Why contests?

DREW WILEY · Apr 28, 2025

Pretty photos, non-pretty photos? Just semantics. Those who try too hard to come up with "meaningful" non beautiful images tend to make the most boring of all, just like trying too hard to be "creative". When every aspiring "artiste" out there has green hair and a purple nose ring trying to be different, they end up all looking the same.

The problem isn't beauty - it's stereotypes, taken by those who have never slowed down enough to actually look at things in their actual nuance and depth.

Alan - for several entire generations, wine was art, especially at gallery openings. That tendency might well have led to certain odd outcomes at competitions too : which judge was the most inebriated? Now it seems that other varieties of substance abuse have replaced alcohol, or supplemented it; one more reason to avoid certain snobbish air-headed art venues.

GregY · Apr 28, 2025

"Contests and competitions exist to challenge photographers to pit their skills against others, which in turn is a valuable learning and skill development. " T Nankeris

I never considered photography as an endeavour to pit myself against anything.

warden · Apr 28, 2025

If the grand prize isn’t a 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III with select-shift automatic and a 6-way power reclining bench seat I’m not entering the contest, and that’s final.

nikos79 · Apr 28, 2025

DREW WILEY said:
Wow! That was rabbit punch, Matt. I'll have to remember that one.

Poor Garry

Ko.Fe. · Apr 28, 2025

I won some useful goodies more than once.

But I have stopped doing it for kind of big completions.
Some went woke. Like prohibiting photos with double meaning for street photography.
For someone who has watched dubbed version of Benny Hill it is Back in the USSR.

nikos79 said:
I would like to ask somewhat "provocative" rhetoric questions and I think is the right forum to do so:
- What is the point of submitting images to contests where the jury are people you don't know and possibly whose opinion and work you might not appreciate at all ?
- How can your photo gain value among other photos that have no artistic "connection" or resemblance at all with your work?
- How can the value of a photograph be estimated and compared to win a trophy e.g. what are the criteria used by such committees?
- By making a photograph with the sole goal to please such larger audiences don't you lose in the end your artistic self?
- Is the purpose of such contests to promote photography and artists or just to make money from submissions?

MattKing · Apr 28, 2025

nikos79 said:
Poor Garry

I really like much of Winogrand's work, and he said many things in many interesting ways.
But I would suggest two things:
1) his photos were often more revelatory than transformative; and
2) photographs of him, were much less interesting than photographs by him.
The Garry Winogrand documentary film "All things Are Photographable" is something I would highly recommend. The director's screening I got to attend a few years ago was a great experience.

Mike Lopez · Apr 28, 2025

MattKing said:
…
2) photographs of him, were much less interesting than photographs of him.

Huh?

Don_ih · Apr 28, 2025

Matt's making a rare metaphysical distinction, saying they were far more interesting than they were. (Or perhaps far less interesting than they were.)

Vaughn · Apr 28, 2025

GregY said:
"Contests and competitions exist to challenge photographers to pit their skills against others, which in turn is a valuable learning and skill development. " T Nankeris

I never considered photography as an endeavour to pit myself against anything.

"...pit their skills against others..." does seems a bit extreme. Is creativity a skill or a way of thinking? It will be up to the juror's biases whether the sharp image of a fuzzy concept, or the poorly rendered sharp concept, will get second place to the (in their opinion) well rendered sharp concept.

And these shows are a good way to learn and practice presentation.

MattKing · Apr 28, 2025

Mike Lopez said:
Huh?

Don_ih said:
Matt's making a rare metaphysical distinction, saying they were far more interesting than they were. (Or perhaps far less interesting than they were.)

Or even more likely, Matt screwed up with an edit - which has now been fixed. Thanks for the heads up.

GregY · Apr 28, 2025

Vaughn said:
"...pit their skills against others..." does seems a bit extreme. Is creativity a skill or a way of thinking? It will be up to the juror's biases whether the sharp image of a fuzzy concept, or the poorly rendered sharp concept, will get second place to the (in their opinion) well rendered sharp concept.

And these shows are a good way to learn and practice presentation.

V, so are art guild shows, museum exhibitions & client sales.
Your 10,000hrs of cutting bevelled mats does not require participation in contests.

Pieter12 · Apr 28, 2025

Vaughn said:
"...pit their skills against others..." does seems a bit extreme. Is creativity a skill or a way of thinking? It will be up to the juror's biases whether the sharp image of a fuzzy concept, or the poorly rendered sharp concept, will get second place to the (in their opinion) well rendered sharp concept.

And these shows are a good way to learn and practice presentation.

Usually technical proficiency is the first requirement for most judges. Of course, a purposely unsharp image is still technically good if that is what the photographer intended. For example, take Susan Burnstine's work (a teacher and frequent judge,too).

Vaughn · Apr 29, 2025

GregY said:
...
Your 10,000hrs of cutting bevelled mats does not require participation in contests.

Correct, all that was required was for me to puts signs up in the art department that read, "Will cut mats for beer."

You are also correct that there are many ways to get proficient not just in cutting mats, but also how best to present one's work....ways that make it easier (if desired) for the viewer to approach the work. Entering juried shows is just one way.

One of the better ways is to have one's own show in a good well-lit place. I had my first in 1985 in a bank that had dedicated gallery space...back when burlap was considered a wall covering for an art gallery. Fortunately it went well with the B&W (warm-tone) redwood landscapes. About 30 16x20 prints covering about 5 years of advanced beginner's work. Some I still actually like. Much later I got to watch and help some folks with excellent eyes for hanging shows...an art in of itself.

Photo -- the opening of that first show in 1985...classmates, etc from the university...Tom Knight (far right), head of the photo area.

nikos79 · Apr 29, 2025

MattKing said:
I really like much of Winogrand's work, and he said many things in many interesting ways.
But I would suggest two things:
1) his photos were often more revelatory than transformative; and
2) photographs of him, were much less interesting than photographs by him.
The Garry Winogrand documentary film "All things Are Photographable" is something I would highly recommend. The director's screening I got to attend a few years ago was a great experience.

I have watched it. Gary Winogrand thoughts on photography were always so insightful.

His photos are not my style but I find them really good (and difficult to approach).

I also recommend "Class time with Gary Winogrand" google it interesting document

Sirius Glass · Apr 29, 2025

Contests get some of us out of their chairs to go take more photographs.

Pieter12 · Apr 29, 2025

Sirius Glass said:
Contests get some of us out of their chairs to go take more photographs.

I can't think of an instance when I have taken a photo specifically to enter it into a contest.

Don_ih · Apr 29, 2025

Pieter12 said:
I can't think of an instance when I have taken a photo specifically to enter it into a contest.

Yes, but try to think of entering a contest when you have taken no photos.

Pieter12 · Apr 29, 2025

Don_ih said:
Yes, but try to think of entering a contest when you have taken no photos.

Out of left field. If I had taken no photos, I probably wouldn't be aware of any contests.

Don_ih · Apr 29, 2025

Pieter12 said:
Out of left field. If I had taken no photos, I probably wouldn't be aware of any contests.

But you become aware of a contest and think, "Well, that looks easy" and get inspired to fire up the old Canon Digital Elph and take some mind-blowing photos....

(I realize you have NO sense of humour, so I'm just writing all this (and the previous post) to amuse myself.)

Sirius Glass · Apr 29, 2025

Don_ih said:
But you become aware of a contest and think, "Well, that looks easy" and get inspired to fire up the old Canon Digital Elph and take some mind-blowing photos....

(I realize you have NO sense of humour, so I'm just writing all this (and the previous post) to amuse myself.)

Or one thinks, I never thought of that as a subject ...

Pieter12 · Apr 29, 2025

Don_ih said:
I realize you have NO sense of humour, so I'm just writing all this (and the previous post) to amuse myself.

I had my sense of humor removed last November.

Chuck1 · Apr 30, 2025

I started smoking weed again last November

GregY · Apr 30, 2025

Pieter12 said:
I can't think of an instance when I have taken a photo specifically to enter it into a contest.

Thank you Pieter.... you beat me to it.
Contests just aren't a motivator for many photographers.

nikos79 · Apr 30, 2025

Pieter12 said:
I can't think of an instance when I have taken a photo specifically to enter it into a contest.

What if the contest has a theme like nude?

Pieter12 · Apr 30, 2025

nikos79 said:
What if the contest has a theme like nude?

I have photos that I have already taken. If I don't have photos for a theme or category, I won't enter. Generally, calls for entry allow 3-5 images per submission. One usually doesn't just fire off that many good shots of a new subject or theme in a short period of time between learning of the contest and the entry deadline. Depending on the gallery or organization, the judges don't take well to a bunch of the same shots obviously taken the same day.

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