Photography Forum | Screeners' Choice

Does anyone know if there are any specific criteria that the screeners employ when making their 'Choice(s)' - or is the selection process purely subjective?

On every site it's the second one.

Just as a matter of interest, on P-M, are selections made by a single screener (i.e. the person who first screened the photo), or is there a panel (for want of a better description) of screeners who, between them, are responsible for making the final decision?

What about identical shots getting screeners choice? The current screeners choice is Alan P's hawker N444MG landing at luton, my almost identical shot got screeners choice just 4 'choices' earlier. Granted it is a nice shot by Alan, but when i look at screeners choice photos i expect them, and look for them, to be unique. Thoughts?

Incidentally, the reason I ask is because, in the space of a month, two virtually identical photos of exactly the same aircraft (Raytheon Hawker N444MG) taken from exactly the same location (the crash gate at LTN) and with exactly the same background have BOTH been selected as screeners' choices.

Now, forgive me if I'm speaking out of turn, but, although I fully accept that both pics are of an extremely high standard, I would have thought that there must be a sufficient number of merit-worthy photos uploaded onto P-M for the screeners to be a tad more creative when it comes to making their 'choice(s)'.

After all, variety is (allegedly) the spice of life...

You beat me to it by 5 minutes!

It would appear that we are in the minority - or perhaps no-one else cares? It would, however, be nice if one of the screeners (perhaps even the one that selected Alan's photo as a screener's choice) could provide us with some feedback.

I see your point guys but if we look at it from the other side,if both shots are identical and of same high standard how can 1 be chosen over the other?

I do think more variation in selecting is rewuired but if a screener see's a picture that they feel is worthy of SC then he/she can simply vote for it. Of course it's a matter of opinion and several factors are considered.Not just the quality but also the subject ( rarity etc )
Maybe a system where a shot can be nominated and then needs a majority vote to be SC can be implied but as I said "ones man's trash is another man's treasure" and a great picture may not get selected just because 1 of the screeners does not agree.

Ever the diplomat! You can always be relied upon to exercise the wisdom of Solomon. However, in truth, me thinks that the screeners have inadvertently dropped a ....... on this occasion. That said, none of us is infallible and I remain of the opinion that, overall, they make a pretty good fist of what must be a thankless task.


If such a system is not already in place, then I, for one, would welcome its introduction. Other sites also invite their contributors to play an active role in the selection process (e.g JP's People's Choice Award) and it would be interesting to know what others think about this type of 'audience participation'.