I’ve described some of the most common types of competitions in my blog entry. Below is a list of annual competitions to help you get started and understand what to expect.
LIMELIGHT COMPETITIONS : These guys consider competitions a business. Big shows, many categories, high profile judges, annual books for sale and road shows. More than money the prize is a bit of international recognition.
Now in its sixth year, this is a good competition for pros and amateurs. Costs $30-$35 per entry. It claims to be the leading international award honoring black and white photography. It certainly has an excellent reach, amassing submissions from over 150 countries and includes judges from top places (Tate, Magnum Photos, Bonhams, etc.). It can really help boost your credibility and exposure. I’m under the impression that the last few competitions have expanded the number of “nominations” and included more “honorable mentions” than before, as a marketing ploy to please participants with more awards. This detracts a little from finding the truly great work. Nonetheless, the level of work is uniformly strong and if nothing else a good source of inspiration. Calendars, books, exhibitions and free studio time are some of the awards one can vie for if you win.
I believe this is the sister competition to the Black & White Spider awards. The submission formats are the same and fees are the same. There are also various categories open to both pros and amateurs. This competition has cash prizes and the jackpot has grown regularly and is now at $15,000. The work is solid but much more focused on “photography” than art and many of the submissions are commercially slanted. The submissions don’t lack in creativity but are frequently impress only for being cute and technically correct.Not surprising given that the focus is color photography. Perhaps because of this and because of its growing popularity and reach, I get the growing impression of being in a Popular Photography or Nat Geo competition. I think this makes it a solid place to consider for your first round of competitions.
One of the heavy weights in photo competitions, this event dovetails with the Lucie Awards. Category winners compete with for a Lucie Award/Statue (also know as the “Oscars” of the photography world) and the chance to see a red carpet ceremony in New York. The IPA offer 21 categories for pros and amateurs and the number of sub categories can be overwhelming and sometimes confusing. e.g. What does “Special Effects – Other” really mean? Submission prices are steep: $35 for a single image, $60 for a series of up to five, and $15 for each additional category. Amateurs and students get some economic relief, but not much, so choose your categories carefully. I recommend submitting series over individual photographs, as this seems to increase your chances of winning. Category and sub-category winners are published in a Blurb type coffee book and the top winners go on to be nominated in the Lucies and vie for generous cash prizes. The Lucies are the icing on the cake and excellent exposure but, unless you are a nominee you may wish to pass on the ceremony, as they tend to be a bit long and tedious. It’s a fun competition, the submissions are usually superb, and winning here certainly feels like an achievement.
The IPAs inspired a couple of off-shoots of which the PX3 is the first. Like the IPA it is run by the Farmani Group. What are the differences? The PX3 (Prix Photographie Paris) cater to a more European audience, there is a French submission format available. There are fewer categories, no cash prizes, but perhaps most importantly, in addition to student discounts there are discounts if you are a photographer from an emerging market economy. I felt this gave the PX3 a less Anglo-centric mix of participants and is a nice compliment to the IPAs. The judging panel is more European and it shows in the type of work they select and this is refreshing. Furthermore, there is a “public choice” run off and award, and this is often greatly contrasting to the judges pick.
One life emerges in 2010 as a collaboration between Artists Wanted and PDN Magazine. The first has 3 years experience searching for visual artists through competitions (often with spectacular prizes), while the latter has 30 years experience covering the world of photography. One Life offers a twist on limelight models: all participants, not just winners will be published in a book, and there is no amateur category. Furthermore, it offers generous cash prizes and it only costs $10 per picture up to 15. Over ten to 15 pictures is a flat rate of $95. Not a bad price to showcase a portfolio or two.
I was tempted to classify this as an Every Man’s competition but the fees are too high. Instead of road shows and book hard cash and equipment are offered. It is in its third year and attracts a large following from Oceania, Asia and Europe. Expect crisp digital photography. Pros get cash prizes for the top five picks ranging from $100 to $1,000, while amateurs get cameras and camera equipment with similar values. The categories are relatively tame (i.e. no Nudes or Fine Art) but you will find that there is an open criteria. Some categories are for amateurs only. Entry fees are very steep: $35 per image. No series accepted and no limit on the number of pictures submitted.
WHITEWALL COMPETITIONS : Often gallery hosted. Symbolic cash prizes if any; the objective is to secure a gallery show or portfolio review.
Center offers seven annual programs to submit to. The quality is excellent although I feel the style of choices tends toward the contemporary American taste in art photography: conservative, young, aesthetically correct storytelling, that makes you “care” (their word, not mine) for the subject matter, often in crisp color. This type of photography makes me feel that one is hygienically observing, rather than participating in the subject matter. You may not agree with the general style of their selections but you cannot argue with the quality of the work and the excellent level of dedication of both those who submit and those who evaluate the work. Choice Awards/ Project Competition/ Project Launch/ Review LA/ Review Santa Fe/ Santa Fe Prize / Teaching Award.
Pushing 40 years, Soho Gallery is completely run by its members as a collective gallery. They support four annual competitions: Krappy Kamera, National Small Works, Alternative Process, and National Works. They established themselves as an alternative to commercial photography, and it shows in the title of their competitions. The work displayed is fresh, beautiful and clicks to a its own counter-current beat.
The Kyosato Museum of Photography has an annual photography search for photographers under 35. If selected your work is purchased and becomes part of the museums collection. There are very detailed and clear guidelines for submission which include sending your actual prints for review. You must place your work in sleeves, print template ID labels, and send by courier or mail. What work they return is even better packaged then when you sent it, as only the Japanese can do, it is indexed, and you can’t help but feel honored to have your work treated with so much respect.
Another Japanese listing. Sakuraba has been around since 1997 and caters to introducing foreign visual artists to Japan. They are having a 2011 submission process and I believe it is an annual or bi-annual event. Submissions are digital, but if selected, you are expected to ship the work to Japan, and then actually go to the opening. The good news is that they pay for your trip and lodging, or provide you with $1,000. They also host an online gallery competition with decent cash prizes. The fees are a modest $30 and $20 respectively.
Annual selection of five final contenders for gallery representation, exhibition and support of a personal project. It gets better. $500 – $10,000 in honorariums, $1,000 book credit, exposure on the blog and social media while in the evaluation phase.
Print Competitions: Win and be published in a magazine or Folio.
I’ve covered this section in my Magazine Submissions page. There is usually a fee for print magazines while online magazines tend to omit this or cost less. Great way to get exposure and costs less than most competitions.
Everyman Competitions: Often very large competitions with cash and equipment prizes. Aimed at the pro-sumer digital photographer, usually promotin equipment brands or photography rags. Not often frequented by galleries, curators or museums.
National Geographic and Popular Photography are two examples of this type of competition. They are not bad competitions, and winning exposure or prizes is certainly through them is certainly a good thing, but the results will usually do little to enhance the credentials of an art photographer. It is a very different thing to be a photographer featured in an issue of National Geographic than a National Geographic photo contest winner.
“Es lo mismo pero no es igual,” as we say in Spanish. Most of these competitions are annual or multi-annual, and in some cases, as with Nikon and Epson there are regional and thematic variations that make it hard to keep up with what is happening. If you submit to these competitions you will often be pigeon-holed to travel, nature and photojournalism categories. There is little room for artistic creativity and you will be competing with literally tens of thousands of participants, as opposed to the usual 1,000 to 15,000 that is normal in other competition categories. I have therefore simply provided a laundry list of the most recognized competitions.
That being said, there is another type of Every Man competition worth considering. That is the one held by national photography associations, clubs and the like. They may not have the exposure you would desire but they are often very competently judged and in some ways do more to embellish your credentials and experience than some of the larger events. Some are designed for local communities and are good places to begin showing your work. Others are at national levels and sometimes endorsed by associations of the industry. A few have international presence. I’ve included a couple of examples of this type of show in my list as well.
Nikon / Cannon / Leica /Epson /Popular Photography /National Geographic /Photographers Forum Magazine/ Icon Photo
