Mistake #1. Photographers present tired and predictable subjects and treatments. Hackneyed shots are extremely tedious for everyone concerned. Individuality and originality, however, stand out. Be ruthlessly tough on your material – does it have an immediate impact? Is it original? Compelling? Emotive? If not, then go back to the drawing board.

Mistake #2. Photographers play it too safe and fail to explore extremes in their entries. What is presented is more like a merely accurate representation of something rather than a shot that vividly captures the ‘drama,’ ‘essence’, ‘emotion’ or ‘personality’ of the subject. Shots that do are alive. Those that don’t are flat and are quickly discarded from the judging process.

Mistake #3. Photographers violate the basic principles of composition and framing. By doing this, an ignorance of the fundamentals of photographic aesthetics is immediately apparent. Such entries never win and there is a massive difference between knowing and understanding the rules but then consciously bending or breaking them and, on the other hand, being completely ignorant of the ‘rules’ in the first place. The difference will be very obvious in the images. Aspiring photographers need to educate themselves about the fundamentals of framing and composition or else will be wasting their time in most photography competitions.

Mistake #4. Photographers don’t enter enough shots into a competition. There is always subjectivity involved in the judging of any photography competition so aspiring photographers need to put in more than one entry if they can – especially in the major events.

Mistake #5. Photographers submit their entry at the 11th hour. In any significant photography competition, the vast majority of entries (to call it a tidal wave would not be an understatement in some cases) arrive at the last possible moment before the deadline. Judges are then confronted with the daunting task of wading through the mountains of (e)mail and judging each and every piece of work with equal dispassion. In theory, it should not make any difference when an entry arrives but in practice, judges can give more time and thought to those entries that arrive before King Kong’s mailbag.

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1. The ideal ‘Perfect Photographer’ needs to have a powerhouse work ethic. They accomplish things in a day that ordinary mortals take weeks to do. They seem unstoppable. They know their time is valuable – irreplaceable actually – and don’t waste it watching TV or on Yahoo Messenger.

2. The Perfect Photographer is very easy to get along with, has great people skills, an excellent sense of humor and people naturally like working with them.

3. The Perfect Photographer is genuinely curious, interested and fascinated by their craft and loves innovation and inspiration from any source – a beginner or otherwise.

4. The Perfect Photographer maintains composure in stressful situations where others flounder and lose control of the situation and possibly themselves. In this sense, the Perfect Photographer inspires trust, confidence and belief because they are unflappable and unfazed by almost anything.

5. The Perfect Photographer is always experimenting with new approaches, new tricks, new lenses, new software etc. In short, they don’t become cynical, bored, lazy or complacent with their skill level and are always enthusiastic and eager to find out cool new stuff.

6. The Perfect Photographer has clarity and knows precisely what they are aiming for at the final stage of output, e.g. a giant billboard poster, at the earliest stages of input e.g. conceptual planning. Small modifications early on in a project can have absolutely massive implications for a project later. The Perfect Photographer is always aware of this and is flexibly adapting, responding and problem-solving at each stage with the optimum later final output always in mind.

7. The Perfect Photographer is completely generous and recognizes the fundamental importance of humbly giving back some of their accumulated wisdom, experience or even money. They are a giver, not a taker.

8. The Perfect Photographer knows how to say ‘no’ politely. It does not matter who the ‘no’ is to, they are excellent at doing it in an inclusive and polite way that actually makes the other party respect her or him more, instead of less.

9. The Perfect Photographer has integrity and can be depended on, no matter what. If the Perfect Photographer says that they will deliver something, they will. If they genuinely cannot due to unforeseen problems, they communicate constantly with the person that they have made the commitment to so that the situation is crystal clear to everyone involved.

10. They are not at all egotistical and are motivated by their humble love of the process, the craft, the art, the science, of what they do. They are not interested in fame (but know how to promote their work to maximum effect) or extravagant wealth (but get paid a fortune) but instead feel like a ‘servant’ to the art of photography – if that is not too corny.

Now, which of these qualities do you have and which do you need to develop (a lot?) more.

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You probably won’t win, will you? It would be easier to just watch TV, right? Why bother?

If you think like this about your approach to photography competitions and your photography
craft development – admittedly two distinct things – it is extremely unlikely that you will be able to gain any kind of momentum in your creative endeavors.

On the other hand, proactively gearing up for photography competitions and entering them can be beneficial for these 4 reasons:

1. They can help you develop the discipline and focus that being forced to work to a deadline brings. Photography is an art and science that demands discipline and the development of an almost indestructible ability to meet deadlines is a vital attribute for any aspiring professional photographer to develop.

2. A major award or positive result in a prestigious or high profile competition has the power to, at best, attract the attention of your chosen area of the industry and, at worst, make a noteworthy addition to your CV and portfolio.

3. Having the focus and deadline of a competition forces an individual to determine just how serious she or he is about becoming a professional photographer, if that is the goal. Many an aspiring photographer has simply found it ‘too hard’ to deliver under pressure and they quickly
discovered their lack of necessary commitment to the practical demands of professional photography.

4. Losing (i.e. not winning) will either help you to develop the essential stamina that a pro needs or, on the other hand, irreparably crush your artistic ego. If the latter is the case, then perhaps another career is advisable. Remember, you’re in it for the long haul & you’re doing it because you love and enjoy the process of making great images, not just the potential reward, right?

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To give your photos the best possible chance of winning a major photography competition, consider applying these three principles:

1. One of the most powerful techniques that film-maker Steven Spielberg uses is to direct the camera not at the ‘incredible’ thing happening (shark, UFO, German regiment etc.) but rather on the close-up reactions of individual characters seeing those things. In short, he captures a reaction, not an action.

Spielberg implies intrigue, excitement, terror or wonder.

The audience then imagines the source of those emotions which is infinitely more powerful than any actual visual.

Alfred Hitchcock used this technique superbly so you are in good company if you can master it.

For example, rather than shooting New Year’s fireworks (boring), get a 3 year old girl’s reaction to seeing them – in close-up – now that would be powerful!

2. Do your images have the ‘X-Factor’?

We are all fascinated by the extraordinary. Most of us lead relatively predictable lives hence our enjoyment of extremes in our entertainment e.g. how about a movie where a man dresses up as a bat to fight criminals and the police think that’s cool and work with him!

Are your images extreme and extraordinary enough?

3. Conceive your image not as a single visual ‘plane’ but rather as a series of overlapping planes or layers that offer interesting ideas in relation to each other.

To use a crude example, imagine a photo of the water’s edge on a sandy beach (Layer 1).

Add in a dead soldier on the sand in the foreground (Layer 2).

Beyond that, add a stripped down soldier with a surfboard running towards the water to surf (Layer 3).

What kinds of messages and themes have been added by the layers in this hypothetical image?

In doing all of this however, make sure that the eye knows where to go in your composition!

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