Four professional photographers spoke to Rob Ditessa about the creative benefits of entering photo competitions – win, lose or draw!
Winning isn’t everything – though it could be for photographers who have a competitive nature! Winning a photographic competition has its benefits. The financial prize can be rewarding, and the exposure can certainly lift a photographer’s profile, which can be career changing. However, just entering a competition without winning can also be valuable. If you’re selected as a finalist, your photo might appear in a catalogue or exhibition, and that will lift your profile. The whole process will help to validate your ability to take great shots. Seeing your work against a selection of your peers and hearing comments from neutral judges will give you points of reference for thinking about your work, and perhaps help you to frame a plan to develop your photography. Here are the views of four successful photographers on what they gained from their participation in major photographic competitions.
This story was first published in the Australian Photography + Digital May 2013 issue.
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