42nd International Underwater Photographic Competition Judges Comments

LOS ANGELES UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

The Judges Comments Concerning the Competition Images

All the judges said that they were impressed overall with the high quality of the images. They referred to this as a "great field" of images. They were particularly impressed with the MACRO category. Creative freestyle was also impressive. The judges felt that in today's competitions, if you want to have an image that will stand out and has a good chance to place, enter a very good Wide Angle image. The field is much more competitive in MACRO.

As it was last year, technical deficiencies caused the immediate downgrading of images. These deficiencies included 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.

In judging MACRO especially; the judges said that due to the very competitive field, they had to eliminate images with any technical flaws. Images had to be in sharp focus, (especially the eyes), with excellent composition, lighting and minimal or no backscatter. The degree of difficulty and impact of the images were often the tie breaker factors.

- The rarity of your subject should not be of great importance when submitting entries. A common subject with impact and technical perfection will win over a rare, but mediocre image.
- The judges emphasized the importance of shooting within the limitations of your equipment, experience and location.
- Your subject needs room to swim into. (Nose room). Don't have the face, nose, snout, etc. of your subject near the edge of the image.
- Try to parallel the subject with the plane of the film or sensor. This will reduce distortion in your images.
- There were a lot of entries with very unusual or exciting subjects that were eliminated because of technical flaws.
- The use of multiple light sources will often improve your images, e.g. dual strobes and sunlight.
- When using divers as subjects, be careful about the kind of light they use in your photos. Many images had a diver with dive lights that were too powerful and blew out the image.
- Be very selective about photographing divers. In more instances than not, the presence of a diver in an image will hurt rather than help it.
- Especially for novice and intermediate divers; select one style of photography and equipment and master it, rather than try to take macro, wide angle, available light, close focus wide angle, etc. styles, all at one time.
- For animal portraits, eye contact is essential. Try to shoot from the animal's 'viewpoint'. e.g. shots of the back of animal, (or worse) the tail of an animal, looking down are less desirable.
-As it was last year, technical deficiencies caused the immediate downgrading of images. These deficiencies included 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.
-This year the judges favored images that showed moving subjects (greater degree of difficulty) and common subjects shot in an uncommon manner. However, the rarity of the species rarely figured into their decision as they felt that criteria too subjective.

The following observations and comments were made for the video entrants to consider:

- Raw category - Behavior was the key. They were looking for interesting behavior, not just a shot of an interesting animal. Also, it is important to start and end a clip retaining only the best quality action. You do not have to use all of the time limit, it is the maximum you can enter. Consider quality over quantity.
- Open category - The judges looked for clear footage that was shot well. It needed to be interesting. For example, the shot is not as appealing when fish are shot at a distance, using a standard lens. Clarity, color, variety were important. Touching or prompting an animal to do something was not welcomed.
- Music is most effective when it matches the mood of the scene or subject. In some cases where music was used, it was distracting to have the diver's breathing in the background, this can be edited out.
- Multiple angles or close, standard and wide perspectives of the same critter would be nice, but not so much of the same critter shot only one way, that it lessens the impact or interest of the subject. Good quality narration is fine, but too much narration can weigh down the video.
- Be careful with trying to be too cute or clever, as it can get old very fast.
- The use of slow motion worked well in one video, so that the viewer could see the fast action better. Too much of this, however would be distracting.
- Make use of the natural setting or background when shooting. Take in your surroundings and use camera angles to create interesting videos. Avoid shooting without having a plan.
- Shooting the back end of animals swimming away does not have impact.
- Limit the use of special effects, transitions, and stop motion techniques. Just because you can do it, doesn't mean you should do it.
- Let one subject take you over to another, without cutting in between. And at times, let the subject animal leave the frame. Try to emulate professional videographers. Edit your video so that it makes a visual story, or at least to have elements that go together.
- The judges liked a conservation message that was included in one video.

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