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Wikipedia:Featured picture criteria
A featured picture:
- Is of a high technical standard.
- It has good contrast, accurate exposure and neutral colour balance.
- It shows no significant compression artifacts, burned-out highlights, image noise ("graininess") or other processing anomalies. Examples of common technical problems can be found here.
- Its main subject is in focus, it has good composition and has no highly distracting or obstructing elements.
- Exceptions to this rule may be made for historical or otherwise unique images. If it is considered impossible to find a technically superior image of a given subject, lower quality may sometimes be allowed.[1]
- Is of high resolution.
- It is of sufficiently high resolution to allow quality print reproduction. Still images are a minimum of 1000 pixels in width or height; larger sizes are generally preferred. The size of animated images is judged less strictly, though larger is still preferred. Further information on image size can be found here.
- Exceptions to this rule may be made for historical or otherwise unique images, if no higher resolution could be acquired.
- Panoramas need to be substantially larger than 1000 pixels in the longer dimension in order for sufficient details to be seen.
- Is among Wikipedia's best work.
- It is a photograph, diagram, image or animation which is among the best examples of a given subject that the encyclopedia has to offer.
- It illustrates the subject in a compelling way, making the viewer want to know more. A photograph has appropriate lighting to maximize visible detail; diagrams and other illustrations are clear and informative.
- A featured picture is not always required to be aesthetically pleasing; it might be shocking, impressive, or just highly informative. Highly graphic, historical and otherwise unique images may not have to be classically beautiful at all. See these examples for a basic guide.
- commons:Help:Scanning offers advice on preparing non-photographic media (engravings, illustrations from books, etc) in your possession for Wikipedia.
- Has a free license. It is available in the public domain or under a free license. Fair use images are not allowed. To check which category a particular image tag falls under, see the list at Wikipedia:Image copyright tags.
- Adds value to an article and helps readers to understand an article. An image's encyclopedic value is given priority over its artistic value.[2]
- Is accurate. It is supported by facts in the article or references cited on the image page, or is from a source noted for its accuracy. It is not created to propose new original research, such as unpublished ideas or arguments.
- Has a good caption The picture is displayed with a descriptive, informative and complete caption. A complete caption:
- Is succinct
- Properly identifies the main subject, including Latin and technical names where applicable
- Describes the context of the photograph, painting, or other media.
- States the most relevant meta-detail (such as date, location, event, version, etc)[3]
- Avoids inappropriate digital manipulation.
- Digital manipulation for the purpose of correcting flaws in a photographic image is generally acceptable provided it is limited, well-done, and not deceptive.
- Typical acceptable manipulation includes cropping, perspective correction, sharpening/blurring, and colour/exposure correction.
- More extensive manipulation should be clearly described in the image text
- Any manipulation which causes the main subject to be misrepresented is unacceptable.
[edit] Improving image quality
See: Wikipedia:How to improve image quality
[edit] Examples of good images
See: Wikipedia:Featured pictures
[edit] Examples of image problems
See: Wikipedia:WIAFP/Examples of technical problems
[edit] See also
- ^ For example, this image of the Battle of Normandy is grainy, but very few pictures of that event exist. However, where quite a number of pictures exist, for instance, the moon landing, FPC attempts to select the best of the ones produced.
- ^ While effects such as #FFFFFF and #000000, sepia, oversaturation, and abnormal angles may be visually pleasing, they often detract from the accurate depiction of the subject.
- ^ Caption criteria are explained in more detail at Wikipedia:Captions. Although not an FPC requirement, the image description can be extended to provide further context and subject details, which may be useful when featuring the image on the Main Page.
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