Submitting Digital images

Guys, I need a sanity check here... I can't decide if I'm missing something or
what.........

We have an organization in MN that puts out a calendar every year. They get
submissions of prints, slides, and now digital images.

Their guidelines for submission of digital images was ambiguous, at least to me
since it didn't provide a resolution they wanted, and specified that images
should be "unaltered"...

Then I hit the part where they stated
"High-resolution digital images are acceptable (see below),
but a high-quality printout of the images(s) must be mailed
separately along with the signed entry form."

Now I'm really befuddled... Isn't one of the major reasons for SUBMITTING
DIGITAL IMAGES so that they can be examined in DIGITAL form and THEN printed
when needed for production? So WHY would they want a bunch of prints, with all
the problems associated with printing when they'll HAVE THE DIGITAL IMAGES?

SO, I gave them a call and got a person that had no idea... So I sent an email
to their editor, hoping to find out if the "printout" was an index print or
something, and what size/resolution they wanted the images in. They also
specified tif or jpg format and I was a bit concerned about sending jpg since
its lossy and I wasn't sure how much editing they were going to do...

Well, today I got an email response...

They want the images taken at the camera's highest resolution, AND LEFT IN RAW
FORMAT... Which means they want me to send them the ORIGINAL RAW images right
out of the camera. No cropping, no levels, no color balance, or any of the
other things that are necessary to optimize an image. I'd even be relying on
SOMEONE ELSE to do the RAW conversion... This seems bizarre to me - to put this
kind of limitation on a digital image. They'd NEVER demand that a print be full
frame with no correction in the printing...

And the print is supposed to be a print of EVERY SUBMITTED IMAGE. Which makes
even LESS sense to me... I'm thinking I may just submit prints since they're
apparently only going to look at those anyway...

So, am I missing something or does it seem like a REALLY BAD idea to submit an
image this way?

From:

So WHY would they want a bunch of prints, with all
the problems associated with printing when they'll HAVE THE DIGITAL IMAGES?

To be consistent, they should ask for the original negatives or slides if they
are gonna ask for the original RAW file.
The whole thing makes little sense unless they are simply wanting to make sure
that you are the owner of the file.

From:

So WHY would they want a bunch of prints, with all
the problems associated with printing when they'll HAVE THE DIGITAL IMAGES?

To be consistent, they should ask for the original negatives or slides if they
are gonna ask for the original RAW file.
The whole thing makes little sense unless they are simply wanting to make sure
that you are the owner of the file.

wrote:

Guys, I need a sanity check here... I can't decide if I'm missing something or
what.........

We have an organization in MN that puts out a calendar every year. They get
submissions of prints, slides, and now digital images.

Their guidelines for submission of digital images was ambiguous, at least to me
since it didn't provide a resolution they wanted, and specified that images
should be "unaltered"...

Then I hit the part where they stated
"High-resolution digital images are acceptable (see below),
but a high-quality printout of the images(s) must be mailed
separately along with the signed entry form."

Now I'm really befuddled... Isn't one of the major reasons for SUBMITTING
DIGITAL IMAGES so that they can be examined in DIGITAL form and THEN printed
when needed for production? So WHY would they want a bunch of prints, with all
the problems associated with printing when they'll HAVE THE DIGITAL IMAGES?

SO, I gave them a call and got a person that had no idea... So I sent an email
to their editor, hoping to find out if the "printout" was an index print or
something, and what size/resolution they wanted the images in. They also
specified tif or jpg format and I was a bit concerned about sending jpg since
its lossy and I wasn't sure how much editing they were going to do...

Well, today I got an email response...

They want the images taken at the camera's highest resolution, AND LEFT IN RAW
FORMAT... Which means they want me to send them the ORIGINAL RAW images right
out of the camera. No cropping, no levels, no color balance, or any of the
other things that are necessary to optimize an image. I'd even be relying on
SOMEONE ELSE to do the RAW conversion... This seems bizarre to me - to put this
kind of limitation on a digital image. They'd NEVER demand that a print be full
frame with no correction in the printing...

And the print is supposed to be a print of EVERY SUBMITTED IMAGE. Which makes
even LESS sense to me... I'm thinking I may just submit prints since they're
apparently only going to look at those anyway...

So, am I missing something or does it seem like a REALLY BAD idea to submit an
image this way?

For one thing, they don't want folks to submit 100's of images per
person; demanding prints is one way to stop that.

Another is if they see from your print that your image has what they
want, they are probably in a better position to prepare it for their
publication than you are, no offense. The print you send will, of
course, be your own RAW conversion, crop and interpretation, probably
bigger is better than smaller to be better "seen" by the judges.

Good luck.

--
john mcwilliams

wrote:

Guys, I need a sanity check here... I can't decide if I'm missing something or
what.........

We have an organization in MN that puts out a calendar every year. They get
submissions of prints, slides, and now digital images.

Their guidelines for submission of digital images was ambiguous, at least to me
since it didn't provide a resolution they wanted, and specified that images
should be "unaltered"...

Then I hit the part where they stated
"High-resolution digital images are acceptable (see below),
but a high-quality printout of the images(s) must be mailed
separately along with the signed entry form."

Now I'm really befuddled... Isn't one of the major reasons for SUBMITTING
DIGITAL IMAGES so that they can be examined in DIGITAL form and THEN printed
when needed for production? So WHY would they want a bunch of prints, with all
the problems associated with printing when they'll HAVE THE DIGITAL IMAGES?

SO, I gave them a call and got a person that had no idea... So I sent an email
to their editor, hoping to find out if the "printout" was an index print or
something, and what size/resolution they wanted the images in. They also
specified tif or jpg format and I was a bit concerned about sending jpg since
its lossy and I wasn't sure how much editing they were going to do...

Well, today I got an email response...

They want the images taken at the camera's highest resolution, AND LEFT IN RAW
FORMAT... Which means they want me to send them the ORIGINAL RAW images right
out of the camera. No cropping, no levels, no color balance, or any of the
other things that are necessary to optimize an image. I'd even be relying on
SOMEONE ELSE to do the RAW conversion... This seems bizarre to me - to put this
kind of limitation on a digital image. They'd NEVER demand that a print be full
frame with no correction in the printing...

And the print is supposed to be a print of EVERY SUBMITTED IMAGE. Which makes
even LESS sense to me... I'm thinking I may just submit prints since they're
apparently only going to look at those anyway...

So, am I missing something or does it seem like a REALLY BAD idea to submit an
image this way?

For one thing, they don't want folks to submit 100's of images per
person; demanding prints is one way to stop that.

Another is if they see from your print that your image has what they
want, they are probably in a better position to prepare it for their
publication than you are, no offense. The print you send will, of
course, be your own RAW conversion, crop and interpretation, probably
bigger is better than smaller to be better "seen" by the judges.

Good luck.

--
john mcwilliams

There is no good technical reason for what they are asking. They may be
moving into new technology and are not sure what they will need. If its
important to you give them what they want...and expect that they will mess
it up. That way you won't be disappointed. Are they paying for the privilege
of making you sweat? Might be better to pass on the calendar until they
figure things out.


wrote in message
...
Guys, I need a sanity check here... I can't decide if I'm missing
something or
what.........

We have an organization in MN that puts out a calendar every year. They
get
submissions of prints, slides, and now digital images.

Their guidelines for submission of digital images was ambiguous, at least
to me
since it didn't provide a resolution they wanted, and specified that
images
should be "unaltered"...

Then I hit the part where they stated
"High-resolution digital images are acceptable (see below),
but a high-quality printout of the images(s) must be mailed
separately along with the signed entry form."

Now I'm really befuddled... Isn't one of the major reasons for SUBMITTING
DIGITAL IMAGES so that they can be examined in DIGITAL form and THEN
printed
when needed for production? So WHY would they want a bunch of prints,
with all
the problems associated with printing when they'll HAVE THE DIGITAL
IMAGES?

SO, I gave them a call and got a person that had no idea... So I sent an
email
to their editor, hoping to find out if the "printout" was an index print
or
something, and what size/resolution they wanted the images in. They also
specified tif or jpg format and I was a bit concerned about sending jpg
since
its lossy and I wasn't sure how much editing they were going to do...

Well, today I got an email response...

They want the images taken at the camera's highest resolution, AND LEFT IN
RAW
FORMAT... Which means they want me to send them the ORIGINAL RAW images
right
out of the camera. No cropping, no levels, no color balance, or any of
the
other things that are necessary to optimize an image. I'd even be relying
on
SOMEONE ELSE to do the RAW conversion... This seems bizarre to me - to
put this
kind of limitation on a digital image. They'd NEVER demand that a print
be full
frame with no correction in the printing...

And the print is supposed to be a print of EVERY SUBMITTED IMAGE. Which
makes
even LESS sense to me... I'm thinking I may just submit prints since
they're
apparently only going to look at those anyway...

So, am I missing something or does it seem like a REALLY BAD idea to
submit an
image this way?

writes:

They want the images taken at the camera's highest resolution, AND
LEFT IN RAW FORMAT... Which means they want me to send them the
ORIGINAL RAW images right out of the camera. No cropping, no
levels, no color balance, or any of the other things that are
necessary to optimize an image. I'd even be relying on SOMEONE ELSE
to do the RAW conversion... This seems bizarre to me - to put this
kind of limitation on a digital image. They'd NEVER demand that a
print be full frame with no correction in the printing...

Well, lots of places used to demand that original slides be submitted
-- which is exactly that, the camera original not altered.

It sounds like they're set up to deal with amateurs who can't be
trusted to do a decent job of (digital) darkroom work. That may well
be the right choice for their normal submitter pool.
--
David Dyer-Bennet, , http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/
RKBA: http://noguns-nomoney.com/ http://www.dd-b.net/carry/
Pics: http://dd-b.lighthunters.net/ http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/
Dragaera/Steven Brust: http://dragaera.info/

writes:

They want the images taken at the camera's highest resolution, AND
LEFT IN RAW FORMAT... Which means they want me to send them the
ORIGINAL RAW images right out of the camera. No cropping, no
levels, no color balance, or any of the other things that are
necessary to optimize an image. I'd even be relying on SOMEONE ELSE
to do the RAW conversion... This seems bizarre to me - to put this
kind of limitation on a digital image. They'd NEVER demand that a
print be full frame with no correction in the printing...

Well, lots of places used to demand that original slides be submitted
-- which is exactly that, the camera original not altered.

It sounds like they're set up to deal with amateurs who can't be
trusted to do a decent job of (digital) darkroom work. That may well
be the right choice for their normal submitter pool.
--
David Dyer-Bennet, , http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/
RKBA: http://noguns-nomoney.com/ http://www.dd-b.net/carry/
Pics: http://dd-b.lighthunters.net/ http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/
Dragaera/Steven Brust: http://dragaera.info/

dperez asks:


They want the images taken at the camera's highest resolution, AND LEFT IN
RAW
FORMAT... Which means they want me to send them the ORIGINAL RAW images
right
out of the camera. No cropping, no levels, no color balance, or any of the
other things that are necessary to optimize an image. I'd even be relying on
SOMEONE ELSE to do the RAW conversion... This seems bizarre to me - to put
this
kind of limitation on a digital image. They'd NEVER demand that a print be
full
frame with no correction in the printing...

And the print is supposed to be a print of EVERY SUBMITTED IMAGE. Which
makes
even LESS sense to me... I'm thinking I may just submit prints since they're
apparently only going to look at those anyway...

So, am I missing something or does it seem like a REALLY BAD idea to submit
an
image this way?

Very similar to a requirement most magazine photographers have lived with for
decades...you send in the entire transparency (slide).

What they're also asking for is a contact sheet of the images. That was done
with black & white, and some color in later years, usually negative color
because it's a costly way to let an editor zip through a couple boxes of
slides. Most used a light table and a loupe.

If they work with color prints, and yours are good enough, I don't see why just
submitting top notch prints wouldn't be enough.

Charlie Self
"A judge is a law student who marks his own examination papers." H. L. Mencken

dperez asks:


They want the images taken at the camera's highest resolution, AND LEFT IN
RAW
FORMAT... Which means they want me to send them the ORIGINAL RAW images
right
out of the camera. No cropping, no levels, no color balance, or any of the
other things that are necessary to optimize an image. I'd even be relying on
SOMEONE ELSE to do the RAW conversion... This seems bizarre to me - to put
this
kind of limitation on a digital image. They'd NEVER demand that a print be
full
frame with no correction in the printing...

And the print is supposed to be a print of EVERY SUBMITTED IMAGE. Which
makes
even LESS sense to me... I'm thinking I may just submit prints since they're
apparently only going to look at those anyway...

So, am I missing something or does it seem like a REALLY BAD idea to submit
an
image this way?

Very similar to a requirement most magazine photographers have lived with for
decades...you send in the entire transparency (slide).

What they're also asking for is a contact sheet of the images. That was done
with black & white, and some color in later years, usually negative color
because it's a costly way to let an editor zip through a couple boxes of
slides. Most used a light table and a loupe.

If they work with color prints, and yours are good enough, I don't see why just
submitting top notch prints wouldn't be enough.

Charlie Self
"A judge is a law student who marks his own examination papers." H. L. Mencken