As part of the lead up to this years International Apeture Awards competition Head Judge Peter Eastway (Editor of Better Photography Magazine) has put together some advice on entering and succeeding in photography competitions.

HOW TO WIN PHOTO COMPETITIONS |

Santa Maria dei Miracoli. This image has won awards around the world.The trick to winning a photography competition is to impress the judges. How you do that is a little more complicated, but start by imagining you are one of the judges.

Think about it. You’re presented with hundreds or maybe thousands of photographs. Each image is precious and important to its photographer, but unlike the photographer, you as the judge don’t have the same emotional attachment.

Many people enter photographs of their children or loved ones, thinking they are the best images in the world. And they are. They are the best images for that person because there is a three way association between the subject, the photographer and the photograph.

However, for a judge who doesn’t know either the subject or the photographer, that association is lost. All the judge can deal with is the image, not the personal associations.

Successful photographs will create an association with the viewer. That association is created by choosing interesting or appealing subject matter, by capturing that subject matter with beautiful lighting or in an exotic location, by choosing an unusual camera angle, etc. Successful photographs are usually different from what we are used to seeing.

www.InternationalApertureAwards.com/
Entries Open 1st October - 30th November 2009


Peter Eastway; www.betterphotography.com