finite space - result, fender benders... or lost files.

To save the users (and me) grief caused by incomplete entries I ask everyone not to enter the contests for the first 5 to 10 minutes after 00:00 server time.

Feb 17 13 03:52 pm Link

Photographer

K E E L I N G

Posts: 39894

Peoria, Illinois, US

JoJo wrote:

At 00:00 Pacific time there are a bunch of CRON processes done
(see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cron)
This puts a greater load on the system for several minutes.

The process of entering the PotD or PotD18+ requires processor load as the thumbnail needs to be made, the files written to the applicable files and a bunch of other behind-the-scene processes.

If you try to enter the PotD or PotD18+ within the first 5 minutes of the day sometimes the thumbnail id not formed or the BIG pic is inadvertently not placed into the contest queue.
When this happens I remove (not disqualify) the incomplete entry.
This is not a bug in the system, but rather a parallel to 'rush hour traffic' when you try to cram too much stuff into a finite space - result, fender benders... or lost files.

To save the users (and me) grief caused by incomplete entries I ask everyone not to enter the contests for the first 5 to 10 minutes after 00:00 server time.

I got it a few minutes before I posted here asking about it, so around 10:05am Pacific Time.

Feb 17 13 08:51 pm Link

Photographer

Erin Koski

Posts: 24211

Ojai, California, US

PotD question (not 18+ but I could not locate a thread for that) - I accidentally submitted the same photo to PotD both yesterday and today (pending 2 days).  Can someone help me remove my second entry?  I would much appreciate it. 

Sincerely,

Erin Koski

Feb 19 13 06:17 am Link

Model

JoJo

Posts: 26560

Clearwater, Florida, US

Erin Koski wrote:
PotD question (not 18+ but I could not locate a thread for that) - I accidentally submitted the same photo to PotD both yesterday and today (pending 2 days).  Can someone help me remove my second entry?  I would much appreciate it. 

Sincerely,

Erin Koski

No worries, the 15-day checker will catch it and I will removed the second entry wink

Feb 19 13 10:51 am Link

Photographer

Erin Koski

Posts: 24211

Ojai, California, US

Thank you so much for your help!

-Erin

Feb 19 13 11:16 am Link

Photographer

JAE

Posts: 2207

West Chester, Pennsylvania, US

How come my pic didn't show for 18+ today?

Feb 20 13 10:15 am Link

Model

JoJo

Posts: 26560

Clearwater, Florida, US

JAE Photography PA wrote:
How come my pic didn't show for 18+ today?

15-day rule violation

are you using the 15-day checker?
https://www.sendu.me.uk/modelmayhem/15_ … id=1926140

Also remember, the 15-day rule is "image specific" - if the model entered it yesterday and you enter it today, your entry will be disqualified.

Feb 20 13 12:04 pm Link

Photographer

JAE

Posts: 2207

West Chester, Pennsylvania, US

It know it isn't within the 15 day rule  violation.  Plus it doesn't show up at all on Sendu's checker thing.  Model also did not enter it.

I had the same issue with the same image a few weeks ago.  I thought it was just a fluke then and tried to enter again this week.

This is the image if it helps any (18+): https://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/pic/30675599

Feb 20 13 12:17 pm Link

Photographer

Drew Smith Photography

Posts: 5214

Nottingham, England, United Kingdom

I see female POTD 18+ has sunk to new lows again. 20th of Feb. sad

Feb 22 13 12:24 am Link

Photographer

Milan von Brunn

Posts: 9

Los Angeles, California, US

Oops. Sorry!

Feb 22 13 01:20 am Link

Photographer

Stanley L Moore

Posts: 1681

Houston, Texas, US

Sometimes the images uploaded does not work well. Especially if you upload near the midnight deadline. CA. the moderators for an explanation.

Feb 22 13 04:46 am Link

Photographer

Gaze at Photography

Posts: 4371

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, US

nvd

Feb 22 13 05:44 am Link

Photographer

Erin Koski

Posts: 24211

Ojai, California, US

Sorry, not to be a troublemaker - I think my brain isn't working - I accidentally submitted my 18+ pic while I was on the submit page for the regular PotD.  Can someone kindly remove my image from PotD que'd for 2 days from now?  I would much appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Erin Koski

Feb 22 13 08:45 am Link

Model

JoJo

Posts: 26560

Clearwater, Florida, US

Erin Koski wrote:
Sorry, not to be a troublemaker - I think my brain isn't working - I accidentally submitted my 18+ pic while I was on the submit page for the regular PotD.  Can someone kindly remove my image from PotD que'd for 2 days from now?  I would much appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Erin Koski

It's gone now wink

Feb 22 13 11:18 am Link

Model

JoJo

Posts: 26560

Clearwater, Florida, US

JAE Photography PA wrote:
It know it isn't within the 15 day rule  violation.  Plus it doesn't show up at all on Sendu's checker thing.  Model also did not enter it.

I had the same issue with the same image a few weeks ago.  I thought it was just a fluke then and tried to enter again this week.

This is the image if it helps any (18+): https://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/pic/30675599

The version of the sendu utility used publicly is quite different than the utility that I use - the utility I use checks the images entered rather than just checking your entries.
Reason: the 15-day rule is "image specific", not "submitter specific".

Feb 22 13 11:25 am Link

Photographer

Gaze at Photography

Posts: 4371

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, US

Drew Smith Photography wrote:
I see female POTD 18+ has sunk to new lows again. 20th of Feb. sad

The pendulum has swung...

Feb 22 13 11:52 am Link

Model

JoJo

Posts: 26560

Clearwater, Florida, US

Chicken Little, Henny Penny and Duck Daddles wrote:
The sky is falling!!!! The sky is falling!!!!

If the sky were really falling I'm sure one of you would have reported it in CAM.

Feb 22 13 11:16 pm Link

Photographer

Glen Dykstra

Posts: 127

Atlanta, Georgia, US

Is there some reason that this image was removed from today's  18+ contest?  I did not think that it broke any rules, am I wrong?

!!!WARNING!!! This link will open an NSFW 18+ image!


http://dykstra.us/images/IMG_1972_s.jpg

Feb 23 13 09:06 am Link

Model

JoJo

Posts: 26560

Clearwater, Florida, US

Glen Dykstra wrote:
Is there some reason that this image was removed from today's  18+ contest?  I did not think that it broke any rules, am I wrong?

!!!WARNING!!! This link will open an NSFW 18+ image!


http://dykstra.us/images/IMG_1972_s.jpg

https://photos.modelmayhem.com/contest/ … 60-big.jpg

You entered it in the female side of the contest - I see nothing 18+ about the female in the image.

You may want to consider the male contest

Feb 23 13 12:24 pm Link

Model

JoJo

Posts: 26560

Clearwater, Florida, US

.

Feb 23 13 12:25 pm Link

Photographer

Stanley L Moore

Posts: 1681

Houston, Texas, US

I thought 18+ content was not a requirement for the 18+ contests. . In this case the whole image is 18+ unlike many cases in the male contest where often non 18+ pics are entered without DQ.

Feb 23 13 12:39 pm Link

Model

JoJo

Posts: 26560

Clearwater, Florida, US

Stanley L Moore wrote:
I thought 18+ content was not a requirement for the 18+ contests. . In this case the whole image is 18+ unlike many cases in the male contest where often non 18+ pics are entered without DQ.

Ummm, we're talking about the PotD18+ - the basic concept of the contest is to allow members to display their 18+ images.

With the gender split of the contest boys go in the boys door and girls go in the girls door.
When a pic of a couple shows up it should be entered in the contest best reflecting the content.
In the case of the above cited image the female portion of the pic is not 18+ whereas the male portion is 18+ - the pic belongs in the male contest.

As for some of the male pics not seeming to be 18+, if you look closely you will see that the vast majority are really 18+, usually by virtue of the "pubic area (whether hair is present or not)" rule.
Then there are a small number of "17½ ish" rated pics that are a little too over the top for the PotD but still not really 18+ rated.

Every pic (legally) on MM is acceptable in either the PotD or the PotD18+.

Feb 23 13 01:46 pm Link

Photographer

Stanley L Moore

Posts: 1681

Houston, Texas, US

I guess we're splitting hairs here. JoJo you are truly Solomonic. My current avatar was inadvertently  entered into both contests. It is neither 18+ nor 17 1/2. But it was in the male contest. BTW it got more votes in the regular POTD.

Feb 23 13 03:53 pm Link

Photographer

Glen Dykstra

Posts: 127

Atlanta, Georgia, US

Oh I see so we are talking about pretty boy girl pictures and not actual themes and concepts.

Feb 23 13 05:45 pm Link

Photographer

sensual light studios

Posts: 45

Hollywood, Florida, US

do you need to put 18+ in front of the url for pod18+?

Feb 23 13 07:20 pm Link

Photographer

Glen Dykstra

Posts: 127

Atlanta, Georgia, US

Probably not, but better safe then sorry, has it hurt anyone?

Feb 24 13 08:51 am Link

Photographer

Faces2Die4 Photography

Posts: 426

Houston, Texas, US

JoJo - I inadvertently submitted the wrong image to the 18+ contest . Please delete?

Feb 25 13 04:43 am Link

Model

JoJo

Posts: 26560

Clearwater, Florida, US

Faces2Die4 Photography wrote:
JoJo - I inadvertently submitted the wrong image to the 18+ contest . Please delete?

Gone now wink

Feb 25 13 12:14 pm Link

Photographer

Bellinger

Posts: 2248

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US

Help Help .... Jojo could you please delete my entry in POTD for https://www.modelmayhem.com/contests/po … ups/130316  sorry bout that... or tell me who to contact to do so... again as always a kind thank you...

Wally b

Mar 16 13 04:34 pm Link

Model

JoJo

Posts: 26560

Clearwater, Florida, US

Bellinger wrote:
Help Help .... Jojo could you please delete my entry in POTD for https://www.modelmayhem.com/contests/po … ups/130316  sorry bout that... or tell me who to contact to do so... again as always a kind thank you...

Wally b

I wave my magic wand and *poof*, it's gone...
(or did I just send a toad to your house?)
This 2013 llama magic wand really sucks - can't even make a decent Martini wink

Mar 16 13 10:08 pm Link

Photographer

Ringo Ray Photography

Posts: 1404

Los Angeles, California, US

I submitted a photo on 3/21 for the 3/23 voting. On 3/23, my thumbnail and photo (potd-130321-74951-big.jpg) appeared fine. However, after some time, the thumbnail led to a 404 error, then the thumbnail disappeared altogether. It is strange since the thumbnail and the photo were initially working fine. Please advise.

Also, since the photo disappeared from the voting page, can I resubmit before the 15 days? Thank you.

Mar 23 13 01:08 am Link

Model

JoJo

Posts: 26560

Clearwater, Florida, US

Ringo Photography wrote:
I submitted a photo on 3/21 for the 3/23 voting. On 3/23, my thumbnail and photo (potd-130321-74951-big.jpg) appeared fine. However, after some time, the thumbnail led to a 404 error, then the thumbnail disappeared altogether. It is strange since the thumbnail and the photo were initially working fine. Please advise.

Also, since the photo disappeared from the voting page, can I resubmit before the 15 days? Thank you.

The image was disqualified as it violated the "emphasis on genitalia" rule.

Mar 23 13 02:14 am Link

Photographer

Ringo Ray Photography

Posts: 1404

Los Angeles, California, US

JoJo wrote:

The image was disqualified as it violated the "emphasis on genitalia" rule.

Thank you for your response. After reviewing many of the images in this and past potd 18+ contests, I am very disappointed that the rules are not being applied consistently. Technically speaking, I see other posts that show more of the "area" and many photos of body parts with no heads/face that has more of that certain "emphasis" and not disqualified. I am not being negative about these images. Most are beautiful and well done. The image in question here was a body shot showing the entire head to toe with even substantial background space.

The rules also states:

"Moderators and administrators will consider factors including, but not limited to, framing, composition, surroundings, and total effect."

"The Picture of the Day moderators reserve the right to disqualify images at their discretion."

I do understand that this was your right and discretion.

Mar 23 13 10:43 am Link

Photographer

JMF Photography

Posts: 116

Denver, Colorado, US

Hi Jojo - Sorry to have to ask, but would you, please, delete the image I submitted for todays female 18+?  Thank you!

Mar 31 13 07:05 am Link

Model

JoJo

Posts: 26560

Clearwater, Florida, US

JMF Photography wrote:
Hi Jojo - Sorry to have to ask, but would you, please, delete the image I submitted for todays female 18+?  Thank you!

Are you referring to an image submitted on Friday (for today's contest) or an image you submitted today (Sunday) for Tuesday's contest?

Mar 31 13 11:43 am Link

Photographer

JMF Photography

Posts: 116

Denver, Colorado, US

JoJo wrote:

Are you referring to an image submitted on Friday (for today's contest) or an image you submitted today (Sunday) for Tuesday's contest?

Hi Jojo - Submitted Sunday for Tuesday contest. Sorry for the confusion. Thanks.

Apr 01 13 07:19 am Link

Model

JoJo

Posts: 26560

Clearwater, Florida, US

JoJo wrote:
Are you referring to an image submitted on Friday (for today's contest) or an image you submitted today (Sunday) for Tuesday's contest?

JMF Photography wrote:
Hi Jojo - Submitted Sunday for Tuesday contest. Sorry for the confusion. Thanks.

It's gone wink

Apr 01 13 12:41 pm Link