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- CommentAuthorRussell
- CommentTimeJul 15th 2009
1 – Stick to the topic
First off, you would be amazed how many people submit photos that don’t actually fall within the area of the competition. What you have to remember, however, is that a lot of the judging that is done is based on people’s own experiences.
The closer you manage to stick to the target, the better. It doesn’t matter if it’s an illustration (a pair of lovers, as in ‘the meaning of life is love’) or a more abstract take on the subject (a beach chair in sunset, as in ‘the meaning of life is to relax’). Making the audience (in this case, the judges) think about what they are looking at is great, but don’t push it too far.
2 – Know the rules – then break them
Ansel Adams, seen by many as one of the greatest photographers to have ever lived, said something along the lines of ‘there are no rules for great pictures, there are just great pictures’. What he meant by that? Beats me, but it sounds good, no? Okay, just kidding. What I think he meant is that there’s no way to create a set of criteria which guarantee a good photo. Photography is viciously subjective, and ultimately your audience will think what they want. Take the rule of thirds, for example. It isn’t an iron-fast rule in itself, but people who don’t understand it, break it in ways that are un-pleasing to the eye.
The trick is to do something that works. In my experience, this means that you have to know all the ‘rules’ of photography, so you can choose which ones you want to break for a particular photo.
3 – Keep it simple
When submitting a photo to a photography competition, it’s tempting to select a photo you’re particularly proud of, or one that shows off a vast amount of different things at once. That’s not necessarily the best strategy. Remember that what you’re trying to do is to a) stand out from the masses of other photos and b) tell a story.
4 – Tell a powerful story
If it has a human element people can identify with, the story is far stronger. That’s why newspapers after a disaster will tell the story of Mr. and Mrs Smith and their individual tragedy, rather than the much drier factoid that 300 people died: We need to be able to feel that the people involved are related (or at least relevant) to us in one way or another. The best photographs, in my opinion, do the same thing. It doesn’t have to be a tabloid story of murder, deceit, or deception, but if you manage to get an emotion in there somehow, you’re onto something.
There are several levels of involving your audience emotionally. At the most shallow level, there is a recognition of emotion: A photo of a mother looking at a child might invoke this: You might feel that the mother loves the child, but the photo could leave you cold. Another photo would cause you to feel with the mother: Where you understand the feeling at a deeper degree. Finally, an image might be so strong that not only do you recognise and understand the emotion, you might actually feel the same. -
- CommentAuthorRussell
- CommentTimeJul 15th 2009
5 – Technical perfection in pair with strong vision
‘look past the technical imperfections, and see how beautiful the model was’. Love makes blind, but you can’t afford to be blind about photos you are going to submit to photographic competitions: You’ll be up against some brilliant photographers, and even small slip-ups will cost you enough points to lose you a competitions.
The thing is, creativity and originality can make up for some things, but there’s only so much to forgive. A slight over-exposure on an extremely good, unrepeatable action photo? can be forgiven. Not getting the focus right on a studio shot? Not good enough.
As a camera operator, you are a technician. Photography, in many ways, is pure physics. Optics, to be exact, but physics nonetheless. As with everything in optics, everything can be calculated. Exposures, refractive indexes, focal distances: Everything can be described mathematically. With modern cameras, you don’t have to worry about much of it, but nonetheless, you still need to get it right.
The analogy is often drawn as such: A snapper that is technically perfect but lacks vision will never be a great photographer. You can imitate, but not learn true photographic vision. On the other hand, having a great vision of what makes a good photo is not an excuse not to acquire the technical skills you need to express your ideas.
In my opinion, all arts are the same: As an artist, you need a message (ideas, vision, originality, inspiration) and a means to express this message. It doesn’t matter if you use a keyboard (poetry, prose), a paint brush (watercolours, oils) or a photo camera (polaroid, pinhole, SLR): If your means of expressing your message aren’t up to scratch, your art simply isn’t good enough.
6 – The X factor
So, you’ve worked hard, and everything seems to be coming together. You’re on topic, you’ve carefully chosen which rules to break, your photo isn’t over the top, you’ve got a story to tell, and your technical skills are as sharp as they come. What could possibly go wrong?
The final thing you need to keep in mind is that you’re up against hundreds of other photographs. If you submit a photo that is similar to what other photographers have done, you both lose impact, and will probably both not win the competition. The key is originality.
And yet, even if your photo ticks all the boxes and is refreshingly original, you may find yourself struggling without a bit of X-factor: That special, invisible ingredient which will transform your photographs from very, very good to ‘Wow, this is simply amazing’.
And the final tip… Develop your own style
There are a lot of fantastic photos out there, and a myriad of tutorials for how you can recreate them, but that’s only half the story: you have to take something and make it your own. Think of it as cooking a new dish: Do you follow the recipe perfectly, or are you confident enough in the kitchen to use it as a base, and remove some things, and add others? If you’re doing the latter, then you’re probably doing the right thing…
Good luck!
Thanks to http://photocritic.org/ -
- CommentAuthorGrace
- CommentTimeOct 3rd 2011
Thanks great help! ^^
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