Stairway to Mystery

Advanced Scoring

You know what you're doing, score 2-10

Help on Scoring

There are many different ways to score images. Before picking a number, the most important thing to keep in mind is to keep your personal likes/dislikes towards the subject matter or technique out of the process. It’s about the image – not about your preferences. In other words, even if you loathe snakes, is it a good photo of a snake?

Consider technique — focus and exposure, are they appropriate to the image. Does it have some weaknesses, is average, or is very well handled? You would expect these to be within a range, given today’s technology, but are they appropriate to the subject? Has depth of field been used effectively? Is it soft and low-contrast to suit the mood? Consider these factors before scoring it lower for being “too contrasty” or “over-exposed”. Technique is not about how "hard" a technique is — it's more about how effectively the tools are used.

Consider composition — this is also an important part of an image, and books can be written about it. Primarily, does your eye go to the subject/story and do the other elements in the photo enhance/complement the subject/story or detract?

Consider message — this is all about your emotional reaction. Does the expression on the face tug at your heartstrings? Keep in mind your personal biases. Does the image tell you something about the subject or makes you think? Does it evoke memories of your own of similar situations? Does it document an event well, or is more what we would call a simple "snapshot". When scoring Theme images, also consider how the image relates to the Theme's statement.

Consider the "wow" factor — which is hard to quantify, but you know it when you see it. Does the image stand out (not at all, a little, or a lot?) from other similar images you have seen of the same subject matter. Yes, kittens are cute but fall into the "commonly seen" category — cuddly, but maybe not "wow!". Is it a stunning capture of a subject in action? Is it a (good) unusual view of a common subject? Is the lighting effective, startling or amazing? Is this an image that stands out in a crowd? When scoring Theme images, consider if the artist has found a unique (and good) interpretation of the Theme's statement.

Now you’re ready to assign a score. You can use "Composite" scoring and assign numbers within each category as discussed above. Or once you get used to considering the above, just choose a general score within an assigned range using the "Single Value" tab.

If you are thinking of scoring an image low, it is usually only in the case of really serious technical flaws, (which in competition you will rarely if ever see). Keep the mid-range points for images that are technically ok, adequate in composition but fall into the “calendar”, “postcard”, or "snapshot" type categories. In other words, good, strong images but sort of “Kodak X” shots; lacking that extra dimension that really makes them stand out. Then the tricky part, your top scores – if it’s a “wow” image but has a compositional issue or strong distraction, maybe an 8. If it awes you and you can’t find anything wrong, you can give that perfect score. Really. And if you’re just not quite sure it’s as good as it could be, then maybe a 9. Relax – the more you judge and view the scores of others, the more confident you will get. Remember that even very experienced judges will often disagree!

If you change your mind, you can come back and rescore an image. Only your last score is used in calculating overall score statistics for an image. Each time you display the scoring form, it resets to the "5" score. It will not display previously saved scores.

After considering all of the above and creating a score, you should be able to now easily take those thoughts and record them as your comments about the image!