Can photographic competitions improve your photography
Photographic competitions will not be for everybody, they can be a place to grow your skills or they can be a place to lose heart in your work. The one thing you should always keep in mind is that if you like your images that is all that matters.
Photographic competitions come in different forms, from local camera clubs to big international Salons. One thing to understand about the different levels in these is the level of judging involved. Your local camera club will usually only involve one judge and it will be their opinion and their opinion alone on the images that will produce a winner. International competitions will involve several judges and images will be scored and an accumulation of points awarded and then added up to produce a winner. It’s also quite common to see with local camera club judging the winner being picked because the judge happens to be a fan of a particular genre of an image, were as with national and international events images will be judged through criteria. This, in my opinion, is a much fairer way and the only way you can judge say an image of a dog against a landscape.
So can this help your photography move forward? For me personally I think yes, my time competing certainly helped my photographic journey and lifted the standard of my work. Firstly it made me a more technical photographer. By this, I mean the understanding of what makes a good technical image with highlights being at a level along with shadows. Highlights should not be what is called blown with no detail recorded and shadows should retain detail throughout and not become blocked. With a colour image white balance should be correct and not have a cast across the image. Images should be sharp where they need to be with the focus being on the main interest in the image.
I have been involved with judging now for several years both with local and international competition and the judging point criteria I judge by are as follows.
1.) Impact is the sense one gets upon viewing an image for the first time. Compelling images evoke laughter, sadness, anger, pride, wonder or another intense emotion. There can be impact in any of these twelve elements.
2.) Technical excellence is the print quality of the image itself as it is presented for viewing. Retouching, manipulation, sharpness, exposure, printing, mounting, and correct colour are some items that speak to the qualities of the physical print.
3.) Creativity is the original, fresh, and external expression of the imagination of the author by using the medium to convey an idea, message or thought.
4.) Style is defined in a number of ways as it applies to a creative image. It might be defined by a specific genre or simply be recognisable as the characteristics of how a specific artist applies light to a subject. It can impact an image in a positive manner when the subject matter and the style are appropriate for each other, or it can have a negative effect when they are at odds.
5.) Composition is important to the design of an image, bringing all of the visual elements together in concert to express the purpose of the image. Proper composition holds the viewer in the image and prompts the viewer to look where the creator intends. Effective composition can be pleasing or disturbing, depending on the intent of the image-maker.
6.) Presentation affects an image by giving it a finished look. The mats and borders used, either physical or digital, should support and enhance the image, not distract from it.
7.) Colour Balance supplies harmony to an image. An image in which the tones work together, effectively supporting the image, can enhance its emotional appeal. Colour balance is not always harmonious and can be used to evoke diverse feelings for effect.
8.) Center of Interest is the point or points on the image where the author wants the viewer to stop as they view the image. There can be primary and secondary centres of interest. Occasionally there will be no specific centre of interest when the entire scene collectively serves as the centre of interest.
9.) Lighting —the use and control of light—refers to how dimension, shape and roundness are defined in an image. Whether the light applied to an image is manmade or natural, proper use of it should enhance an image.
10.) Subject Matter should always be appropriate to the story being told in an image.
11.) Technique is the approach used to create the image. Printing, lighting, posing, capture, presentation media, and more are part of the technique applied to an image.
12.) Story Telling refers to the image’s ability to evoke imagination. One beautiful thing about art is that each viewer might collect his own message or read her own story in an image.
As a final point, I will refer to an earlier statement in that you should not get too disheartened if you do not score well or your images don’t do as well as you hoped. This could be for several reasons, you will undoubtedly have a personal connection to your image a judge will not and be looking at it coldly. You can quite easily miss an obvious mistake until it’s pointed out. As I said competition is not for everyone and the most important thing is if you like your photography that’s the most important point.