There is no agreed definition of what constitutes a featured picture. However, Wikipedia featured picture candidates should not display any of the following technical flaws, unless there are strong mitigating reasons, such as historical significance or unique subject matter: see the featured picture criteria page for guidelines, and the WP:WIAFP/example subject matter gallery for examples of notable exceptions.
Exposure, contrast and lighting problems
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Over-exposed, undesirable motion blur, main subject partially obscured and out of focus -
Blown-out highlights due to high-contrast lighting.Top: original image.
Bottom: blown-out areas marked red -
Example of excessive image noise (grain) due to a high sensitivity (ISO) necessitated by poor lighting.
JPEG compression, colour fringing and post-processing artifacts
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Left: original image. Loss of detail due to JPEG artifacts and enlargement -
Large number of (block-shaped) JPEG artifacts, inappropriate black border -
JPEG artifacts closeup -
Example of excessively post-processed image.Left: original image.
Right: over-sharpened, with both excessive colour saturation and contrast. -
At thumbnail size, image appears clear, at the size on the image page small artifacts can be seen, but at 100% (actual size) the image is heavily artifacted with JPG compression blocks over the entire photograph. -
Purple fringing, a form of chromatic aberration. See here for a closeup. -
Overaggressive tone mapping resulting in unrealistic colors (often incorrectly called HDR)
Focus, content and composition errors
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Main subject not entirely in focus ( depth of field too shallow) -
Poor composition: subject partially obscured -
Even a small tilt is noticeable. Editing the image may fix the issue. -
Unencyclopedic composition
Copyright status
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Be on the lookout for derivative works of 3D objects such as statues and sculptures. This one's OK - the author died about 170 years ago. Check Commons:Freedom of panorama to see whether such derivative works are permitted to be freely licensed.
Typically, technical problems in nominated images aren't as blatant as they are in the examples above. Here are some real world case studies.
| Image | Nomination | Problems |
|---|---|---|
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Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Oklahoma City memorial | Stitching errors, white building overexposed, posterisation (probably caused by JPEG compression), slight chromatic aberration, inappropriate file type |
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Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Two JFKs For Father's Day | Film grain, out of focus, oversharpened, smallish |
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Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Blue Manakin | Noise, subject not entirely in focus (insufficient DOF) |
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Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Snail climbing grass SMC 07.jpg | Insufficient DOF, JPEG artifacts |
