9 Reasons Why You SHOULD Enter Photography Competitions
If you’re a photographer, you’ll know that the creative process can be both rewarding and challenging. It’s easy to become stuck in a rut or find yourself lacking direction, but there are ways of breaking out of this cycle. One great way to reinvigorate your passion for photography is to enter a photo competition. The competitive edge can help push you that extra few percent, and the rewards can be huge. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the great reasons why entering a photo competition can be beneficial for photographers, as well as some of the potential pitfalls to watch out for.
In 2022 I was delighted to find out that I had won a BenQ photography monitor as one of the special prizes in the Warragual Photography Competition.
This monitor will not only help me with my processing for photo competitions it will enable me to share my images more confidently with my photography workshop attendees in Queensland.
Let’s discuss why I think you should give a photography competition a go whether its International, National or Local.
1. Win Some Great Prizes!
Its not the be all and end all but winning prizes such as cameras or lenses, gear and even dollars is always wonderful!—so why not give it a go?
2. Challenge Yourself and Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
Sometimes it can take something like an external motivation such as a photo competition to push us out of our comfort zone and strive for greatness in our work. It might seem daunting at first, but it’s worth it—you’ll come away from it with improved skills and confidence in your work.
3. Capture your creativity and Give It Some Direction!
When you have hundreds of ideas running through your head and don’t know where to start, entering a photo competition can provide much-needed direction. By focusing on one specific theme or style, it helps narrow down your options and get you into the right frame of mind for taking great photos.
4. Recognizing What Level You Are At
Receiving recognition from others (such as awards) really helps boost confidence in what we’re doing—especially when these accolades come from other peers who may have been in competitions before us! The results of entering competitions at times can give us an idea of what level our photography is at.
5. Train Your Mind To Look For Perfection
When you’re competing against others in a photo competition, one of the best things about is that it forces us to strive for perfection in our work. We want nothing more than success at winning the competition, so we focus on creating something truly special which will stand out from thousands of other entries!
6. Gain Feedback
Particular competitions may have feedback forms where judges rate each entry according their criteria; this works out perfectly because this feedback can be used later on when refining future projects or submitting entries into further competitions elsewhere!
7. Be Inspired!
All too often we struggle with coming up with new ideas or concepts—but looking through other people’s submissions can help spark those creative juices again!
8. Promote Your Work and Gain Exposure
Any kind of recognition is invaluable when trying establish yourself as professional photographer—and by entering competitions, you open up opportunities for more exposure online or even offline if you make it onto exhibition walls or magazines! Plus if you win or place highly in any competitions then even better!
9 . Learn How to Promote Yourself
Lastly but not least, entering into competitions gives us valuable experience when learning how best promote ourselves within certain circles; whether its talking about our work during interviews/presentations or networking at events like gallery openings etc…
Whether you’re just starting out with photography or already an established pro—entering competitions is definitely worthwhile considering due its ability help focus your efforts towards creating something truly special and perhaps even gaining exposure/recognition along way too! With all potential benefits aside though always remember check terms & conditions carefully before entering any competitions —there may be hidden fees/costs associated which should taken into consideration before submitting anything… Otherwise good luck everyone!! Have fun & happy shooting!! 🙂
Let’s get this creativity started!
Cheryl.
