In my opinion, yes. Adding color, brightening, etc. is enhancing. The purpose of the contests are to compete in phtogography. How you compose, focus, sharpness, etc. My goal is to learn to take pics that are "just right" out of the camera.
Some people prefer editing. If you delete or add color, brightness, do sharpending, etc. only shows what you can do in post processing, not how good a photographer you are. Again, this is only my opinion. Many will disagree with me I'm sure.Beth..
How can you have a digital photograph that is not "enhanced"?.
It will either be "enhanced" during conversion in-camera if you are shootong JPEG or during RAW conversion..
The only way to have all things equal is if everyone in the contest shot JPEG with the same camera at the same settings and submitted straight out of camera or everyone used the same camera with Raw...used the same conversion software set to the same settings. Both of these scenarios are impossible. So at what point do you let things through...you can sharpen but not use layers? JPEG contrast is OK but not during RAW conversion. Also, how would the judges know what changes were made and when. Ridiculous....
Post-processing is an integral part of digital photography...whether by choosing the appropriate settings in-camera for each particular shot...or shooting RAW and making changes after the fact...both are equally "enhanced." To claim one is more pure than the other is simply false. Use the tool that you need to get your shot...nothing more...nothing less..
Don..
Really go through the rules. Some have differnent definitions of "enhancing". Some say "no enhancing except for levels, curves, crop". My own definition of enhancing, or over enhancing, is makng the photo into something it's not by overblowing color, removing elements, adding elements etc..
What if you shoot raw files and process in Photoshop or another raw developer? It is all subjective in how the originator perceives how the photo should look. High contrast or slightly lower contrast? And if the digital camera outputs oversaturated colors as many of them do, are you supposed to leave it and claim it as your best? And does the contest allow black and white? That is certainly "enhancement" but in the opposite direction; the removal of all color. On my pro cameras, I'm not even sure that there is an instant BW modeI've never looked and have never desired to shoot that way..
Years ago, I was shooting photos in a glass museum with film and found a piece I liked. It was etched crystal and sat on a black background. Spot etered and on a tripod, I took a few shots. I had taken the film to the one hour lab, and the mass batch printing yielded a print that was over yellow, blown highlights, and the black background was muddy dark grey. When I took the negative to a skilled printer, my negative resulted in a perfect print. So really what was right herea mass batched minilab print that the machine said was right, or the fine print the skilled printer made?.
Like the post that Beth made as to getting it right in camera, she is absolutely correct. But sometimes the camera will yeild lousy jpegs on a tricky exposure even when bracketing shots. It is inherent in the nature of the camera jpeg processors, which is why I opt for raw shooting..
So give the rules another thorough read, and see if it gives the leeway for "basic adjustments". I never have run across a contest that did not give at least the basic leeway, but then again, I have not done the contests very often..
Feel free to copy and paste the rule or rules from which you pose your question, and we can try to make a better interpretation here for you..
Good luck with your new found passion .
Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill..
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See my throwaways on Flickrhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/niagaragirl/..
Be carefull with photo contests...with a lot of them you give up most if not all of your rights to the image. The sponser of the contest gets free images to use as they please. This is why I don't enter contests..
Just read the fine print!.
Don..
Dmat wrote:.
Be carefull with photo contests...with a lot of them you give up mostif not all of your rights to the image. The sponser of the contestgets free images to use as they please. This is why I don't entercontests..
Just read the fine print!.
Don.
Yes there are even a couple of alleged "pro" magazines I have run across that hijack ownership rights on your photo. Post a link to the rules on the contest of interest if you can..
Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill..
Image control:Zoom outZoom 100%Zoom inExpand AllOpen in new window.
See my throwaways on Flickrhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/niagaragirl/..
Feel free to copy and paste the rule or rules from which you pose your question, and we can try to make a better interpretation here for you..
NiagragirlI've posted 4 questions in the past couple of days and I'm quite stunned at how quickly and thoughtfully the camera veterans out there have responded. I'm grateful...