Muna wa Wanjiru asked:


Photography contests are organized by special institutions, colleges, clubs, not to mentions that bigger or smaller competitions can be found even on the Internet; these are the promoters for the constant developing in photography. The invention of the digital camera represented a revolution in the photo industry, it marked the beginning of a new era for all photographers. Theoretically the only pure difference between a classical and a digital camera is the stocking medium. A classical device uses a film while digital alternatives use various memory cards.

Most of the tricks a digital camera offers could be done before by a professional using a classical device. The big advantage brought by technological development is that everybody can now do those tricks, you don’t have to be a photography professor to get sharp and clear images because the camera will do the hard job for you. In photography contests anyone is welcome, from people who have been in the business for ten years as well as amateurs who bring their latest photos.

It’s no doubt that a smart camera can’t substitute a talented artist but it can definitely help a beginner to take decent pictures. Not all digital cameras are fully automatized there are still those who offer almost the same controls as the classical one does. These cameras are used only by those few true artists of photography, it would be like a joke to show up at photography contests with some fancy new device that can make a sharp picture in motion but comes with an optical zoom of 4x.

Another difference between classical and digital cameras is that the modern items need a much larger power supply for their new components like the LCD. Though in photography contests the autonomy of the camera is not discussed it is essential for any photograph to be able to take pictures as long a time as possible. Another detail when speaking about digital cameras is the picture format, as the format is the way the camera stores the photo on a storing card. Formats differ in the amount of space they occupy as well as in quality.

A good advice when trying to win photography contests is to always be natural, don’t try to copy somebody’s techniques. Try developing your own distinctive methods of taking pictures. Another suggestion is to focus on the contest theme, if it is about nature don’t go with a picture of your son just because you are proud of him. If you try to impress the jury with pictures that are not related to the contest idea you won’t have the slightest chance to win.

James Humphrey asked:


Photography can be learned by anyone. In this modern age, photography is as common as anything else and there are a lot of people who need useful, solid tips, techniques, advices and ideas about taking pictures. Aperture to shutter speed, framing and film. From the basic principles to the advanced techniques. Amateurs photographers can learn the basics and the adepts can level up their skills by gaining more knowledge of the advance techniques. That is just how things are turning in the photographer’s world. You can’t just slack away and feel confident on your present skills, but you have to keep on learning and studying to be competitive.

The process will take time but displaying passion and showing true interest in photography will make things a lot easier for you. Once you feel you have fully grasped the basics, you can now enter photo contests. The fun part begins and all your effort will be put into the test. The world og photography is vast, you will someday be a part of it and hopefully your name will be listed among the top.

Build a Name, Utilize the Internet

This is the most exciting part and also the hardest. Building a name in a multitude of photo shooter is difficult, just imagine the numbers of amateur and professional photographers. But that doesn’t matter at all, stick to your style, be the best of it and eventually you will shine from the many. You can start by joining online photo contests. The internet offers many picture contest both for amateurs and professional photography ethusiasts. Since you are just starting, I suggest you first focus on picture contests without entrance fee or registration. Win or lose, you will have the chance to experience what it is like to compete with the world. In addition, your entry will still be posted on their sites. Viewers can help you develop your skills by posting comments and feedbacks onm your work. You will be assessed by the world, so be prepared with photo critics who might sound harsh. Their comments will somehow make you feel bad but don’t lose confidence, that’s how picture contests really works, basically these people are the ones who make picture contests more challenging and intimidating at the same time. Use google and find suitable photography contest to gain experience. Remember, stick to your natural style.

Classification of Photography Contests

Black and White Photography

The photographs are taken without colors..

Portrait photography

Photography of individual persons.

Fine Art photography

Photos taken with the intention and purpose for creativity.

Fashion photography

Also known as glamour photography.Photography specialised in displaying clothing, other fashion items and models. It is also a form of advertising photography.

Architectural Photography

Capture of building and architectural elements.

Cityscape Photography

Urban environment captured on photos. Examples of Cityscape photos.

Nature photography

Photography taken with the emphasis on nature, wildlife, flora and fauna.

Advertising Photography

Photos generally done by advertising and design agencies or in-house design team that illustrate a service or product.

Aerial Photography

Photos taken from a plane, helicopter or skydiver.

Landscape Photography

Photographic interpretations of the land and its beauty.

Underwater photography

Photographs taken while underwater. It is usually done while scuba diving, snorkeling or swimming. Needs special equipment. Example of Underwater photography.

Macro photography

Photography where the image is taken close up.

Food Photography

Taking of food in an attractive and appetizing manner.

Night photography

Photographs taken outdoors between twilight and dusk.

Fine Art Nude Photography

Taking photos of unclothed persons for the purpose of artistic expression.

Wedding photography

Taking images of a wedding event.

Photography Tips by Geoff Lawrence

Here are some must read tips before joining any photography contests. These guidelines were proven useful by professional photographers during their amateur years. When joining photography contests, stick to these 10 basic rules of rules in photo shooting.

1. Selection – Select only the best of your pictures to show to others and leave the rest in the drawer. Showing someone every picture you have taken dilutes the effect of the best pictures and gets very boring. You may want to show twenty pictures of little Johnny at the park because they are all quite good and you can’t decide which are the best but, trust me, you will be better off making that decision and showing only the few good ones.

2. Turn the Camera on it’s Side – At first it feels awkward holding the camera on it’s side, but it is worth getting used to. If the shape of your subject, a person or a building, fits into an upright rectangle, you waste so much picture space if you shoot in landscape. You paid for all those millions of pixels, don’t waste them.

3. Framing – One of the easiest ways to improve your photography is with careful attention to framing. Look into the corners of the viewfinder to see what is there. Do you need all that background? Can you get closer to your subject or zoom in?

4. Direction of Lighting – Photography is all about light, the direction of the light falling on your subject is most important, you must look at your subject carefully and see how the shadows fall.

If you are able to choose the time of day to shoot your pictures, try to pick a time when the sun is low in the sky, either shoot in the early morning or late afternoon. Shooting pictures of people with the sun too high in the sky, tends to mean the subject’s eyes will be in shadow and/or your subject will be squinting in the strong light, both of which tend to look horrible. A nice side effect of shooting in the early morning or late afternoon is that the colour of the light is ‘warmer’, reds and yellows are stronger which generally gives a more pleasing effect.

If you are photographing in sunlight, try to position yourself so that the sun hits your subject from the side, this will give you nice ‘modelling’ and help create a 3D effect in the picture.

Sunlight behind the subject can give a very pleasing ‘backlight’ effect but be careful that you are not getting ‘flare’ in the lens, which degrades the contrast of the image.

5. Direction of Lighting (2) – The very worst kind of lighting is provided by the little flash fitted into all modern cameras. Not only does it give your subjects the dreaded red eyes, but also flattens all faces into shadowless featureless blobs. Use the in camera flashlight only in an emergency, when there is no other choice.

6. In Camera Flash – When you have to use the in camera flash, keep your subject(s) away from walls, especially light coloured ones, if at all possible, and avoid that ugly black shadow which looks like an outline. This will not show up against a dark background.

7. Exposure – Using auto exposure to your advantage.

If you have a modern camera, the chances are that the default metering system is ‘centre weighted average’, which means that, although it takes an average reading of the whole scene, it takes more notice of what is in the middle of the frame. Which is good news for us. The other good news is that it takes this reading at the time when you take ‘first pressure’ on the button to take your picture. When you push it halfway down and it beeps at you, not only is the focus now set (on an auto focus camera) but the exposure reading is taken and the aperture and shutter speed are set. So, if your main point of interest is not in the centre of the frame, it’s a good idea to put it there temporarily while you focus and take your light reading, then move the camera whilst still holding the button halfway down and compose the picture the way you want it to be. A common use for this technique is when you are taking a close up shot of two people and there is space between their heads, if you’re not careful the camera will focus on the wall or trees behind them. If the background is very dark or very light this can alter the exposure significantly and result in faces that are too dark or too light.

8. Shutter Speeds – When the shutter speed is important as with moving objects, it’s a good idea to set the camera to ‘Shutter Speed Priority’ mode. This is where you select the shutter speed and the camera selects the appropriate aperture according to the light reading.

9. Apertures – If depth of field is important to either make sure everything is in focus or to throw some things out of focus, select the ‘Aperture Priority’ mode on your camera. In this mode you select the aperture and the camera selects the shutter speed according to the available light.

10. Neutral Density Filters – If you are shooting in bright light and want to restrict the depth of field, use a neutral density filter in front of the lens to reduce the light entering the lens. These are available in different densities, 2x, 4x, 8x etc. each one cutting the light in half, quarter, eighth etc. In extreme circumstances you can screw a couple of them together. Although they are ‘neutral density’ filters and should not effect the colour balance, if you use two or more together you might need a little colour correction at the printing stage.

If you’re really planning big with your photography career, joining photo competitions is the fastest and easiest way to be recognized. Try putting your heart in every shot and try your very best in every photo competition you join. Some people join photo competition for the price, some for experience and some just do it because the of the fun that it brings. No matter what your reason is, have fun in every click of the camera.

Gu Qing asked:


Looking for the best tips that help you take perfect Christmas pictures and snap the most unforgettable holiday moment?

Christmas is such a great time of the year when families and friends gather together and get into the festive spirit. It truly is a time to cherish when the children open their presents, eat dinner and listening to “Old Uncle Bernie” telling a few jokes.

What makes it even more special, however, is taking that perfect Christmas photo so that, when you look back on that Christmas, can really help you to relive the memories of that truly magical Christmas.

However, the truth is, although many people have expensive cameras, they may not know how to use them correctly.

A lot of people think “how hard could it possibly be?” and they just go ahead and take the photo without even looking at the instructions. What they do not realize is that it can be extremely hard to take decent Christmas pictures when you do not know how to use the camera properly.

Most of people just get the camera out, nap a picture and, when they get it back, the picture is either missing someone’s head or it hasn’t come out properly at all.

So, as well as knowing how to work the camera, it is a good idea to feel confident in how to take that perfect Christmas photo. There are a few tips that you can use to make things easier.

First, arrange the scenery and the people exactly how you require them to be and make sure that there are not any unwanted objects in the way. It can be extremely annoying when you take a photo and realize that some stranger making faces right in the view of your camera has ruined it.

You can use the red eye feature on some cameras that can help when the Christmas pictures have been developed. If this feature is not on your camera, you can ask the person to turn slightly to the left, which should stop the problem.

A great tip for taking a Christmas photo when there is a group of three or more people is to take more than one picture. The reason behind this is that it is almost guaranteed that one person will have their eyes shut or be looking the wrong way. So take precautions and do not pin all of your hopes on one photo, otherwise, you may be disappointed!

So, make sure you capture that perfect Christmas holidays’ moment by following some of these basic tips. However, remember that it is all about having fun so be sure to enjoy yourself at the same time!

As well as having that perfect photo for your family album, how about entering your best photos in a contest for a prize? This could be a really big incentive to snap those perfect Christmas pictures, as well as a sense of pride and joy.

James Humphrey asked:


The world offers a lot of gorgeous things to everyone’s eyes. As for photographers, they are obliged to capture this magnificent scenery and share it to the whole world without expecting anything in return. But like everything else, in the growing number of photographers competition is inevitable. What will you do, as a photographer to shine among the multitude of shutters and lighting? The internet offers hundreds of photo contest sites that allow users to post their work and let people vote which they think stands out from the rest. Photography is unlikely thing to many, but to some whose passion is in the art, joining online photo contest is the fastest way to get noticed.

There are several types of picture contests: baby photo contests, amateur photo contests, and wildlife photo contests. Picture contest is free to all as long as you let live the artist in you. Whether amateurs, professionals or just sharing your shots with other photography lovers, entering a photography contest might be a wonderful way to express devotion with your hobby. I have seen alot of very good photos when I searched the internet for photography contest. Some are just good memories caught on camera, some are of grief, friendship and some are tear jerkers. Though at first glance, some pictures are not quite of an eye catcher but if you look closely, the pictures taken are very difficult. Pictures like lightning, a clear photo underwater, or even birds at close up. You will spend at least an hour to shoot a clear view, but photographers are killing their time just to take a good photo of their interest and that is something worth of a recognition. Very rewarding indeed!

Entering a photo competition is fast and easy compared to other online contests. Have your name, your website and of course your photo and you are in. The best thing for in photo competition is having your work posted in the site along with other entries, whether you win or lose you will get the opportunity to share your photos with others for feedbacks and comments to further improve your skills for future contests. For starters, it will be better to join photo contests with free registration. There are more enough contests that does not require entry fees and since your are just starting, its better to gain enough exposure first and learn more experience before getting down to expensive picture contests. Some free entry photo competition give small cash prizes, but win or lose you can get experience and exposure at the same time.

Here are some quick tips to help you win photography competitions (by Photo Critic):

1 – Stick to the topic

2 – Know the rules

3 – Keep it simple

4 – Tell a powerful story

5 – Technical perfection in pair with strong vision

6 – The X factor

And the final tip… Develop your own style

Whether photography or something else, the most important thing is you are having fun on what you do. If you enjoy your work, success will come in lightly.