Re: Blurry Photos

I just want to make something clear, and I'm really hoping this isn't too harsh, but we do have quality standards to meet.

Something I've noticed A LOT in recent submissions is that I will reject them for being too out-of-focus or low-resolution, and the people submitting them will tell me that they were edited to look that way/that was the intention. And I don't want to go pretentious art student on you guys, but having taken loads of photography classes, it doesn't really matter what your intention is if it doesn't show through in the end.

But the thing is, even if you do shoot for a blurred photograph, it's very rare we will actually accept it, unless it is SPECTACULAR. We most often only accept photographs in which the cosplayer's face and costume are in focus, because our group aims to showcase cosplays and not to exist as a collection of artistic photographs of cosplayers.

A lot of the photos I reject for being blurry or low-resolution look more like the camera just wasn't focused enough or they were taken on a lower resolution camera probably not designed for professional photography and not like they were edited in Photoshop specifically to look that way. If you want your photos to be artistically/intentionally blurred, make sure you go the whole mile and actually make them blurry, not just barely lacking the crisp quality our group is looking for. I'm not trying to be rude or condescending here, but I and a lot of classmates have struggled with this in photography and it's a common thing. If you want to include something that's commonly considered an error (like blurring) in your photograph, you need to make sure it's prominent and strong enough that it looks like it was intentional and not just a mistake.

This also holds true for other things. Sometimes when we reject photos for appearing candid or being "hall shots" or bedroom shots or whatever else, we get a response contradicting our reason for rejecting the photo. But it doesn't really matter whether or not the photo isn't really what we suspected it was if it still has the appearance of being that kind of photo. There is a certain kind of posing and composition to most of those photographs that isn't exactly what the group is looking for.

And I've noticed a lot of hipster versions of the characters being submitted in selfie style or low-res webcam photos, and I understand that it's part of the context and that was intentional, but it still goes against the group rules, unless the photo is absolutely spectacular. That doesn't mean that your photo isn't good or clever or that your cosplay isn't well-done, it's just against group rules. Though since for these shots I know it's part of the context, if the photo is really good we will still accept it.

Please take these things into consideration when submitting photographs and when your photos get rejected on this principle.

Thanks,
Jazqui