Eligibility
Only opted-in, currently verified professionals with a qualifying public portfolio, country, activity period, rights metadata and minimum qualified ratings enter official rankings.
Legal and policy center · Updated 15 October 2026
Ranking Methodology and Disclaimer
ShootGuide rankings are transparent platform measurements, not guaranteed objective judgments of the world’s best photographers.
Production legal review required: this operational policy must be reviewed for the operator’s legal entity, address, governing law, consumer obligations and launch jurisdictions before commercial release.
Scores
Expert and Community Scores remain separate. The ShootGuide Rank uses published weights for confidence-adjusted scores, consistency, trusted contribution, verification completeness, audience value and current activity.
Confidence
Bayesian weighting and minimum thresholds reduce the effect of very small samples. Low-data profiles remain unranked rather than receiving fabricated positions.
Independence
Payments, course purchases, advertising, manufacturer relationships and sponsorship do not increase rank. Sponsored content is labeled and separated.
Integrity
Linked/self ratings, reciprocal rings, bots and suspicious bursts may be excluded. Moderators cannot directly assign rank; invalidations require audited reasons.
Limitations and appeals
Scores reflect available platform data, subjective opinions and a specific formula version. They do not guarantee quality, ethics, availability or future work. Eligible professionals may appeal factual or processing errors.
Questions or notices
Use the platform’s report, permission-request or contact channel appropriate to your issue. Formal operator identity, postal address, privacy contact, copyright contact and dispute details must be added before production launch.