Want to Win a Photo Competition? Jerry Ghionis Offers Tips

Happy Friday you guys! I’ve been watching as your entries start to come in for the Members Only First Half Competition, and I can see you’re doing some amazing things! No surprise there, but many of you as always wait till the last minute. While it’s our personalities as artists to procrastinate, brushing it aside because you “do best under pressure,” I can assure you that good planning, and NOT rushing your entries in at the last minute is a better plan.

Some quick tips from me:

• Schedule time in your day three-to-four times a month to organize your work. Not only is this good for your business, but helps keep you from digging for that great shot to enter right before the deadline. Add one folder to your desktop, or working hard drive specifically for your portfolio of best images.
• Ask a trusted peer to critique your entries and pad in a week or two adjust things as necessary based on his or her comments.
• Take a chance! Remember, the first half is about growth, so you should be taking a risk on a few images. Remember you’ll get feedback for every image!

Jerry Ghionis, who also be judging this round, offers a few additional tips:

“The secret is to be unique, surprise the judges while maintaining the craft of photography. You must reinvent yourself continuously. I’d rather risk something unusual and fail than stick to a winning ‘formula.’  And remember that an image that is salable or that your clients absolutely love doesn’t automatically mean that it will do well in competition.  Even if it’s a good image that is very commercially salable, it needs to also be unique and something the judges may not have seen before to have a great chance of winning a competition. Use the competition as an excuse to try something new—to go out and play and practice. Comfort zones have never been synonymous with artistic expression.“

Here’s one of Jerry’s images that won a Grand Award for our 1st/2nd Half Competition last year with his comments below.

Photo: Jerry Ghionis

“This image won the Grand Award in the online competition last year, and it’s truly one of my favorite images from my career. It is iconic with rich saturated colors and all the lines or shapes either frame or point directly to the bride.” 

 Ready to enter?