The Conjurer
Wired contest winner
by Eric Hamilton

There is no magic formula for winning contests, but most winning photos are prime examples of both technical and artistic merit. The first step in judging any photo contest is elimination. Photos are culled for many reasons!

Elements of a Winning Photograph

Technical flaws are often objective and easy to spot, so they serve as a great starting point for culling:

Blur - If your photo is unpleasantly soft or awkwardly blurry, it will be cut without a second glance.

Grain - Photos that display notable grain that looks like the result of poor taste or judgment die quickly

Poor Resolution - Be sure that your photo meets the contests resolution requirements.

Poor Exposure - It’s important that the image is properly exposed. Intentional high or low key images are OK, but exposure problems that seem accidental are obvious candidates for for the trash bin.

Artistic merit is harder to pin down. Art is very subjective, and there is simply no way to please everybody. Even with a photo that’s technically perfect, a photo that lacks clear artistic vision is often cut because it’s boring. Here are some basic principles you should keep in mind. Ignore these concepts at your peril:

Simplicity - Make the primary subject of the photo as obvious as possible. Eliminate distractions and clutter. The perfect photo is one that contains exactly what it needs to in order to make the point - no more and no less. In the example, the DJ is well lit, but the space behind the DJ is shrouded in darkness in order to keep your eyes on the important part of the image.

Content - Pick a subject or thesis that entertains, informs, or evokes strong emotion. How many toothbrush photos are in your photo collection? Music is a subject that resonates with almost everyone. Finding a unique way to capture and express the emotions associated with music makes for compelling content. If it makes you feel wonder, joy, sorrow, or passion, it’s probably a great subject to enter.

Concept - Think of concept as the artist statement. For “The Conjurer,” I used an available light source to capture the energy of the music. A long exposure combined with flash allowed me to merge the light painting concept with a clear capture of the DJ at work. Deliberate camera motion with the shutter open allowed the light from the ball to paint the sensor. In this case, the concept dictated the creative use of technique.

Perhaps the most important tip you can take away on entering photo contests is don’t get discouraged! The largest contests attract so many entries that your statistical chances of winning are astronomically small. The fact that the judges of the contest didn’t love your photo does not mean that it’s no good—only that it wasn’t what they were looking for. Keep shooting, and if you’re serious about winning contests, enter as many and as often as you can. Don’t forget that high quality contests include judges who are professional photo editors, art directors, and photo buyers. Simply getting your photos in front of the influential judges can be a benefit—even if you don’t win.