Any photography contest is subjective. A group of judges, presumably with some credentials, will choose what each of them think is the best photo. Their judgment, however, has as much to do with their life experience as it does with their technical photographic knowledge and compositional abilities. The lesson is to forget about the judges; you can’t control their emotional or subconscious response to the theme or your pictures. You’re more likely to do well in a photo contest, and/or make a living as a photographer, if you have your own set of lofty criteria about what is an excellent photo. In reality, the only person against whom you’re competing is yourself. If you can satisfy or exceed your own criteria, then you are already a winner, and are more likely to score high with the judges.
Shooting photos that comply with the theme of the photo contest wouldn’t seem to be much of a secret, but it must be because so many entrants typically submit photos that are off target. Your first task, therefore, is to read the contest rules more than once and make sure you understand them explicitly. If the contest theme is “happy children,” then don’t just assume because you are a parent, you can capture a winning image. Study the work of successful child portrait photographers. Find and study the winning photographs of other contests with a children’s theme. Learn how to use their techniques in your pictures just short of copying their images directly.
Regardless of your photography skill levels, you’ve learned that photography, like other art forms, has compositional rules, such as the rule of thirds. Photography also has its own set of technical rules, relating to how you use the camera, lens and their technology. This is similar to how a painter uses a brush or a sculptor a modeling tool. It’s an unwritten law that once you know the “rules,” you’re allowed to break them. The contest judges know this “law” too. As you begin to visualize the kind of photo(s) you would like to create to submit to the contest, think how you would capture them according to the “rules” as well as which specific rule you might break to record a truly unique and winning image. Breaking photographic rules can be a creative tool, if you know how to control it. You just might present the judges with an image they can’t overlook.
Typically, judges are looking for a message, a story in your photo that connects with them. One of the “rules” of conveying a message or emotion in a photograph is to keep the composition as simple and as uncluttered as possible. Generally, the more elements in a photo, the more likely the message is diluted or lost completely. This is especially true if the message is supposed to come from a subject or single element within that visual cacophony.
The story you tell in a photo must be powerful and strong. It should seem to leap from the image. You want your message to slap the judges in the face because they won’t spend much time looking at your photo(s). Photography can be an excellent medium to convey subtleties of emotion and drama, but you’re trying to win a contest. Save your subtle messages for a photo exhibition in a gallery, when viewers have more time to search for and connect with your understated story.
As mentioned in #3 above, photography is bound by technical rules. Don’t expect photo contest judges to disregard the technical flaws in your image just because the composition is outstanding. That being said, breaking technical rules can also lead to highly creative and original photos. Make sure you understand the technique you plan to break thoroughly before you use it purposely as a creative tool. When you decide to submit such an image, you are definitely working without a net. One group of judges will understand and appreciate what you are trying to create; another group may throw it on the reject pile immediately.
During the visualization, or planning, process of the photo(s) you want to shoot for the contest, take some additional time to find the unique approach that will allow your image to be different from all the rest. Regardless of the compositional and technical perfection of your photo, if it looks like most of the others, then it won’t receive a second look. Think deeper about the contest theme and create an image that represents it with as much originality as possible.
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