When you say you don't care, do you really mean it?

This apparently insatiable appetite for blethering endlessly on about them tells you all you need to know about FPI's.

But the most important question, which is never answered, is who is the all time FPI champion?

Who has the most FPI's ever?

JonC said

Margo Jost said

I think there is a disparity between what the members want to see as FPIs which seems to be original photographic work with a wider spread, unique and different but perhaps not technically spot on rather than the same old stuff which is trotted out daily and that's why a fair amount of members have the FPI widget switched off (including me) and.....

 

Judging by what gets put on the Suggested for FPI' list (which is open to all to add stuff to), I don't think what the members at large want to see as FPIs is 'original work with a wider spread......'. It appears what they want is more nudity. I think there is a small minority (which includes me and you) that want to see 'a wider spread, and unique and different' - and those people tend to be over represented on the group forums.  But, they are for a very specific purpose (to have a section of images to entice new members, as an 'advert'), and to that extent I think they fulfil that purpose (and as I have said previously I value getting them as it raising my profile amongst people I want to work with). It is true that for some reason it does cause some angst, most vocally amongst those people who apparently care the least about them, but if they really didn't care about them they could just be silent on the issue, and there are options for removing them from being an FPI if they really care that much about not caring. 

Just out of interest, my Front Page widget shows 48 images of which 9 can be classed as nude.

I consider all of those nude images to be of good quality or more and certainly to the standard of the 39 non nude images.

Nude images can vary just as much as non nude images.

JPea said

JonC said

Margo Jost said

I think there is a disparity between what the members want to see as FPIs which seems to be original photographic work with a wider spread, unique and different but perhaps not technically spot on rather than the same old stuff which is trotted out daily and that's why a fair amount of members have the FPI widget switched off (including me) and.....

 

Judging by what gets put on the Suggested for FPI' list (which is open to all to add stuff to), I don't think what the members at large want to see as FPIs is 'original work with a wider spread......'. It appears what they want is more nudity. I think there is a small minority (which includes me and you) that want to see 'a wider spread, and unique and different' - and those people tend to be over represented on the group forums.  But, they are for a very specific purpose (to have a section of images to entice new members, as an 'advert'), and to that extent I think they fulfil that purpose (and as I have said previously I value getting them as it raising my profile amongst people I want to work with). It is true that for some reason it does cause some angst, most vocally amongst those people who apparently care the least about them, but if they really didn't care about them they could just be silent on the issue, and there are options for removing them from being an FPI if they really care that much about not caring. 

Just out of interest, my Front Page widget shows 48 images of which 9 can be classed as nude.

I consider all of those nude images to be of good quality or more and certainly to the standard of the 39 non nude images.

Nude images can vary just as much as non nude images.

I wasn't talking about the Front Page images themselves, but the 'Suggested for FPI' list (which has a lot higher proportion of Nudes than the FPI themselves). Very different things. And of course nude images can be amazing, and worthy of the Front Page - that wasn't my point. 

jmbphoto

Quote:

"The system is somewhat flawed, because for an image to get seen (and therefore considered) it needs the relevant people to see it. This naturally means that popular members with lots of followers are more likely to get their work seen, and suggested. The inevitable FPI means that person probably gets a few more followers, and their likelihood increases further.

It becomes self-perpetuating, which is why you often see the same people appearing in the FPI list over and over.

As my images get very few views or likes, my chance of an FPI is vanishingly small, so I no longer worry about it."

Such a good point.

Genuine question

How would you look to change the system? If it's boring and predictable or the same old people seem to be getting it.

What exactly would you change for a "fairer" system?

I'm not really sure how it could be made fairer, it's just the way "life" works.

Same thing happens with, say, influencers who get given shiny new cameras to review and promote - they get that perk as they're popular. Making a video about the latest shiny gets them lots of new views and follows, so they're more likely to get sent the next new shiny...

Kind of off topic but the same theory.

Afrofilmviewer I would maybe restrict how often an individual model can have an FPI. One every month perhaps? The same handful of models come around over and over and over again - I've nothing against those models, they're all excellent and I've actually shot with a couple of them. But I'd like to see a broader church.

Afrofilmviewer said

Genuine question

How would you look to change the system? If it's boring and predictable or the same old people seem to be getting it.

What exactly would you change for a "fairer" system?

It seems to be a fair enough system to me, people who are members choose what is added to the FPI queue and vote out what is not FPI material. Our own peers are choosing FPI's, but if members don't like the selections then they should try and join the FPI selectors group to put their own perspective across.

The only thing I could see would be a potential problem is favouritism or the opposite of course, but that's life. If anyone looks at their profile and sees a better photo than one that gets an FPI then post it to the "It SHOULD BE AN FPI" group

I often run out of my daily 5 FPI suggestions and try to choose something different, some may never have had an FPI, some may have many but I select what I personally appreciate, but I don't expect others to feel the same way and often they don't because I have only had 2 confirmed suggestions added as an FPI.

MaristarOxley said

I honestly would prefer something tangible on PP to reward us.

Something like a youtube play button?  After you reach a certain amount of FPIs they send you a physical Rosette, different colours at the different stages 50 fpi 100 fpietc etc. That would be physical.

I quite liked the few times I got an FPI it was a small ego boost, but wondered if it was more about an attractive model in the shot more than the quality of my image.  The only tiny tiny tiny little thing that annoyed me is when an images of mine was made FPI but because the model would have uploaded it, it meant if she deactivated her account I'd loose the FPI. Or the same image one on the models account and one on the photographers account are treated separate....so with the same image one might get awarded an FPI but the other wont.

The FPIs outside of purpleport are kinda meaningless,  if your trying to display your portfolio and attract more standard models or to work with non models promoting the fact you've got an FPI means nothing to anyone, same as vanity publishing or trying to get all these letters after your name to say your some fellas in some photography association.

Bullets said

MaristarOxley said

I honestly would prefer something tangible on PP to reward us.

Something like a youtube play button?  After you reach a certain amount of FPIs they send you a physical Rosette, different colours at the different stages 50 fpi 100 fpietc etc. That would be physical...

I was thinking of Admin footing the bill for tea and sticky buns at one's next shoot.  

Come on. You know you want to...

:) 

JME Studios said

Afrofilmviewer I would maybe restrict how often an individual model can have an FPI. One every month perhaps? The same handful of models come around over and over and over again - I've nothing against those models, they're all excellent and I've actually shot with a couple of them. But I'd like to see a broader church.

In which case people just need to suggest FPI-worthy images from other models?

Gothic Image said

JME Studios said

Afrofilmviewer I would maybe restrict how often an individual model can have an FPI. One every month perhaps? The same handful of models come around over and over and over again - I've nothing against those models, they're all excellent and I've actually shot with a couple of them. But I'd like to see a broader church.

In which case people just need to suggest FPI-worthy images from other models?

They do.  At the moment the perception - at least from my POV - is that it's a closed shop.

JonC

As I understand it, suggesting an image for an FPI has little to no effect on what images are chosen as FPIs.

Or have I got that wrong?

JME Studios said

Gothic Image said

JME Studios said

Afrofilmviewer I would maybe restrict how often an individual model can have an FPI. One every month perhaps? The same handful of models come around over and over and over again - I've nothing against those models, they're all excellent and I've actually shot with a couple of them. But I'd like to see a broader church.

In which case people just need to suggest FPI-worthy images from other models?

They do.  At the moment the perception - at least from my POV - is that it's a closed shop.

Perception is, of course, in the eye of the beholder, but quickly looking at the last week or so I'd say they were pretty varied?

JME Studios said

Gothic Image said

JME Studios said

Afrofilmviewer I would maybe restrict how often an individual model can have an FPI. One every month perhaps? The same handful of models come around over and over and over again - I've nothing against those models, they're all excellent and I've actually shot with a couple of them. But I'd like to see a broader church.

In which case people just need to suggest FPI-worthy images from other models?

They do.  At the moment the perception - at least from my POV - is that it's a closed shop.

While it is certainly true that some models have waves of popularity, which attracts (good?) photographers, and they shoot a lot, a lot of images get uploaded of them, a proportion get FPIs...... but ..... I think there is a lot larger pool than you perceive. There are rules that prevent the same model/photographer (and I think Studio) getting an FPI within 48 hours (+ a random bit), so for example all the images on the front page currently are by different photographers of different models. Maybe someone could count how many different models there are in the first 100 images?