Please send your DD suggestions of PhotoJournalism to ^estudio only!!!

I have like a gazillion of notes with DD suggs every week and can only DD 7 of them per week. Given that lately you guys and gals got awesome at suggesting them, it gets harder and harder to say "No" to a suggestion I get. Given the rate of suggestions I get per week considering the number of those that I say "Yes" to, I now have enough DD suggestions to last me till Xmas.

So, pretty please, if you may be so kind... can you send your DD suggestions to ^estudio from now on?


Thank you for understanding! <3



-------> This was a journal update. the following words are from March 2009:


About Daily Deviations:

FAQ #61: What is a Daily Deviation?
FAQ #18: Who selects the Daily Deviation and how is it chosen?
FAQ #873: What do I do when I disapprove of a Daily Deviation feature?


My Goals towards Daily Deviations:

A Daily Deviation is a deviation that got selected by a moderator from a specific gallery (there are a few exceptions to this specificity) and is showcased to the community for a whole day.

There are many ways to look at DDs; some consider it a feature that gets more audience, others consider it an award of excellence and there is also who may consider it a proof of talent and others who look upon it in a completely opposite way! Which is only to be expected, since there isn't a unique view on DDs - and you know what? I'm happy it is that way! yay, for variation!!!

But!!!
To me, no matter what, a daily deviation is something to be held dearly. It gives you exposure (even if for just 24 hours), whether you are already known or not, and it gives the artist who gets it a warm feeling – of acceptance, of pride, of something else..? Who knows?

What I know is what I try to achieve with every Daily Deviation (DD) I feature: to promote what I deem to be the best of the best of the photojournalism gallery and its subcategories, and what our daily browsing experience can be.

By doing this I believe - when people like my features - I am also inspiring the feeling of: “ OMG! I want to be that good in photography too!” thus promoting artistic development (if you want to improve, you’ll study, experiment and do it, sooner or later).

I also believe that we learn everyday something about art and ourselves, not only through critique, but also by seeing a picture and trying to understand how it was made…

With that in mind, I try to uphold some standards and have some specific DD guidelines besides the usual 3 month rule. I try to feature only the best of the best, so we can be inspired and aspire to greatness. Yes, we. I include myself in the big WE. Because WE are all ONE: deviantART.


So, with these goals and standards of greatness in mind, my guidelines (and most of them are Evan's too) have come to take this form:

How to Suggest a DD!

our guidelines:

_{Note me with "DD suggestion" in the subject line.
Post the note with the :thumbxxxxxxx: code.
Include your reasons if possible.
While all suggestions are looked at and considered, not all suggestions will make it as a DD.
Suggester will be notified if the DD is selected.
I may not reply all DD suggestions, but be sure I'll read each and every one of them!
There is always a queue in my message center. Please be patient.
DD shall only be awarded to those who haven't received any for the past 3 months.
You can also send suggestions to my partner in crime: ^estudio, but remember to only send ONE suggestion to EITHER of us so there\s no conflict of interests.}

+ my guidelines:

_{DD shall only be awarded to those who haven't had one given by me already;
DD shall only be awarded if the photo amazes me. Along with others, this can be due to technical reasons, aesthetic or storytelling effectiveness.}

What me and Evan also have in common is the ideal of keeping raising standards. Please read: DD-ing Photojournalism


This isn’t exactly big news for anyone who devwatches me for over a couple of months, or keeps an eye in my DDs. So now we have come to the part where I present you my reasons not to DD something, and what I look for in a DD, and the plan that has already be put in action since March!



Why I don’t DD something:

Because it has got a DD recently – I think the why on this is pretty obvious, there are a lot of artists within us, so why be constantly featuring the same?;

Because I already awarded that same artist (even if within another gallery that not Photojournalism) – the reason for this is that a) I don’t like to repeat myself and b) it wouldn’t be fair for the thousands of other great artists if I would keep featuring the same people over and over again;

Because the deviation isn’t a photo nor a photojournalism piece regarding dA’s guidelines;

Because the deviation isn’t what I would like to see in the cover of a newspaper or newsmagazine or something alike a.k.a. “is not newsworthy” (and here is a very grey line, so keep your suggestions coming, let me worry about that myself, ok? ) – examples: if the photo has a flaw of some kind that keeps me from considering it the best of the best. This happens when the photo is very good in terms of technicalities but isn’t very original or appealing or, in reverse, when the photo may be appealing or original but lacks some level of professionalism, like pixelated shots for eg.. In this point try to keep in mind the kind of pictures that get broadcasted in BBC news or in the Times magazine – if you think the photo you are seeing could be there then suggest it to me at once please!

Because the deviation does not respect dA’s rules and/or the code of ethics.



What I look for in a DD:

PHOTOGRAPHY
Photographs taken with a film or a digital camera featuring a minimal amount of colour and exposure adjustment.

- I look for: Photos!

PHOTOJOURNALISM
Photojournalism gives us newsworthy photographs wherein the primary motivation is to recount a story not assist a story.

- I look for photojournalism deviations; photos that tell a story and that are newsworthy. For a more visual idea of what this is to me please refer to the collection of Photojournalism DDs given by me, in: [link]

Bellow (after the plan) follows the guidelines of dA’s photojournalism subcategories. In each of them I search for the deviations that represent the best of the best, with regards to aspects such as: applied photography tech-knowledge; aesthetics; storytelling and newsworthy value and effectiveness and originality.


MY PLAN To TAKE-OVER THE WORLD

AND BECOME A MIME OVERLORD!

My plans (and Evan entered this madness too when his internet got back on its feet) for March (and the rest of 2009) is to give 2 DDs per month to each subcategory, so that they are all represented fairly, and also to have a special week where I will focus in DDing just from one the subcategories or based in a theme.

This plan alone gives us DDs for 24 days and fair exposure to all subcategories. I will save the rest of each month’s days to special themed DDs or weeks.
For example, in February I already did this for the week of Carnival (mardi gras), and I can do it in other times too, like Christmas, Easter, Summer, Women’s Day, etc.. and also when we have a week dedicated to a specific subcategory there will be some more DDs on it, like it happened in the beginning of February, with our special time featuring Concerts & Musicians.

This way, each subcategory will get its chance to shine through!

You may have already noticed a difference in DDs for photojournalism. They were given according to the plan and within the description there was specified exactly where from they were given (the subcategories). This is also a way to show the community photojournalism isn’t just weddings, sports or people… Liked that? Go hump Evan A.K.A. ^estudio, then!


Last but not least, here’s my favourite FAQ:

FAQ #873: What do I do when I disapprove of a Daily Deviation feature?
A Daily Deviation is intended to give an artist a chance to be seen by a large portion of the community and as not everyone has the same tastes; it is obvious that you may not appreciate every piece that is selected as a daily deviation.

If you have a problem with a particular Daily Deviation feature, do NOT leave your disapproval among the other comments on the piece. It is disrespectful to the artist featured, the person who chose it and/or the person that suggested it.

If you absolutely must voice your disapproval of a selected feature, feel free to note $Moonbeam13 however, unless the image violates policy in some way, it is highly unlikely it will be removed.

In severe cases, if you "flame" or harass a featured artist, you may be banned.