How to enter and win photo contests

PSA Journal, Feb, 2005 by Ken Deitcher

Introduction

What is a good photograph? While a hard definition to write, it can be any image capture you enjoy to look at.

Theoretically a good image should have four elements: composition, exposure, technique, and presentation. An image should capture the interest of the observer or judge. It may be unique or common: but to be a winner, it should stand out from all the other images.

Competitive photographers should compose images that include some of following features:

Point of Interest

Framing

Background and Foreground

Close view

Cropping

Lines

Simplicity

Contrast

Balance

Viewpoint

Direction of Movement

Diagonals

So-called "Rule of Thirds"

Most importantly, as a competitor you will want to submit a photograph that you like rather than one that you think judges will like. If you want to please judges, you will never have your own style or individuality. Keep taking images of all kinds, building up a portfolio of images that you can use in the future for competitions, contests, and your own use. I suggest that you try not to limit yourself to one type of image or you will be "type cast."

Many judges tire subconsciously or overtly biased. We have seen this in competitions: for example, a judge may not like "cats" or "digital" images. Bias should not occur in judging, but it does.

Do not "play" to the judge's interests: if a judge is an expert in flower photography, he or she will be super-critical of your flower images or may not prefer flowers at all in his or her judging.

Remember that judges tire human, fallible, make mistakes, etc., but are not the last word. An image may lose in one competition but come in first in another.

Photograph what you like but try something different, Break the so-called "rules," as that can make for a line picture!

File photographs so that you know where your images are, in order that they may be easily retrieved. A great image that is lost is an image never taken. Remember, too, an image is a capture in time that cannot be repeated.

Why Enter

For the photographer who is confident in his or her abilities and is knowledgeable of the techniques available, entering contests can enable the photographer to compare his or her works with a vast number of competitive photographers.

Winning is a "high" or "ego trip" that increases self-confidence, but rejections are the path to winning. Be prepared to lose more than win. Don't get discouraged! The awards are secondary to the universal recognition and satisfaction of seeing your photo in print.

Where to Start

There are a limited number of competitions available to the amateur and part-time professional photographer. Several photo magazines, such as Petersen's Photographic and Popular Photography, have monthly competitions. The total submissions are huge, so don't be discouraged--keep submitting. My best advice to the aspiring contestant is to look at past winning photos in these magazines.

Some major international competitions are: Nikon Photo Contest International (142 winners out of 42,000 photos submitted), Olympus Vision Age International Color Slide Photo Contest (125 winners out of over 13,000 submissions), and the Canon Photo contest. These three are worldwide and judged in Japan with both prints and slides. Look at the published yearbooks of winners to get an idea of what to submit (You don't have to use their camera brands to compete.).

Another photo company with a yearly contest also is Tamron. Tamron has a competition 3-4 times a year in which images can be entered via e-mail or by mail, with a requirement that the image must have been taken with their brand of lens. The winning photo receives a Tamron zoom lens.

There is an annual PSA-recognized exhibition called the Austrian Super Circuit in which a variety of categories may be entered submitting slide images to be judged in 4 competitions, and each entrant receives a catalog of all the accepted images. The winners have an opportunity to win Hasselblad cameras with all the lenses.

Anyone worldwide may enter any of international photo exhibitions throughout the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia. See pages 46-49 for list of these exhibitions. Although there are no monetary awards, PSA members have the opportunity for medals, ribbons, and acceptances toward star ratings and the PSA distinctions of EPSA and PPSA. You can enter general, nature, photojournalism, stereo, and photo-travel competitions with both slides and prints, which are always returned. All of these exhibitions are juried, usually on a point system, toward a final selection of the "best of the best."

Many regional and state fairs have competitions in which you can submit your images in these fairs; winners receive ribbons.

How to Enter

Read and reread all instructions carefully. Make sure what is required: original slides, prints, or duplicate slides or whatever.

Label carefully with your name, address, phone number plus an entry number if required, per the rules of the particular competition. All competitions (except the PSA-recognized exhibitions mentioned above) require a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) for the return of your work. Some competitions will only return slides, not prints, and some request "dupe" only and will not return any work sent. In some cases, winning entries require original slides and negatives which will be returned within a year.