Submitting to Photography Competitions
Competitions offer exposure and credibility. When you win they do wonders to fortify your confidence and help you continue developing your work. But not all competitions are alike. Indeed, many are money making machines. Profits are made from submission fees and royalties from books sold to participants. Everybody likes to see their work in print and paying $40 for a book showcasing the work of winners and participants is a relatively painless way of satisfying this wish.
A noble few are truly dedicated to finding and rewarding talent. The HCB (Henri Cartier Bresson) Foundation , Hearst 8×10, and the Associated Press Awards are examples of this. Burn Magazine offers grants for personal work. Similar awards exist in the fashion and commercial fields of photography. I have not listed these competitions because they are very specific to certain types of photography and imply a level of experience that forgoes their needing to be mentioned to the photographer in the know.
Most competitions now charge a fee although many free competitions continue continue to exist. Paying a fee does not necessarily mean there is a cash prize, and some free competitions offer generous prizes. What you get ranges from cash and prizes, to the chance to be gallery represented, or simply exposure and recognition. Some are accessible to Every Man, and others position themselves further up the value chain.
I’ve described some of the most common types of competitions I’ve encountered here, and by way of example tried to illustrate what to expect. The categories of competitions I define are:
LIMELIGHT COMPETITIONS : These guys consider competitions a business. You can find over 20 categories and even more sub-categories to participate in, either as a pro or amateur. Submission fees tend to be high (e.g. $50 per portfolio + $15 for every category posting). The judging panel is populated by high profile galleries, museums and publications. Electronic files are submitted.
Rewards sometimes include cash, very rarely equipment. More often expect a Winner’s Certificate, bragging rights, and a modest discount on the annual book that has all the winning images pasted as if they were a catalog. If you are a category winner you may be asked to provide printed work or a file for printing. These competitions usually receive 10,000 – 20,000 submission and award c.500 prizes — that’s a one in twenty/forty ratio. Good odds actually, but the hype is such that you feel they were greater. Some categories, such as Nature and Nudes receive enormous numbers of submissions, while others may only receive a handful.
Examples: IPA Awards, PX3, Black and White Spider Awards
WHITEWALL COMPETITIONS : I named them as such because of the white gallery wall that is so often the prize. Usually a gallery is behind the hosting. Prizes are tied to exhibitions, gallery representation, and portfolio reviews. Sometimes cash prizes, grants and other monetary incentives are offered. Winning is usually a great honor but may imply having to supply hard copies of your work at your own cost. Submissions are usually 300 – 700 but standards are high.
Examples include: Soho Photo Gallery, Hey Hot Shot!, Center.
PRINT COMPETITIONS: These are organized by print and e-magazines. There is usually a modest submission fee and files are sent electronically or on a CD. Note that these competitions are different to the submission process. If you win you get published in a special issue or Folio. I wrote a separate entry related to magazine submissions here. Submissions rarely top 10,000 and are usually in the 2,000 – 5,000 range, sometimes much less, but the win to submission ratio is lower than in limelight competitions, and some publications are extremely stringent.
Examples include: B&W Magazine, COLOR Magazine, Silvershotz
EVERYMAN COMPETITIONS: These are usually organized by popular magazines, camera, and camera equipment suppliers. (e.g. Agfa, Epson, Nikon, National Geographic, Popular Photography). Prizes vary from generous cash and equipment prizes to modest prizes and a publication in the magazine. The submissions fees are modest or free, and the number of submissions usually reaches above 10,000.
As these are mainstream competitions, categories are limited to the tamer categories of nature, landscape, sports and travel, so there are fewer winner slots. Winners and honorable mentions are usually no more than 50, across al categories and sometimes only five. Although the odds of winning are lower this is mitigated by the many sub-amateur works submitted. Competitions like this are a dime a dozen. Camera manufactures often have regional and thematic sub-competitions each year and it gets hard to keep track of what’s happening.
Of note in this category are competitions hosted by associations of the industry or photography clubs. Some of these have national and international recognition, such as the Icon Photography Competition in Australia, and should be taken seriously, although the prizes they offer tend to be more modest.
I hope these descriptions help you navigate the waters of photography competitions more effectively. You may also wish to consult the the following two sites as solid sources of upcoming competitions:
Maria Virginia Swanson, whose blog offers regular updates to photography events, reviews and competitions.
Photography Competitions who have a very thorough list of international competitions of all sorts that they keep updated and you can filter by type, place, fee and sponsor. Surprisingly they miss listing some of the larger competitions but nonetheless have a great database.