Photoshop Contest Help

[Master Mason]

So, we have been running the photoshop contests for a couple of months now. Participation has dwindled. So I am asking what we can do to boost participation. Any ideas would be great.

The purpose of this contest as I see it is not to be great, but rather to chalange oursleves to get out of our comfort zones, try new things, learn what the programs will do, so I am hoping that we can get some more folks participating.

So, what say you?

 

[Gdad]

I do enjoy the contest and try to participate-

Maybe mix it up a bit and just have a theme rather than a specific photo to work from sometimes- like 'Magic Kingdom' or 'Charactors' or something- that may give everybody a little more creative liscence.

Or maybe a specific photoshop tecnique theme- like Cloning or B&W or Duotone or something where everyone posts a version of their own picture they modified.

Or maybe a mood everyone should shoot for in a processed picture- like Dark- or Dreamy-

Or how about a best recovery week where you post your most proud-of salvage of a photo where you made something out of nothing. Post before & after.

Just a few random thoughts...

 

[JR6ooo4]

I have a hard time coming up with ideas.

and this latest pic of the pumpkin festival.... to try and do a selection on that looks quite intimidating.

I will try to think of ideas to help.

Mikeeee

 

[Philagoofy]

I find photoshopped photos so interesting because I love people's creativity. While I have no suggestions (I like Gdad's ideas to not limit to a particular photo), I'm hoping that either the contests don't end or people will still post their photoshopped pics here.

We have Photoshop, I've never tried it but hope to someday. Is it difficult?

 

[klmall]

I like the theme idea since Photoshop work does take thinking and work time. Maybe we need a longer submission window.

Last week's photo just didn't "inspire me" so I didn't enter so I like the idea of submitting a picture you have used a specified technique on.

OTH - One of the problems with the current contest (in my opinion) is that it is wide open allowing people like me to stray way off from the given picture and simply cut elements of the given picture out and insert them into another scene and add my own warped sense of humor. That probably would have been fairer as a contest theme of its own. I guess what I'm saying is it's hard to enter, vote etc. when some people are doing true "artistic" rendering photos and others are doing silly things like I did.

I'll quit now before I get into more trouble!

 

[cryssi]

I hope more people participate, as I love the photoshop contest. There was only one week that I didn't participate, and that's because I didn't have any ideas. My Sully entry the other week was pretty sorry, though.

I don't have any ideas for the contest now, but I like the idea of themes like Gdad said... I've been using these contests as a way to hone my photoshop skills and I really think that they are improving! I think that if we can learn new techniques from the many talented people here, we will all benefit!

Please keep 'em coming! I love photoshop (except to color elevations, which is what my work does and it drives me crazy...I'd much rather use Illustrator for that! But I digress...)

p.s. Hey! I won the china one! That's cool...

 

[CheshireVal]

I think the whole premise of a Photoshop contest sort of inherently limits the number of people who can and will enter. I bet the majority of posters don't have access to high end photo editing programs, and if they do, they don't really know how to use them.

I count myself as one of those people. I have Macromedia Fireworks on my work computer, and I think it's similar to PhotoShop, but I don't have the first clue how to use it. And I don't have time at work to figure it out!!!

 

[mabas9395]

The thing that makes the other photo contest so easy is that I can do it while I am at work. Read the subject, find photo on smugmug, post it.

I like and need this contest, its like photoshop exercise. But I have a hard time thinking of a creative idea to do with the photo. If I was given a specific task, I could do that no problem. But I'm not sure that making that sort of change would be a good idea because half of the point to this is coming up with the creative ideas.

That being said, I've had to travel a ton for work and stuff the past month so I haven't been home to work on the challenges. But things should slow down now and I'll be able to participate again. And now that my kids have found out about these contests, they keep wanting me to enter so they can root for me.

 

[SharonLowe]

I really like the contest but for me, I just don't have the time to do it very often. I think possibly extending the timeframe - maybe even making it a monthly one - and using themes rather than a set image might boost participation. If I had a month and a theme to work with, I think I might be more inclined to do it every month.

 

[DBL101]

I saw a couple of posts where some of the members didn't enter one week or another because nothing came to mind. Maybe we could have two or three pictures to choose from each week. This should make it more likely for everyone to get an idea while still having all of the entries start with one of the same two or three base entries.

 

[crazydadguy]

I enjoy the challenges with the photoshop contest, but I happen to use Paint shop pro photo XI, as I didn't have the extra $500 laying around for Photoshop. I would post more often, but I have been away from home on business travel lately, and didnt have the software handy to work with. As to any ideas, dont know.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I would like to participate, but I found Photoshop difficult to use and put it aside for a while. I'd like to learn it sometime but I'm currently focusing on honing my basic photography skills first.

 

[orchjoe]

I enjoy seeing what comes everyone comes up with their submissions. I don't have the time with college and work to sit and crank out something that quick, so I have been one the sidelines looking in.

 

[Suburbanmom]

I like the contest just the way it is, but I don't always have time to participate.

 

[Master Mason]

I enjoy the challenges with the photoshop contest, but I happen to use Paint shop pro photo XI, as I didn't have the extra $500 laying around for Photoshop. I would post more often, but I have been away from home on business travel lately, and didnt have the software handy to work with. As to any ideas, dont know.

Crazydadguy,

Just so you know, I use Photoshop as a word for photo manipulation programs. It is like calling a copy a xerox. The word has become ubiquitious for all editing programs.

 

[Master Mason]

I have made the following two changes to the rules

Edit: The contest may also consist of weeks where the entry is a theame, and the person entering would use their own picture. For example, we could have a Black and White theme, so the entrant would use one of their pictures, turn it B&W and post. For these types of contests, it will be asked that before and after pictures be posted.

Edit number 2: Starting on October 29th, the submission period will be extended to a 2 week time frame to encourage more participation.

Please keep the ideas coming I want this to be of use and fun for the members of the board.

 

[Master Mason]

I think the whole premise of a Photoshop contest sort of inherently limits the number of people who can and will enter. I bet the majority of posters don't have access to high end photo editing programs, and if they do, they don't really know how to use them.

I count myself as one of those people. I have Macromedia Fireworks on my work computer, and I think it's similar to PhotoShop, but I don't have the first clue how to use it. And I don't have time at work to figure it out!!!

This is the point of the contests to me though, to use the programs we have. You don't have to have High end software, there are cheap or even free programs out there, but for me, it is about working in the program, to learn, more than the final outcome.

I hope that more folks will start messing around with the programs they have.

I have also made some modifications, which will hopefully allow more folks to take the plunge and join in.

 

[Gdad]

I saw an interesting photoshop contest one time that had 6 sample images and the contest entries had to combine some element of all of them. That may be a bit much but 2 or 3 may work.

 

[DBL101]

Can we cross-post the contest thread on the CreativeDISigns board also? The designers on that board would probably be interested in this contest if they were aware of it. A lot of other members that just go to that board to look at designs would probably have some interest in the voting thread as well.

 

[boBQuincy]

One reason I don't enter is that I am not very interested in working on someone else's photo.

How about we mimic the weekly contest, for subject matter? We could put some limits on the editing, such as limit it to one filter or one group of filters, or a certain treatment (such as duotone or whatever).

Then we would have two contests in tandem, one for "straight" photos and one for edited versions. That might push peoples creativity.