Most entrants read a contest's rules for the deadline, the file size and the prize. The clause that actually kills entries sits further down, usually under warranties, and it says something close to this: by submitting, you confirm you have obtained written permission from every identifiable person in the image. Nobody reads it until a shortlist email asks for paperwork that … [Read more...] about Photo Contest Entries Without Faces Skip the Model Release Problem
Why I’m Paying Attention to the National Geographic Photo Camp Expansion in Washington State
There’s something quietly powerful about programs that don’t try to speak for young people, but instead give them the tools to speak for themselves. That’s essentially what’s happening with the new expansion of National Geographic Photo Camps across Washington state, a multi-location initiative bringing photography and storytelling workshops to youth aged 16 to 22, stretching … [Read more...] about Why I’m Paying Attention to the National Geographic Photo Camp Expansion in Washington State
After the Loss: What to Do With Feedback, Silence, and the Urge to Quit Entering
Most photo contest entries do not place. This is arithmetic — competitions receive thousands of entries and produce a handful of medalists. The mathematical likelihood of any given submission placing is low. This is a fact most photographers know and almost none have fully internalized. Each loss still carries a specific kind of sting that does not diminish with repetition, and … [Read more...] about After the Loss: What to Do With Feedback, Silence, and the Urge to Quit Entering
Black and White in Color Contests: When Monochrome Wins and When It Loses
The decision to convert an image to black and white before submitting to a general or open-category contest is one of the more consequential calls a photographer makes — and one of the least systematically considered. Most photographers convert because they feel the image "works better" in monochrome. That intuition is sometimes correct and sometimes a rationalization for a … [Read more...] about Black and White in Color Contests: When Monochrome Wins and When It Loses
The Submission Trap: Why Your Best Shot Is Rarely Your Strongest Entry
The image you consider your best work and the image most likely to win a given contest are almost never the same photograph. Photographers who win consistently understand this distinction and treat it as operational, not philosophical. Those who enter repeatedly without placing often do not. Your best shot carries biographical weight. You know the conditions that produced it, … [Read more...] about The Submission Trap: Why Your Best Shot Is Rarely Your Strongest Entry