Is it Zapp...or me?

I spent the afternoon at the Indianapolis Art Center where they were jurying for the Broad Ripple Art Fair. The five judges each had their own laptop, and then the three images and booth shot were also displayed on a large screen, two over two. When my category came up, I was surprised at the poor quality of some of my images on the screen. The bottom two looked fabulous, but the top two were really washed out. If all were washed out, I would blame myself, but because only the top two were poor, I'm not sure what to think. I upload my images to a color corrected computer. Should I increase the contrast on the first two images in my Zapp application? Do the judges also look at their monitors to see discrepancies between the large image and the smaller ones? There were many strong entries in my area, so I will be surprised if I am accepted anyway. But I would like to avoid this poor representation of my work in my future. Any advice from ZAPP pros? Thanks!

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  • Elizabeth poses an interesting question.   Without over exagerating the colours/vibrance of an image, is it generally a good idea to "Pop" your images when submitting to Zapp, Jurried Art, etc?  Larry, you've been around the block a few times.  I know thare are no general rules, but I'm currious about your gut feeling.

    Thanks!

    Jeffrey

    www.jvdkphoto.com

    • Elizabeth wrote up her experience observing the Broad Ripple jury and we discussed what could have caused only two of her images to appear washed out:
      http://bermangraphics.com/artshows/broad-ripple-2011.htm

      Larry Berman
      http://BermanGraphics.com
      412-401-8100
      • Yes Larry, but you really didn't answer Jeff's question--why is that?
        • Because there is no clear answer. It could have been a reflection of the projector lamp bouncing off the screen or images with too much contrast. Elizabeth didn't move during the projection to see if it was the angle.

          I know that reflections can happen depending on the type of screen surface and angle because I've experienced it in my studio.

          Larry Berman
          http://BermanGraphics.com
          412-401-8100
          • Gee Larry, maybe you need to look a little closer at Jeff's question--"is it generally a good idea to 'Pop' your images when submitting to Zapp."
            • I just assumed the response was in line with the original post asking about problems when viewing the projected images. If it was a question not covered by the initial post, it could have been the start of a new thread.

              I wouldn't use the word "pop" but I would adjust the contrast so that the images look accurate when viewed on a monitor or projected. Whites blow out and blind the jurors so they need to be grayed down or have the overall contrast slightly lowered. Increasing the saturation can work up to a point until the jurors perceive that something might have been done to the image in Photoshop.

              Proper use of Photoshop to adjust images make the images look normal and not adjusted. Over use of Photoshop make the jurors think something has been done and will probably result in a lower score.

              Larry Berman
              http://BermanGraphics.com
              412-401-8100
  • Were anyone else's images washed out from the angle you were sitting?

    Send me your actual 1920 square ZAPP images and I'll evaluate them.

    Larry Berman
    http://BermanGraphics.com
    412-401-8100
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