How to Approach Photography Competitions

If you have landed on this site then I assume that you will have an interest in wildlife and photography, and are either considering participating in photography competitions, or have already tried your hand at a few. For those of you reading this who are relatively new to the competition experience, are thinking about contests for the first time, or are looking for guidance on how to improve your chances of success, then this article is designed to provide you with some useful guidelines and set realistic expectations. Photography competitions can be extremley valuable in the development of your photography, but must be approached with the right mindset.

‘this article is designed to provide you with some useful guidelines and set realistic expectations’

When I first started to take photography seriously, I was quickly able to impress friends and family with my efforts. Their intentions were well meaning but, let’s be honest, they often aren’t the best judges of good photography and will tend towards a praise default. Some of this praise may manifest itself in suggestions that you enter this image, or that image, into this, or that competition as they are sure you will do well. So you give a couple of competitions a go and this ends in disappointment when you don’t even make the initial shortlist with that amazing shot everyone has told you is a ‘winning image’. The realisation that the judges don’t appreciate your work as much as your friends can be crushing, leaving you feeling deflated, that you have wasted your money, and you resolve to never enter another competition. 

‘The realisation that the judges don’t appreciate your work as much as your friends can be crushing’

This photograph of a Nuthatch may be technically solid, but lacks the qualities to make it stand out in a competition. Images such as this may impress friends and family members, but judges have seen work like this thousands of times before. ©Rob Read

A few years ago I would take competition rejection as a personal affront to my prowess as a photographer. I can remember studying shortlisted images and comparing my discarded entries with those that the judges had picked, not understanding why my work wasn’t considered as good. I sought confirmation of my opinion from those I knew would not disagree – after all, the judges obviously can’t know what they are talking about. Competition photography is not for the fainthearted and, if you can’t take rejection, then best not to enter in the first place, but this would be missing out on the many benefits that competitions can bring if you adopt the correct attitude.

‘The first thing to accept is that you are very unlikely to win’

The first thing to accept is that you are very unlikely to win; success is hard earned and rarely comes easily. If you treat your competition entry fee as an investment from which you expect a monetary return, then you are going to be disappointed. Instead, if you think of entering a competition as part of the enjoyment and development of your photography, win or not, then you will have gone a long way to understanding that the real value of competitions is the knowledge gained, the new ideas generated, and the overall improvement of your work as you compete with photographers at a higher level. Entry fees are generally not a huge amount of money, less than a small round of drinks in the pub. None of us complain at the price of a tank of fuel expended for a chance to see that rare bird, plant or animal, even if we dip out on actually seeing it - it’s being involved that counts. Competition photography is the same, you will dip out more than you score, but you can do things over time that will help to improve your chances.

‘adopt the correct mindset and simply enjoy being involved’

Competitions can be such a useful and positive tool for the development of your photography if you adopt the correct mindset and simply enjoy being involved. And winning takes practice. None of the top sports stars won all of their early competitions; they participated, learned, and improved their game over time. And to improve, they had to compete with better players; and so it is with photography. 

‘seek out critique from those who are recognised and respected as successful photographers in your field of interest’

Perhaps the most important aspect is learning to become your own fiercest critic. Adulation from friends and social media followers doesn’t count for anything – remember, these are the very people that are the least likely to find fault or suggest ways in which your photos could be improved. And most won’t be photographers themselves either. Believe me, it’s quite easy to please those that don’t take photographs with anything more than a phone, with quite mediocre work, so seek out critique from those who are recognised and respected as successful photographers in your field of interest. Study the images that have done well in past competitions, start following those winning photographers on Instagram and compare your work to theirs. Be tough on yourself and ask if your work is up to scratch, and think hard about how you can improve your results. Try and learn some of the techniques other photographers employ, and then give them your own twist. But remember, originality is everything, and to stand out from the crowd your work needs to be different. Copy what’s already on social media, stand next to a dozen people in a hide taking pictures of the same bird in the same situation, and you are very unlikely to do well in a competition with those images, regardless of how technically brilliant they may be.

‘planning is an essential ingredient in creating original work’

Becoming familiar with a particular subject and working with it repeatedly is often a good way to start. If you learn about your subject’s behaviour then you are more likely to predict what it will do in any given situation. Become familiar with its habitat, and you can more easily predict the way the light and certain conditions will affect the overall scene and how the subject will appear. Knowing your subject and its environment intimately will allow you to quickly take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves. It  will also allow you to plan ahead, and planning is an essential ingredient in creating original work.

‘Don’t expect to be taking competition winning images every week’

It is also helpful to remember that ‘less is more’. Don’t expect to be taking competition winning images every week. Most good wildlife photographers I know (and these are people who are out in the field all the time) reckon that if they take four or five images a year they are really pleased with, then they have had a good year. Work hard on perfecting one shot, or working with one subject at a time, and get the most out of them.

‘don’t think that common subjects don’t win, they do’

Common species often do well in competitions. Being familiar with subjects and locations helps to maximise those opportunities where everything comes together at the right time. This image wasn’t planned, but I knew the location well and I have worked with swans for so long that I recognised the behaviour leading up to this moment. The biblical light was ‘lucky’ but make the most of these rare opportunities. This image won second prize in a bird photography contest a few years ago. ©Rob Read

I have interviewed dozens of winning photographers over the years and I can’t remember how many times I have heard the phrase ‘I was lucky to get this shot’. The reasons given for the ‘luck’ vary, but there is always one constant, the photographer knew their subject and the environment within which they were working. So, when that ‘lucky’ moment comes along, they were able to take advantage, capture it in a unique way and create an image with originality, an image that had an impact with the competition judges. And don’t think that common subjects don’t win, they do. A Mute Swan was the very first winner of Bird Photographer of the Year, and category winners of WildArt Photographer of the Year have included a spider’s web, a cockroach, a Marbled White butterfly, and a flower growing in a back garden.

‘Do your homework on each competition and its judges’

Not all photography competitions favour the same style of image. For example, WildArt seeks to promote the more artistic side of wildlife photography, so a photojournalistic or literal photographic style is unlikely to do well. Conversely, there are other competitions out there that favour this style of photography. Do your homework on each competition and its judges and be careful to make image selections that best fit the focus of the competition.

So now your interest in photography competitions has been rekindled, perhaps you’ll look at giving them another try. In a future post I’ll list my top tips for entering competitions, effectively a checklist of homework you should do before you take the plunge and part with your money. Make sure you sign up to our mailing list for notifications of new posts.

Rob Read.