Ive recently been posting a lot of images i took from my holiday in Rome and have been surprised by the very low c-index scores they have achieved. I know im not by any means a good photographer but the comments i have recieved have been very complimentary and the average c-score i am recieving is averaging at a 4 or less and so do not reflect the comments. I know that i shouldnt put too much emphasis on the c-index but the above situation is confusing and not helping me improve as a photographer. Could someone please have a look at my images from italy and point me to where i am going wrong?

Well, since you were brave enough to step forward ... and asked so politely ... done. :o)

Check your image's pages. Left you some thoughts. :o)


As to the 'numbers' thing and commentaries not matching up?

I would suggest that you place some words in your image's accompanying narratives requesting ... just what you are asking for in your discussion thread here.

Bold it, highlight those words ... however, you see fit ... to draw attention to that fact that you are seeking some assistance and constructive critiques towards improving your photography.

And keep doing so, till others become familiar ... and perhaps, this may be the operative thing ... 'comfortable' in offering up suggestions, tips and advice to you.

Don't take the current 'commenting status quo' that you are experiencing (as are a number of other members), as a reflection on you or your photography, personally.

Unfortunately, in my humble opinion ... this happens all too often.

The lack of 'constructive critiquing', that is (time constraints on the commenting member, whichever and whatever) ... leaves people scratching their heads. As you are finding out.


And since you have a vested interest in this ... any ideas that you might have to encourage others to be more constructive in their commenting?

'We' are listening. :o)

Ok, came back here to your discussion thread instead to place some thoughts.

Kind of, the two birds with one stone thing ... as perhaps, others may benefit as well. (Fingers crossed.)

From the images I looked at from your trip (all of them) ... I am guessing that you ran into some exposure problems with that of the resultant and respective skies.

Seems to my eyes, anyways ... that you did some post processing to try to correct for this. And in doing so, although you did not do a bad job, per se ... inadvertently you introduced some distortions, lighter versus darker areas in the sky and exacerbated some 'stuff' that took away from the quality aspect.

Not sure which image editing programs or software you have at your disposal, so ... going to throw the creative sink at you and give you a couple ideas here.

First of all ...

"Why did this happen? How did my sky become over-exposed? Is there something I can do to mitigate this from occurring?"

"Travel Photography - Over-exposed Sky"

From the above discussion, a couple of salient points and consideration:

"... you've basically described the reason for being for what's known as a "graduated neutral density" filter. In short form it's called a ND grad or graduated ND filter."

"One other trick to try, if you can't get a ND grad, is try locking your exposure on something that's a middle brightness. I like to measure exposures by pointing the camera at my hand or a piece of sidewalk. They're usually of a middle brightness. But if you're using a point and shoot camera and pushing the shutter release half way, you'll also probably lock the focus as well. So you'll have to find something of middle brightness (tone) close to where you want to focus on and lock your exposure using that."

(/\ There should be something in your camera's manual referencing these latter points.)


Fixing things in Photoshop:

"Better than HDR: Local Exposure Editing"

"Fix the Blown Out Sky"


Paintshop:

"Fix an Over-exposed Image"


The GIMP (freeware, by the way):

GIMP Users ... "Fixing an over-exposed sky at Flikr"


There, that should keep you busy for ... oh, I don't know ... a few years?

/\ Kidding, kidding. :o)


Your image, namely; "The Tiber" is one of the strongest in terms of composition in my humble opinion.

Again, not to say the your other images are lacking in compositional strength ... to a varying degree, some are ... yes.

"The Arch of Septimus Severus".

That bush/tree in the left-hand side is distracting. If not for that, it works well. Good balance of subject matter from left to right. Lots of visual interest within frame. :o)


Although, I would hazard a guess and in reading one of your accompanying narratives, this seems to have been the case ... finding the time and place that was 'people-free' ... was extremely difficult.

/\ And that is probably an understatement?


The main culprit, if you will and if I may?

Clean up your post processing of the skies and alllll your images are elevated readily. :o)

Which, will come to you in time and with experience. It's not that hard, really. Finding the time to do so?

Welllll ... surely, a couple of missed meals would not upset the family too too much?

Kidding, kidding.

You'll 'get there from here', rest assured. That said ...

Keep shooting and happy shooting. :o)

I have the same problem. I feel I am at least as good as most on Caedes and I am getting 35 or below on some that I feel should have much higher scores. No one I talk to seems to understand thier scoring system.

"No one I talk to seems to understand thier scoring system."
No one ever has Billy!
The discussion boards are littered with C-Index complaints and discussions.
This is in fact a wallpaper site, not a photography site. Most folks just want a pretty picture for their desktop. The C-index reflects this more than any thing else. Consider 50 a high score and any thing more to be exceptional and you may feel better about it. Of course 35 or below is still just plain painful, especially when it is a shot your proud of. Wormwood is the lowest scoring image still in my gallery. A C-index of 25. I was and am proud of it but that 25 just killed me! It is not a good photograph technically speaking. The first commenter critiqued it a little but said he "Just might have to fave it" . You commented on it and said good things too, though it made you sad. All other comments were very positive. Why is it a 25 with all those nice comments? It is not pretty thats why. It is about a 2MP image and it shows. The color is nice but the subject disturbs people. In the voting booth it just looks like a snap shot from a low quality camera. In the voting booth one has no relative comparison to judge by. No knowledge of the artists ability or equipment available. No title to the image, no explanation of what it is all about. All people do is think, on a scale of 1-10 how much do I want this on my desk top? Or how does it measure up to the best of the best in the permanent gallery?

Seeing as this is the "Request for comment thread" I'll try to drop by an give a couple of real critiques and not just say "Nice shot".

Hey Billy,

A suggestion for you, if I may. And this time, the Reader's Digest version as opposed to my walls of text above.


Took notice of another member including these words in his accompanying narratives;

"All supportive, informative and constructive comments welcome. "Nice Shot" doesn't count."


To my mind and the observations I've made ... seems to me that the discrepancies between that of the comments placed/received and then that of the evil 'C' word is at the root of most consternations.

Vagaries of the voting booth aside.


Hang in there, ask for some 'constructive criticism' ... explicitly, and be open to such.


And last, and certainly not least ...

Keep shooting and happy shooting. :o)

Easy to answer. Word is some people have realized if they give you a 0 it cuts in 1/2 your c index score. There are people out there that are not very interested in giving the true meaning of c-index. Don't let it get to you. Learn and keep shoting and don't trust c-index.

Vic

Easy to answer. Word is some people have realized if they give you a 0 it cuts in 1/2 your c index score. There are people out there that are not very interested in giving the true meaning of c-index. Don't let it get to you. Learn and keep shoting and don't trust c-index.

Vic

I fully agree with the comment above. Take a look at this image here. It got a score of 35! (at the time of writing this). I feel that this mischief is doing a lot of damage although I am only just irritated and not disappointed

Raj, I hope I don't wind up kicking myself for adding to this thread. Touchy subject, this one is.

The long and short of it, post because you want to share your work. The number of reasons why people vote the way they do is whatever it is. I could tell you, if you'd like, how I think that shot could've gotten a higher score. But then, even if it was "perfect" someone might still hate it, not get it, etc simply because it's a flower. *shrug*

I could point to a slew of pics I've had up in the past that got scores I still don't understand. So could others. I simply opted out of the voting process. This way, people want to see my stuff, great. No? Fine as well.

Don't let a completely arbitrary number assigned to your work by someone determine how you feel about what you've done.

If you're looking for a pro critique, try photosig.com Just remember to armor up your ego.. they don't pull punches ;-)

Hope this helps, Raj.

Thanks Rob - For me it was just a mild irritation that is all. I don't value the C-scores all that much anyway.

Ok, cool. My words, though, were also somewhat intended for anyone else who might have a similar concern.