A guide for photography competitions’ participants released

LensCulture magazine has published a guide for the photographers interested in professional competitions. It explains how to determine which competitions are the most valuable to you as a photographer and how to make the most of the competitions that you decide to enter, as well as how to apply and how to select photographs with the most potential.

According to the guide’s authors, the integral points to pay attention to are the following:

Organizers. The better known and influential the competition hosts are, the higher are the chances of it boosting your career. Give preference to the event with a few years of experience and ongoing reputation for discovering fresh talents.

Jury. The list of those who will be evaluating your work should be one the most important factors for you to consider before entering a competition. The question that you need to answer is — can they assist you in advancing your work, promote you to the media, gallery curators, festivals and introduce you to their colleagues. These steps are vital in helping a young photographer to become well-known.

Opportunities. This includes all future prospects as exhibitions, publications online and in printed press, and monetary awards. Look further that one-time gain – some event organizers will support the participants even after the competition is over.

Subject. You will appreciate a thematically charged competition if you work in a certain conceptual direction. After you chose your shots you need to take time to compose its footnotes – especially if your photos’ theme is not obvious to the viewer.

Participation rules. Familiarize yourself thoroughly with the rules of the competition. They can cover age, country of origin, direction of your work and skill level. Pay particular attention to the permitted quantity and resolution of photos, as well as requirements for file extensions and possibility of having to pay an entrance fee.

The guide also contains tips and advices from 19 photo industry professionals, including Michael Famighetti, an Editor in the Aperture Magazine; Daphne Angles, a Picture Editor in The New York Times, a curator James Wellford and Jason Landry, Panopticon Gallery’s Director. The full version of the guide can be downloaded off the LensCulture website.