1-10 Rating Scale Criteria

With the change to the voting system, probably the biggest thing people have been noticing is the 1-10 scale. I personally think that the 1-10 scale is a lot better and I wish it would have been that way from the start. I'm guessing people will like it better as they get used to it, but having been doing 1-5 for so many weeks now it is a lot different. I don't want this thread to turn into regulations, or any type of rules as to how you should judge each picture, but rather a place where people can talk about what they think makes a 1 as opposed to a 10 and everything in between. Perhaps this will help people to feel more comfortable with the scale and it will be good to see how other people see things.

Also I added to the thumbnail thread, and to each picture a reminder to please leave a comment if you give a low score. I think that one of the best things I have liked about the members and this forum so far is the great feedback we have seen in all the challenges. Part of what makes this site what it is has been all the feedback that has helped people to know how to improve their shots. If you have time it would be great if you could comment on all the shots, but I realize that some people don't feel comfortable doing so, or they may not have time, etc. I would just ask that if you give a shot a low score that you would please leave some comments as to why. You don't have to say I'm the one that gave you that 2, or anything like that, just make sure you leave comments on that particular photo. If you think it stinks bad enough to merit a 1-3, then you should be able to say what things in particular they could work on.

With that intro, I'll start with how I look at the scale and an individual picture. In order to get a 1-3 from me your picture either doesn't fit the challenge topic, or it has some really huge flaws in it. With the wrong topic, at another forum I have been a part of this is known as the dreaded DNMC(does not meet challenge), even if it is the best picture I have ever seen, if they didn't take the time to take a picture to fit the theme they are missing the whole point of the challenge, so I don't think that picture deserves to win. If it is amazing and DNMC then I would give it a 3, if it is okay and DNMC then I would give it a 2, if it is bad and DNMC then I would give it a 1. If the picture does fit in with the challenge then it has to have some major flaws, and I keep this to just a poor picture and try to stay away from personal taste type issues. If your picture is just completely oof, or the colors are just way off, or perhaps the exposure is so bad that everything is just blown out completely, these are some of the things that would make me start looking at the bottom of the scale. Depending on how bad the flaw is will determine how low I go, but I doubt I would ever give out a 1, unless it was just a completely black image or something really bad like that. I might give some 2s, but most of the time I would just give a 3 in this case. In either case, if I give a 1-3 rating I will always leave a comment as to why. Was it DNMC, or was it just blown out, etc. So far our challenges have been small enough I can comment on all the pictures, but if we get up to 100 shots or so sometime then I probably won't be commenting on every picture, but I will comment on all the low scores I give so people have an idea of how to improve.

A 9 or a 10 is another area that I don't personally use to often. I know that a lot of people like to give those high scores, but I have to be just completely blown away by a picture to give it a 9 or a 10. I can see myself giving out some 9s, but I think it would have to be pretty much perfect to get a 10 from me. I know I am probably a minority in being that stringent with the high scores, but that is just how I am, and this is all about giving insight into how I view things.

The 4-8 range is where most of my votes usually end up. In fact in this week all my votes were in that range. Pictures that I don't like, or have some technical problems, or some personal taste type issues will get a 4 or a 5. Pictures that just don't stand out, so they aren't bad, but aren't good either, will get a 5 or a 6. These might be technically great shots, but there just isn't anything in them that really grabs my attention and makes me want to keep looking at them. Then the shots that really grab my eye and hold my interest I will give a 7 or an 8.

So you now have a glimpse into how I rate the pictures. Again this thread isn't here to set up any rules, other than please leave a comment if you give a low vote, but rather to give you some ideas on how to use the scale. Hopefully we can all learn from each other and we will start feeling more comfortable with the scale. So please share with us your insight into your criteria with the new scale.

Thanks Travis...That gives=)

The 4-8 range is where most of my votes usually end up.

I hate to point out that you're still using a 1-5 scale...you're just calling it 4-8. Just giving you a hard time...LOL

One other question...if we don't vote for our own photo...how can we see how it is doing?

Nice try, that is just where most of my votes fall, I do give 3s and 9s and will go higher or lower if I need to. On the 1-5 I was in a similar situation, I rarely, gave any 1s or 5s. So really I was on a 2-4 scale before, so I went from 3 options to 5.

I know...I was only teasing...I got the point, and I do agree that unless a photo is either spectacular or horrible...the 1-5 scale is limited to 2-4

Anybody else want to give us some insight into how you use the new scale?