40th International Underwater Photographic Competition Judges Comments

LOS ANGELES UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

The Judges Comments Concerning the Competition Images

Again this year the Slide & Print judges felt, overall, that the quality of photographic work in this competition was impressive. The number of entries exceeds most other contests in which they have had past involvement.

Because of the level of work, technical deficiencies were cause for immediate downgrade of images including over-exposure, fuzzy focus, and depth of field where important, backscatter, positioning of subject, etc. The primary positive element for images to make the final cut was IMPACT! Something about the photo needs to leap out to catch the judges' attention. They added that completely static subjects aren't as strong as subjects exhibiting movement (such as fish schools). When using models, they suggest that the model must add a creative element and not just be 'stuck' there. Generally, the photo model should not be holding a camera and definitely not more than one camera. They felt that model positioning was fairly good in this years' competition. Overall, judges this year felt that having a model in the pictures was less important than last year's judges indicated.

The judges felt that although the West Coast Cold Water entries were impressive overall, it could include more wide-angle work. They also mentioned that judging the Creative Freestyle category was the most subjective as nearly anything goes. Also in the Creative Freestyle category, be sure to start with a good image before starting any creative manipulation.

Finally, this year the judges placed one image over another if the subject was moving and subsequently more difficult to shoot or if it was a common subject shot in an uncommon manner. However, the rarity of the species rarely figured into their decision as they felt that criteria too subjective.

Some specifics they recommended:

- Wide angle is the hardest to do and also the weakest represented
- Shoot vertical or horizontal when the subject requires it
- Don't cut off animal's fins, tails, lips, etc., unless it is purposeful
- Watch common subjects, need to shoot common subjects creatively - think out shots
- Move around/swim around subjects to get a more interesting shot - strong images communicate with the viewer
- Shoot multiple images of the same subject to try and get the best shot, then enter that one
- In Marine Related images, make sure your horizons are straight
- Be sure to watch things like hoes, gauges, watches in the photos - can be distracting and take away from the impact of an image
- Try adding a secondary subject for perspective
- When entering a specific category, don't compete against yourself by entering more than one image of the same subject (i.e. Different angles of the same animal, from the same dive)
- Watch the aspect ratio, as well as the quality of your prints
- Be careful on reef scenics, try to have a subject, not just an all over reef scene

In the video competition, the judge was pleased that there were no obvious digital effects although there were cuts, soft edits and lap dissolves. He felt you shouldn't be aware of transitions and you don't really want to draw attention to the fact that the scene is changing. Also be aware of vignetting and be sure to wipe the bubbles off of the port. To keep the camera from searching for the correct focus it was suggested to leave it on manual. Also be aware of your white balance. On the whole he was surprised and pleased over how good the video's were, especially the image capturing (sharpness, color). Certain entries needed more story telling, rather than montages. Also the viewer would find it more interesting to see a complete storyline; establish the scene, tell the story and close it out.

The judge suggested that taking some classes in video editing and basic filmmaking can sharpen up the entrant's production. Also entrants should consider how good their voice is when doing narration as this can make or break your video. The judge liked humor, but it's one of the most challenging of the genres to do well. Unusual behavior was viewed as a plus. Also music choice needs to compliment the images and worked well when a particular event in the video hits a beat in the music.

Competing with yourself is not recommended. If the entrant is going to enter multiple videos, make them different enough from each other so that you are not competing with yourself.

For the information of the entrants, all of the video's that placed were on mini dv format. The Honorable mentions included mini dv, dvd and vhs format.

Finally the video judge recommended several changes in the competition which will be considered for next year. The first was to reduce the time limit from five to three minutes. The second was to require that the video titling not include the entrant's name.

[Top of Page] [Back to Competition Results] [Home]