Entering Photo Competitions

I recently had a guest ask me about entering photo competitions, both why and how. She had been considering it for ages but was both unsure if her images were up to a standard acceptable for competition and not sure how to go about it anyway. This is a very common concern. The moment you enter a competition you are basically inviting criticism and judgement on your skill and ability as a photographer. This can be a very daunting step as you are exposing yourself to the unknown.

However, when you think about it, how is entering a photo competition any different than posting it on social media? The moment you put your image on Facebook or Instagram (both of which I absolutely hate as their user interface and presentation for photographers is just horrible) you are basically putting yourself on display anyway for both good and bad critique from both skilled and incompetent photographers. The good news about a formal competition is that the critique is supportive and positive and comes from skilled judges. So in reality, a competition should actually be less daunting than your Facebook post.

Which One?

One of the primary and most difficult things to do is “which photo do I enter?” We all struggle with that, even me now. The answer is basically which ever one you really like. If it’s an image you simply enjoy and really like then it is competition worthy. I could go on for hours about an images composition and colour palette and is it moody or does it tell a story, etc, etc but in reality, that is the role of the judges. As time goes on, as you enter more and more comps, you’ll learn which images do well and which don’t and you’ll eventually figure out why.  A few comps also give feedback and reviews but are generally more expensive to enter for that reason. There’s no way to prepare for starting to enter comps other than just start.

A Word of Caution

One of the main things to remember is you can’t look at comps like a race. If you look at it like trying to win 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd it will do your head in. I’ve had images that have won a competition outright – 1^st overall out of all categories, and yet doesn’t even get an acceptance in another comp. This is because art is subjective so one judge might just love the image and another judge will just brush it aside.

So while its always wonderful to have an image get a place, if you expect it and get upset when it doesn’t happen then you will become a very bitter and twisted photographer. You have to take the long term view over several years. So if during your first year you get 10 acceptances – great! The next year you might get 20 acceptances and 2 merits. In the 3^rd year you might get 40 acceptances 8 merits and 4 commendations. What this is telling you is that you are getting better and your overall standard is improving each year. As your standard improves you’ll get more and more good results and even occasionally win one. If it is an image you really like then put it through several competitions as it may get nothing in the first 2 comps but in the 3^rd it will be accepted or even a merit. If it is getting nowhere after say 4 to 5 comps then it is clearly not as good as you had hoped. Talk to others about the image and learn why. You honestly learn more from bad images than from good ones.

Preparing your Image

So you decide to enter a comp with your  competition worthy image. Now what? The first thing is to get the image technically correct. Judges will instantly disregard an image that is poor quality or has obvious errors. Fix the basics like

• make sure your horizon is straight,
• get rid of dust spots,
• be critical of your crop. Crop out parts of your image that add absolutely nothing or are distracting around the edge. Half a sign post, a bright spot in the corner, the dead sky that is just more sky, do you really need the entire tree if the evidence of a tree is enough?
• Remove distractions inside the image ie not at the edge where you can crop them away. An annoying bird that’s flying past, a small annoying bright reflection, a piece of litter, a leaf that is out of place. If it’s visually annoying and not adding to the story or image, get rid of it.
• Set the correct basic brightness and white balance. These 2 don’t need to be technically perfect and can actually be part of the mood of the image but if it clearly has a purple tinge or has a blown out sky then this needs to be corrected.
• Don’t give the judges any technical reason to skip past your image.

Once you have fixed any technical issues like those above, you can now begin to improve your image and add the quality or artistic element. Make global changes like curves, de-haze, saturation, sharpness to give your image some depth and reality. Once you get good at this you can make local changes using masks to brighten up specific areas or bring out the shadows in parts of the image but leave all the others as they are. Local changes are what brings out the best of an image. This can be quite time consuming and this is the “Art” coming into play. There are no rights or wrong at this stage, it’s just bringing out your vision. This is where you can get a placing or award. This is also what takes years to master like any artist takes years to master their craft. But as you do this more and more, your processing skills improve dramatically and your results improve to match. I’m not suggesting you go this far down the rabbit hole but this is what awaits you if you choose to do this. I’m a firm believer in competitions, not because of chasing the glory, but because it forces me to become better at my photography and is more rewarding and enjoyable as a hobby.

Which Competition and How to Enter

There are basically 2 paths for competitions, Club and Commercial.

The Camera Club process is a good place to start. Camera club comps work on a system of acceptances. If your image is deemed worthy it is “accepted” into the comp. It may then get a merit, commendation or a placing.

You will need to join a local camera club which is a bonus in itself. As a club member you can also join the Australian Photographic Society (APS). The APS hosts and co-ordinates national and international competitions. Once you are member of APS, you can enter whatever competition you want and they are generally free or at least much cheaper than commercial competitions. APS runs an Honours system where you can progress through various stages of honours (Skill) based on your success at various competitions. You can progress from Licentiate to Associate to Fellow, Master and finally Grand Master if you really get into it. For example, the Licentiate Honour requires 50 Acceptances.

You must keep fairly strict records of each acceptance and eventually send the proof of your acceptances to a Verifying Officer who will confirm and issue the Honour. This sounds worse than it is. They have all the necessary forms to assist you with this. You need to keep the results of each comp to prove each acceptance but it is fairly straight forward. I would suggest this is a good way forward for you initially until you get your bearings and decide if this is for you. Further information is at https://www.a-p-s.org.au/index.php/application-info

The other option is Commercial Competitions. Commercial comps generally give ratings to most entries either in the form of a score or more usually a Commended or Highly Commended. If you do really well you’ll get a top 100 or top 20 and maybe even a Winner to 3^rd placing.  Any photographer can enter and they have nothing to do with the APS club system.

They are usually run by magazines, manufacturers like Sony or Epson or other commercial businesses. They charge on average $25 to $50 per single entry so are not cheap and while you still have the copyright of your image for other purposes, they will have the rights to use your image for any of their advertising for life for free. The up side is you can get a lot of notoriety and business if your image wins.

Beware of competitions that are not linked to some business or reputable organisation. India has a million crappy competitions as individuals run competitions as a business and make a lot of money from entrance fees. If you win, nobody will ever know and no reputable competition or business will care. Some people just make money by running meaningless competitions.

But if you stick to the well known ones, they can be worthwhile in getting your name out there. Even if you get Commended’ s or better, you can advertise that on social media and your website, etc. This is one the reasons I enter these competitions. It gets my presence out there and gives people a bit of confidence that I can take a good photo and therefore teach them how to do the same. Some people definitely do it for the glory and I guess that’s fine if that’s what you seek. I build my skills via the APS competitions and advertise my skills via the commercial competitions.

I hope this gives you a better understanding of competitions, how and why and what I mean by a competition worthy image. If you have any questions or want any help with entering or reviewing images, happy to do so.