Thoughts on the BPOM

Moderators: Not sure if this is the correct forum to post this so if its not, my apologies and thanks for moving it.


I just wanted to know what everyone else thinks of the BPOM contest.

I guess when I vote I vote for the best photograph. But it seems that everyone always votes for the coolest snake. I dont think a contest should be based on "how expensive of a morph can you afford." I have seen some pictures of some pastels that completely blow away the $1000+ snakes, yet every month it seems the most expensive or exotic morph wins.

Just my opinion but I dont agree with that. I would like to see it voted on the picture quality not the snake itself.

Just my .02

IMO, the POTM is for picture quality, while BPOTM is for the coolest snake, and not just the most expensive, i vote on that based on the snake i like the most, even if pic quality is "bad"

Um, I vote for the best overall picture. Not the Morph. It could be a normal and if it had a great background, pose and the picture quality was spot on I'd vote for it.

Can't really stop people from voting on what they want to. I personally go for picture quality as well, or photo interest (I like ones with unusual poses of the snakes and such) but I've noticed the trend as well

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Originally Posted by dart

Um, I vote for the best overall picture. Not the Morph. It could be a normal and if it had a great background, pose and the picture quality was spot on I'd vote for it.

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I agree with this. Because the POTM never features ball pythons. So if they did then I would understand, but voting for a picture because you like the snake even if the picture is bad is exactly what I think is wrong with this contest.

Maybe they will add a category... BPPOTH (ball python picture of the month)

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Originally Posted by dart

Um, I vote for the best overall picture. Not the Morph. It could be a normal and if it had a great background, pose and the picture quality was spot on I'd vote for it.

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Ditto...lol

I usually pick the photo that has the best quality of picture. Sometimes something is a neat (or really cute) picture that stands out to me even if its not the best quality shot. But everyone appreciates different qualities.

It does seem that the big morphs get the spotlight a lot--but our eyes view those pictures as amazing quality partially because their colors are already so pleasing to the eye. A pure white snake for instance will draw attention--it stands out and is gorgeous. The pied has contrast that also stand out. So they do get picked. And of course there are people who vote just on the morph.

But hey, my normal won BP of the month earlier :)

I'm not a Morphoholic, so I look for photo quality and the "Awww..." factor. But everyone has their own criteria for casting their vote...

I have to say that I have noticed the same. It seems the coolest morph gets the votes and quality is a back seat. I always vote for quality not content but I am just one voice.

It is however a snake site and not a photo site so although it bugs me a bit I can't say it is a huge problem.

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

I have to say that I have noticed the same. It seems the coolest morph gets the votes and quality is a back seat. I always vote for quality not content but I am just one voice.

It is however a snake site and not a photo site so although it bugs me a bit I can't say it is a huge problem.

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I agree. And even though we aren't a "photo site" we do have the POTM (picture of the month) which can feature ANY photo so long as it adheres to that month's theme. But I've also noticed this trend in the POTM too - a photo of a BP has won this division several times recently.

I think the picture composition and quality should definitely be a factor, but come on, how many of us are professional photographers? I don't have a clue what kind of lens I should use, shutter speed, lighting, etc. Even so, I think effort should be rewarded and I'll base at least some of my vote on quality. Over all, it just comes down to what picture I like the best and that's how anyone should vote. After all, it is just for fun and it's neat seeing all the pictures!

I notice a lot of pictures are quick snaps and not set up with good background and lighting. If that has a $10K morph, I still won't vote for one of those.

I vote for the best PICTURE. There's a few things I feel are just not good pictures, and those are almost automatically set aside in my consideration. But when it comes down to it, a lot of the expensive morphs have awesome pictures.

If it comes down to a few good quality pictures, I have to choose on content, but it's still not about the price or rarity of the snake to me. If it happens that a pricy morph is the best picture, then I'm not going to not vote for it. But I also don't vote bc it IS a pricy morph.

I guess I haven't noticed this trend, shows how aware I am...

The few times I've voted I always went to the pic that was the best quality regardless of the morph. Will I vote for a grainy, blurred, oddly cropped, discolored photo? No, probably not. I do consider myself an artist, so I do choose the pic that I feel is the best in terms of quality - creativity is just a plus.

People are always going to vote for cool snakes, not just on quality photos. There's a clown and a bumblebee up there right now, so I wouldn't consider them the most expensive morphs, just good pictures.

To each their own to as what they vote for. I personally like a nice balance between qualities of the photo, to the morph, to the action going on in the picture. I sometimes vote for poor quality photos with some awesome action going on, instead of the perfect quality and composition, sometimes I'm in love with a certain morph and I think it needs to win. It all depends on my mood that day.