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Why you should enter Photography Competitions

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Posted by Paul Crawford on Friday 1st July, 2022
Last updated on: 21 February 2023

Entering Photography Competitions

Today, we are delighted to officially launch a new feature on the Photo Club 247 platform – our Monthly Photo Contests!

This is a great opportunity for 247 Members to get the creative juices flowing and improve their photography!

If you have been following any of our weekly webinars, you will know that I often repeat that the best way to become a better photographer is to go out and take more pictures!

why you should enter photography competitions

Sometimes when you head out with your camera, you can get into a rut… not knowing what to photograph! Having a theme or a challenge in mind will help unlock your creative potential, and put all the theory into practice.

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Why entering Photography Competitions is a great idea

There are several reasons why entering photography competitions can be good for your journey as a photographer.

As I already mentioned, sometimes when you head out with your camera, you can end up wandering around aimlessly and come home disappointed with the results.

Most photo competitions will have a theme which you can use to motivate you and encourage you to head out with your camera.

Keeping the contest theme at the forefront of your mind as you explore your surroundings will help get your creative juices flowing!

Photo Contest theme red
The theme for our first Photo Contest is “Red”

Another great reason to enter photo competitions is the judging. Many competitions will be voted for by fellow photographers or the public, some by photography judges. Getting judges comments on your images will help you learn and improve.

One of the features of our Photo Contests is the Judging process. We do both!

Each month, the entries will be voted on by the visitors to the website and the top 10 images will be forwarded to a photo judge.

This judging will be recorded and made available to 247 members, providing valuable feedback on your images.

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Of course, there is always the prestige of getting your images shortlisted or winning and getting your images seen by a wider audience. Many competitions get press coverage or your images could end up as part of an exhibition.

At Photo Club 247, we have discussed the idea of creating a calendar of winning images to be sold to raise money for local charities. This is something we will look at in the near future.

As our contests grow, we hope to attract sponsors to offer prizes to the winners. Always a nice bonus!

Always read the small print!

Before you enter any Photography Competition, it is important to read the rules and/or terms and conditions of entry.

Most competitions will include a clause that the organisers can use the winning images to promote the competition and any subsequent competitions. As I mentioned earlier, this is a great way to get your work seen by a larger audience and is a reasonable condition of entry.

entering photography competitions

What you need to be aware of is that some competitions state that by simply entering you allow the organiser to use your images for other purposes, such as unrelated articles, selling prints or advertising without ANY fee or compensation. It is a sneaky way of getting a load of free images!

In theory, you could enter a competition, and your image could be used as part of a national billboard campaign and you would be entitled to nothing!

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Local authorities and larger corporations tend to be the most guilty of this underhand Image grab tactic!

The rules of all Photo Club 247 Contests state that your images can be used ONLY in connection with the contests and any additional usage of the submitted images will be negotiated and compensated appropriately.

Good luck!

Photo Club 247 Monthly Photo Contests are open only to members of Photo Club 247, standard and plus members. You can Join Photo Club 247 from only £36 per year or £6 per month.

Not only can you enter our Photo Contests, you get your own profile to share your images, comment on other members images, get answers to your photo questions and access all our premium articles and the growing webinar replay library, now with over 95 webinars on a huge variety of topics, aimed at beginner and intermediate photographers. Join NOW!

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Posted by Paul Crawford

Paul has been a full-time professional photographer since 1990. He is married to Patricia and the proud Dad to 2 fantastic sons. He photographs around 30 Weddings each year in Northern Ireland and is an experienced Photography Tutor running Photography Courses and Workshops. He is the founder of photoclub247.com

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