POTY 2011 Judging question
 

How are the entries judged? Only by the panel or do the online votes have an influence?

[QUOTE=RexK;51798]How are the entries judged? Only by the panel or do the online votes have an influence?[/QUOTE]

I haven't entered this year, but in the past, the online vote was only for 'encouragement,' and did not influence the end result.
However, if my memory serves me well, the 'winners' of the online vote stood a better chance to be checked over by the shortlisting panel. Don't quite know how that worked.

In the past, there was always a quite obvious difference between the photographs that gathered votes over a period of weeks or months, and the votes collected by photographers with a large 'cyber friend' base. Not that the photos were necessarily different in quality, but the 'friendly vote' could be rather overwhelming and often came in a rush, soon after the photo was put on the site.

This is personal opinion and experience only! Nothing official! :)

Thanks Reinardina,

I eagerly await an official reply.

Cheers Rex

Hi Rex,

All the photos are looked at, regardless of how high or low they come in the online voting. As you said, it's more to give an indication of what's popular and to encourage interaction.

It can (and has been) the case that someone at the top of the online voting doesn't make the shortlist, and someone with no votes at all makes it through.

Hope that helps,

Amy

Hi Amy,

Thanks for the reply, that is what I was hoping for.

Cheers Rex