Is this a portrait? Should it have placed 3rd?

its a subpar image at best. it shouldn't have placed anywhere in any category even if it was the only submission with no guidelines/rules.

you wanna know why it placed? so it would be controversial and make the rounds around the internet and again, forgotten about by anyone outside that circle.
 
I agree, it was selected 3rd for other reasons than it's technical qualities.
 
Here’s what the judges had to say about the photo:

During the judging process, only the title of each portrait is revealed. It was unclear whether the girl was a human or an android, and this ambiguity made the portrait particularly compelling. Tammi’s portrait offers a provocative comment on human evolution.


This is extremely lame.
 
I've done photos of animals that I call portraits, so, IMO, the whole 'picture of a person' is not the sole definition of a portrait, BUT that's just a plain, crappy image.
 
I've done photos of animals that I call portraits, so, IMO, the whole 'picture of a person' is not the sole definition of a portrait, BUT that's just a plain, crappy image.

But animals would count under those rules that required a "living sitter." Are androids "living"? Do they dream of electric sheep?
 
I've done photos of animals that I call portraits, so, IMO, the whole 'picture of a person' is not the sole definition of a portrait, BUT that's just a plain, crappy image.

But animals would count under those rules that required a "living sitter." Are androids "living"? Do they dream of electric sheep?
Fair point; you often hear of people who create portraits of inanimate objects; whether one accepts that you can create a portrait of a car, cucumber, or Coelacanth is between you and your conscience, BUT... that is still a crap photo!
 
Coming from the art community, the judges are doing what they think art judges are supposed to do: Expand the envelope. We see this in other types of judges as well, so it's not intrinsic to the art scene. I presume they did it to polish their own chops at least as much as to re-write the rules.

The contest is no longer about photography.

They are The Judges, you know, who finally awarded a prize (however undeserved) to a photographer who flaunted his creativity and shredded the rules in the process.

Congratulations to the judges who wrecked this contest.
 

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