Jim Bergstrom wrote:
Why not open up another contest restricted to artistic nude entries.
Can't be the exorbitant prizes involved.

Yeah, I would be fine with that, but I don't think the mods want to take on the extra work it would take to run additional contests. That would ultimately be up to them.

Jim Bergstrom wrote:
Nobody likes being accused of being a cheater.
I won the contest on May 3rd and 4th wonder if the accusations have started.

It doesn't really bother me because I wouldn't have even known about it had a mod not mentioned it to me. Also, I don't cheat in any way, so any accusations are just that. I have seen myself being alluded to in a few forum posts, but I have pretty thick skin, so I'm not really concerned.

Jim Bergstrom wrote:
Are you just bored of winning over 50+ times with open leg entries?

I would absolutely love to win with more artistic shots, but those rarely get votes. I tried going a full week with more artistic, less erotic, shots and 6/7 of the days an erotic, open-leg shot ended up winning. If I'm going to enter a contest, my goal is to win. I do often look through and admire other artistic shots that didn't win, but if you're entering a contest I feel like the goal is to win.

David A Reichel wrote:
I've asked Mod 7 about a new contest for implied nudes and it seems clear MM has no interest in a new contest of any type.  If we truly want to minimize or eliminate the open-leg shots from the POTD 18+ contest, I think we are on our own:  don't enter them and don't vote for them.  I don't enter that often (the Mods tell me most of my open-leg shots are too much EoG) and I don't vote for any open-leg shots.

I agree. I don't think the mods are interested in the extra work it would take to add additional contests. We could all say we're not going to enter any erotic/open-leg shots and only enter more artistic nudes, but there are definitely some photographers on this site that will keep entering the more erotic shots no matter what, and there are a lot of members on the site that aren't really photographers, but still vote in the contests. The vast majority of them vote for a combination of the best looking model in the most erotic pose, so I don't think it would make a difference, unfortunately.

Znude! wrote:
The 18+ forum based contest used to have a lot of artistic winners. Used to be a slightly different group competing there. Also in the forum based contests you get to see who voted for which shots.

Yes, the forum based contests I think attract the more professional photographers and those who are more interested in submitting artistic shots. The voters who are just choosing the most revealing images with the best looking models don't really dive into the forums, so it weeds out the shots that are winning mainly because of being erotic/open-leg.

I'd like to see the forum-based contests continue and pick up more participants. I would be happy to only enter more artistic shots in them.

KenPhoto wrote:
Yeah, I would be fine with that, but I don't think the mods want to take on the extra work it would take to run additional contests. That would ultimately be up to them.

hmmm... contest entries these days are down by what, 75 - 80% of a few years ago?

AE Photography wrote:

hmmm... contest entries these days are down by what, 75 - 80% of a few years ago?

I remember the days when they had to limit entries to 200 and had overflow everyday.
Now its lucky to hit 20-25
There were some interesting winners in those days.

Brooklyn Bridge Images wrote:

I remember the days when they had to limit entries to 200 and had overflow everyday.
Now its lucky to hit 20-25
There were some interesting winners in those days.

and there used to be a .eu wwwebpage that entries could be viewed prior to voting...

Brooklyn Bridge Images wrote:

I remember the days when they had to limit entries to 200 and had overflow everyday.
Now its lucky to hit 20-25
There were some interesting winners in those days.

Wow, that must have been before my time. I only remember seeing maybe 100 at most since I started entering the contests. I'm wondering why the 18+ female contest gets the most entries these days. I'm assuming it's because a good number of shots that would have been in the regular contest in the past, now rate as mature on the site and have to be in the 18+ contest (where they stand no chance of winning, unfortunately).

KenPhoto wrote:
So, one of the mods recently told me that people have been accusing me of cheating in the 18+ contest because I've won quite a few days in a row. I'd like to clear a few things up. The first is that I always submit my images to the mods to get approved before entering them in any contest. I've had too many times that I think an image is okay only to have it removed, so now I just submit them all ahead of time. And, several times they've approved an image beforehand, but then the team decides to remove it anyway, which can be frustrating if you've spent a lot of time retouching it.

I don't solicit votes other than every once in a while I might tell a model that her photo is in the contest that day if she wants to vote for it. Other than that, I've never asked people to vote for my images. When I enter the contest, my goal is to win. A while ago I looked at all of the winning images from the prior few months and noticed what 90% of them had in common. They were the more erotic shots. Typically, it's the model sitting with her legs somewhat or very open. So, those are the types of shots I started capturing at many of my shoots and those are the types of shots I've been entering, when they're pre-approved.

I would honestly like to enter more artistic nudes. I really enjoy the finely crafted black and white nudes in unique poses, but unfortunately those almost never win. I've entered several of my favorite artistic nudes in the past and they always fall well behind the more erotic shots in voting.

The thing is, if the more erotic shots are allowed in the contest, someone is going to enter them and that person is very likely to win if it's at least a nice looking shot. So, I would like to start a petition to the mods to change the rules for the 18+ female contest to be more restrictive. That's all it would take for more artistic nudes to be entered and win in that contest. They could make it so that any shot the mods deem "erotic" would not be allowed. And I think we all know what I mean by erotic. Basically anything with open legs, especially seated or squatting, where the obvious point of the pose is to show off the model's crotch.

I'd be fine with this rule change, as long as it was applied fairly to all participants. Curious what everyone else thinks.

Just asking: Since when did "erotic" become defined as "open leg"? Seriously, because I, for one, don't see it that way AT ALL. Can a bare shoulder be "erotic"? I believe it can.

Focuspuller wrote:
Just asking: Since when did "erotic" become defined as "open leg"? Seriously, because I, for one, don't see it that way AT ALL. Can a bare shoulder be "erotic"? I believe it can.

Some of the most erotic shots don't have any 'nudity' at all so I agree. 

My 2 cents on the POTD is every submission by a photographer should include model credit
and/or photographer credit if the model submits.

DTP - Photography wrote:
This pic was not allowed for the non-nude category: https://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/pic/47650962 because it said it contained one nude element in the pubic area.
I'm just trying to understand the rules.

I've had similar rejections and the moderator noted something along the lines that the pubic area that would normally have pubic hair was exposed.  In other words the bikini was "too small"

JSouthworth wrote:
You can't really accuse someone of cheating in a competition if they haven't broken the rules.

Thanks, I appreciate that, but it doesn't stop people from assuming you're cheating somehow.

Focuspuller wrote:
Just asking: Since when did "erotic" become defined as "open leg"? Seriously, because I, for one, don't see it that way AT ALL. Can a bare shoulder be "erotic"? I believe it can.

Agreed, but I'm just speaking of it in terms of what would be allowed or not allowed in the 18+ contest. You can call it what you wish, but it's typically obvious when an image is meant to focus on the genitals versus being artistic. How does that old quote go? "I can't define porn, but I know it when I see it." Something like that.

Foto_Flow wrote:
My 2 cents on the POTD is every submission by a photographer should include model credit
and/or photographer credit if the model submits.

Yeah, that's always nice. I try to credit the model when I submit photos to either contest, unless the model doesn't wish to be credited.

DTP - Photography wrote:
Congratulations on your recent non 18 pic of the day wins. I am confused because of the rules regarding what is acceptable in that category regarding implied, open shirts as I've been dinged a few times. This pic was not allowed for the non-nude category: https://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/pic/47650962 because it said it contained one nude element in the pubic area.
I'm just trying to understand the rules.

Yeah, it's the amount of "pubic" area that's showing. They're pretty strict on how low underwear or swimsuits can show. If they don't cover enough they are considered "Mature". You could enter that shot in the 18+ contest, but it would be unlikely to win. If you want to check if a photo is okay for either contest beforehand, just email it to [email protected] and tell them you want to see if it's okay for the contest or not. They'll get back to you in a day or two and if they say it's not okay for the contest, you won't lose any points.

KRJohnson wrote:
I had a Bodyscape image reported for showing to much genital's you could not even see it!!  I complained to no avail, I swear some of these Moderators have their own agenda.....

Can you link to the image? Now you've got me curious as to why it was rejected from the 18+. I've had the rules explained to me so many times I can probably tell you why they rejected it.

Aberotica  wrote:
At the time of writing, 1st of March, 2023, there hasn't been one single open leg/spread shot for at least a week, whereas before that, there was at least 2 or 3 every day. I think that confirms my suspicion that the site is being heavily censored.

They changed the rules for POTD 18+ entries effective Feb 14th. They were quite upfront about that change. You can read all about in the site related forum.

Rules change in the Men's and Women's 18+ contest

JQuest wrote:
They changed the rules for POTD 18+ entries effective Feb 14th. They were quite upfront about that change. You can read all about in the site related forum.

Rules change in the Men's and Women's 18+ contest

I just had a 18+ image removed from the contest because it did not comply to the new rules and guess what, I am fine with it and glad they finally changed the rules so that a model with her legs spread open wins for that reason alone! I was unaware of the new rules but I support them 100% and now know that photos may actually be judged on their beauty as well as the sex appeal.