In the never-ending struggle to get your work seen by the right people that can help advance your career, contests and competitions are one of the most accessible. But, after all is said and done, are they worth it?
If you are anything like me, you likely wake up every morning to a minimum of a dozen marketing emails from various organizations asking you to enter your photos in this competition or that. These competitions come in all shapes and sizes. They vary slightly by subject matter and vary dramatically by value (we’ll get to that in a second). One area where they are all invariably the same is that they are likely promising you great exposure and access to very important people as part of their pitch to get you to plunk down the entry fee. But exactly what value you are getting in exchange for that entry fee isn’t always so crystal clear.
A few things are crystal clear. One, if you were to try and enter your work into every competition that existed, you would quickly go broke. Two, if you’ve been going the competition route for long enough, you will have long ago figured out that the vast majority of art competitions are to absolutely no one’s benefit other than the organization putting on the competition. There are competitions that are absolutely worth the entry fee, which we will discuss in a second. But, when thinking about the value of competitions in general, keep a couple of things in mind.
Who Is Running the Competition?
First, absolutely anyone can create a photo competition. Just because it has an official website and promises you a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow doesn’t mean that it can actually advance your career. This brings us to our second thing to keep in mind. The point of an art competition company is not to advance your career. They are a for-profit business. And while winning the competition may, in fact, help advance your career, the primary objective of a for-profit business, any for-profit business, is to make a profit. So, the objective of an art competition company is not to advance your career, but bring in enough money through entry fees to make a profit.
Now, once again, that is not to suggest that every competition out there is a money grab by a heartless corporate monster. Rather, we just need to be cognizant of the fact that the majority of these are for-profit businesses. As such, it is only logical that the objective of the business is to bring in more money than they put out. That’s just simple Business 101. They don’t win when you get work. They win when they get your entry fee.
With all that said, you’re probably guessing that my opinion is that there is no such thing as a contest worth the price of admission. I believe that all money spent on entry fees is money wasted. Well, not so fast.
When Photo Competitions Do Pay Off
I’ve spent a lot of money over the decades on entry fees into various contests. I’ve even had the good fortune to win awards at many of the more prestigious contests and entry into some of the more prestigious fellowship programs (we’ll talk more about fellowships vs competitions in a moment). I can say with 100% honesty, with the numbers to back it up, that winning certain competitions has reaped immediate benefits to my career. For example, winning one of the more well-known national competitions a couple of years ago happened to also coincide with the absolute most productive year of my career in terms of the number of emails I received from major clients asking me to bid on their projects. Was there a cash prize from the contest itself? No. But there was a not-so-coincidental rise in tangible client work directly after my win. So, it's not hard to see that the competition had an effect on my financial statement.
Fellowships, which differ from competitions in that the end goal is usually less about a one-time trophy and more about receiving mentorship, exclusive networking opportunities, and prestige, have also been a major boon to me. Mostly in the sense that, when introducing myself, I can mention that I was selected for this major fellowship or that one. Depending on your client base, dropping names like that can really mean something and win you instant credibility in the eyes of the market. Also, while contest winners reset every year, fellowships can often be more evergreen. Such a small number of people are selected for the more prestigious fellowships, that it becomes like being part of the alumni of an exclusive network that you can utilize for several years.
The other good thing about fellowships is that many are run by non-profit organizations, and quite a few of them have very low application fees or are completely free to enter. I mention that because most art award competitions, on the other hand, often require significant entry fees. Again, that is how the competition makes their money. Now, if winning the competition is going to lead directly to the possibility of paid work, then the entry fee is likely worth it as an investment. But, if the only payoff to the competition is being able to tell your friends and family that you were best in show at the Greater North South Falls Photo Competition, then the payoff is only going to be a pat to your ego and unlikely to do diddly squat for your career. Unless, you are hoping to get a job as the Greater North South Falls official photographer.
By the way, I’m writing that assuming there is no such place as Greater North South Falls. I’ve completely made that up. So, if, by chance, that is a real place, I greatly apologize, and I mean no offense.
Would Winning Move the Needle?
So, how do you know if that competition you are about to enter is actually worth the money? Well, most of the time, it’s not really all that complicated. Why? Because depending on your area of specialty, there are likely only a handful or fewer competitions that can actually move the needle on your career. You’ve likely already heard their names multiple times because they tend to be held by organizations that have been around for decades and are genuinely deeply rooted in both the photography community and the specific industry that is related to what you do as a specialty. As a commercial advertising photographer, there are probably 5 or 6 competitions that actually move the needle in terms of impressing potential clients. They’ve been around long enough that, when I send an email telling my client that I won that competition, I don’t have to explain any further. My clients already know the caliber of artists who have won those competitions and so do their bosses and their boss’ bosses. Winning them isn’t only ammunition for me to get them to give me a second look. It is also ammunition for an art producer who wants to hire me and needs to sell me up the food chain to the creative director. I speak in terms of advertising because that’s the business I’m in. But, every other specialty, from weddings to photojournalism, will also have its own list of legacy competitions that actually move the needle. So, when deciding whether or not a competition is worth the entry fee, first ask if winning the competition is actually going to have a tangible impact on your business or simply be a boost to your ego.
Another way to evaluate the value of your entry is to have a look at the judges for the competition. Not all competitions list the judging panel, but many of them do. I have entered many competitions, but not necessarily because I had big dreams of actually winning. Rather, I entered them because there was a specific person on the judging panel that I’d been trying to get my work in front of for years. Whether or not I actually won ended up being beside the point. I’d already won because that person has now seen my work through my entry. The name of the game is to get potential buyers to remember you. And every potential touch point could be the one that gets them to remember you. So, knowing who will be on the panel, and thus definitely be looking at your work, can be a big value by itself.
Conversely, if you are applying to a newer competition and the people judging the competition aren’t listed or are names of people you’ve never heard of, there’s a solid chance that the value of the entry is pretty low. Again, remember that absolutely anybody can start an art competition. In the next half hour, I can register a URL for a new competition, throw together a website to accept submissions and promise everybody who enters exposure. I can even promise cash prizes, as the entry fees will likely cover the nominal amount I’m offering in return. Then, I can appoint myself and my friends from down at the bar to be the judges. Pick a few images I like, then bingo, we have a winner. But that doesn’t mean that winning my made-up competition is actually going to help your career in any way. So, what’s the real value in entering?
Additional Benefits
Speaking about the value of entry, what are the prizes you will get for winning the competition? I already mentioned that winning some of the bigger competitions has led directly to business opportunities. And, if you are doing this as a business, that is really the only end goal that matters. But, I’ve also won other competitions that may not have presented such a straight line from trophy to winning a specific assignment, yet still have come with benefits.
There’s an actual cash reward. Those are always welcome. However, I find many competitions offer donated products as rewards rather than actual checks. But those items you win might be just what you need. I remember winning 1st place in a specific category a few years ago, but not winning the top award for best overall. I got a bevy of products from camera bags to free subscriptions, etc. But the overall winner took home a brand new Sony camera. Now, to be fair, I am a Nikon man. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t want the camera! And, depending on if that’s something you could use, that by itself might be worth the entry fee.
Sometimes more important than tangible or cash rewards are access to mentorship opportunities or guaranteed meetings with hard to reach executives. Sure, I might have loved the check or the free Sony camera, but getting real one-on-one mentorship can also be a massive boon at this point in your career.
And that last point brings me to my final point. Whether a competition is worth the price of entry for you can depend a lot on who you are. Maybe you are just starting out and you really could genuinely use the encouragement you’d get from winning the Greater North South Falls photo competition. Maybe you’re at the emerging phase of your career, and what you need most is mentorship or some kind of formal guidance to help take your career to the next level. Or, maybe you are already well established, and what you really need is a major competition to co-sign your talent as ammunition to take into your next meeting with a creative director.
I can’t tell you that every art competition is a complete waste of time and money. Nor can I tell you that you should just apply to them all. That definitely would not be a smart financial decision. What I can tell you is that it is worth it to you to do a little research and figure out what specific competitions and fellowship programs move the needle in your specific part of the industry. Dig in to discover who is actually judging the competition and whether they are people that you’d want to get your work in front of. Figure out what the potential payoff would be for winning the competition and whether or not that is worth the price of entry. And then, decide if that competition is the right fit for you at this particular point in your career. If it is, enter away. If it isn’t? Well, that’s what spam folders are for.
I've seen a number of competitions where they state they have full rights to all of the entries to use for their own marketing material. It just feels like, for the cost of a new camera (or whatever) for the winner, a lot of these competitions just want some free photographs for their own monetary ventures.
Whether winning a competition increases one's sales, I think, depends on what type of photography one does and who one's clients are.
As a wildlife photographer specializing in North American game species, and selling to the hunting industry - pics in hunting magazines, pics on packaging of hunting items, stock pics used on guides and outfitters websites, etc. - I don't see how winning any of these competitions, which are normally called contests, would have any effect at all on my sales.
But if one shoots fashion or fine art or people or weddings or whatever than I can see how it would be helpful in the ways the author describes.
Locally, a handful of banks, the city government, and the National Park Service association run "contests" for acquiring pictures to be used in their calendars. The remuneration is receiving a few calendars. Exposure and prestige (to whatever extent they're worth anything) are the only other benefits. None of these entities have any trouble getting enough quality images to publish their calendars. I think they feel like they're genuinely supporting the arts and culture of the community. For most of those people whose pictures are selected, there's a feeling of pride and validation of their photography prowess. For other people, it feels like those entities are undermining the careers of professional photographers. I guess it's hard to blame someone for acquiring free goods or services.
Don't get me started on camera club competitions. What a psychological nightmare those were. Maybe the demise of club competitions were part of the reason for the downfall of camera clubs in general. Competitions were so popular back in the film and early days of digital photography. But seems like overnight, everybody thinks their photo is better than the winner, the judges are blind, nobody thinks they're fair, and nearly everybody is frustrated with the people who organize them.
I actually enjoy photography club competitions. I have sat through many of them, both ones in which I had something entered, and those in which I was just an observer, and I have always learned a lot about the other photographers from seeing their images, especially in a situation in which they are being pitted against each other. It is actually very interesting and educational.
I enjoyed club competitions too... until the point at which I was in charge of running them. I tried to use them as a springboard for discussion, but inevitably had to deal with too much criticism. No matter how I organized them, somebody was unhappy. And, of course, there's only one winner and almost everybody else thought the judge's were stupid not to have scored their photo higher. As if it were an Olympic event. Too many egos for my taste.
Edward,
I am sorry that the competitions you were helping to organize were so unpleasant, due to the attitude and mindset of others involved. I guess they only work if all involved are lighthearted and easygoing about them. If people are actually taking them super seriously, that is actually quite weird. They're supposed to be FUN and things that we can all learn from. Who wins or loses really doesn't matter and if people get all wrapped up in that, then shame on them for being so small.
I probably, although unintentionally, caused some of that frustration. Up until the time I began organizing the competitions, they would pretty much review the judges' scores and be done with it. I wanted it to be more educational so I asked the judges to offer some written critique for each picture, which they gladly did. And at each meeting I would read the comments and we'd discuss them. Obviously not all club members were in agreement. In fact I thought there were some pretty strange judges' comments which made for some lively discussion. But there are better ways on the receiving end of a critique to deal with it than others. Some people could make up their own mind by embracing what they felt was relevant to their picture, and forget the rest that they disagreed with. Other people began to get worn down by the criticism. Some people's photography improved. Other people dropped out of the club. It's hard to satisfy everyone.
I think it is for the people running the "contest" in order to get their hands on some great pics. LOL
In 2019 I entered a few photos in the annual Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) photo contest—the first time I had entered a photo contest in 50 years. I won grand prize and first prize in "summer" with this photo https://www.flickr.com/photos/primeval/48433582566/. $500, front page of the 2020 DNR calendar plus inclusion on one of the summer month pages, several copies of the calendar, and a subscription to the DNR magazine. Yes, it was worth my time for 15 minutes of fame. I donated the prize money to charity. For this year's DNR contest the grand prize has been upped to $700 (inflation, I guess). I have a few entries for this year's contest ready to submit by the 31 August deadline.
That's only fair that they pay. My state wildlife department gets all these photos from people and uses them and never pays a dime ..... they are very anti-photographer.
that photo hurts to look at, it's so great.
I read the other comments after relating my experience. Sheesh! What a bunch of money grubbers! The Maryland Department of Natural Resources spends $millions each year protecting and improving the state's environment, from the mountains of the west to the all-important Chesapeake Bay to the Atlantic seashore. Of course I'm glad to contribute photos for the DNR to use to promote conservation in Maryland.
Excuse me, David… you might be a money grubber too if paying the mortgage and putting food on the table depended on your photography work. I’m guessing it either never has, or you’re retired and live comfortably without working at this time. Either way, I’m glad you can afford the gift and that it gets put to good use, but please do not judge other people for the position they’re in. You know nothing about them, and the reality is that most professional photographers face a constant stream of “good causes” asking for us to donate our photography services… and it’s often a hard decision when it’s a non-profit organization that truly is running a really tight budget. I typically don’t include banks and the government in that category. Bottom line is I still need to eat, and money doesn’t fall out of the sky.
All those millions they're spending are sucked out of you taxpayers. It's not like they're doing what they do out of the goodness of their hearts. They're doing it because they get paid to do it, just like how photographers should get paid for the photos they take. At least they are paying something for the photos that get submitted and win.
That is both cynical and wrong.
So your state's DNR is not funded via tax dollars? Really? If it IS funded by tax dollars, then what I say is very much NOT wrong.
I suspect much of the problem here is how photography is devalued by so many people. Everybody with a cellphone is now a photographer. Lawyers and doctors can shoot pictures while on vacation, and afford to upload them to sites like iStock Photo and make a few bucks here and there for the fun of it. Might even pay enough money to buy a real camera.
Most people who are not professional photographers have no idea how hard it is to succeed in the photography business. It's only a lousy picture that a chimpanzee could produce. Nobody could expect much in return for that, could they? Or so a lot of people think.
However, imagine the City of Baltimore running a contest for accounting services. They might advertise it in this way: "The City of Baltimore is holding a contest for accounting services. Ten of you lucky accountants will have the opportunity to provide your accounting work for six months. In return, you'll have your name on a plaque at City Hall." Ridiculous? Of course it is, but people consider accounting to be real work and photography a hobby.
The natural progression of all this is sobering. The entire photography profession is threatened by AI with extinction. We're arguing with David over a calendar... a printed product that has long since seen its glory days. Hardly anyone uses a paper calendar anymore. In a few years, he won't even have that opportunity to give his pictures away. The bigger picture is far more troublesome than whether David thinks I'm a cheapskate or not.
The DNR photo contest is funded by entry fees.
ok, but I wasn't asking at all about how the photo contest is funded .... I was saying that the overall work that the DNR does with land and wildlife is funded by tax dollars. Your state government is taking money from people and then using that money to run their DNR. Nothing wrong with that, but certainly nothing benevolent about it, either.
"...the overall work that the DNR does with land and wildlife is funded by tax dollars. Your state government is taking money from people and then using that money to run their DNR. Nothing wrong with that, but certainly nothing benevolent about it, either."
Do you live in Afghanistan? Are you one of those people who believes it is not the place of government to play a positive role in citizens' lives? You are profoundly mistaken about the positive role that the Maryland Department of Natural Resources plays in our state. You mention "land and wildlife." Ever heard of the Chesapeake Bay, the body of water that has more tidal shoreline than the entire west coast of the Continental United States combined? And that is one of the world's most important routes for migratory birds? Who do you think works to clean up the Bay, promote responsible recreation, fisheries, and responds to emergencies on the water? Maryland is a small state with a big and varied environment, from the Appalachians in the western part to the Piedmont to the coastal plain (my domain) to the Atlantic continental shelf. Marylanders want that environment protected. We value our state parks, be they forests or salt marshes. And that, too, is part of DNR responsibilities. You should stick to what you know, and check your dogma at the door when you enter progressive Maryland.
David,
You wrote,
"You are profoundly mistaken about the positive role that the Maryland Department of Natural Resources plays in our state."
What did I write that makes you think I am mistaken about the work that they do? What did I write that was factually incorrect? I never wrote anything that slighted or dismissed the work that the Maryland DNR does, yet you write as if I have attacked them and disrespected and underestimated them.
What you have written here makes many false assumptions about me and what I think and what I believe, and you have put words in my mouth that I never said and you have put thoughts in my brain that I never thought.
You are speaking as if I do not value what the Maryland DNR does for the environment. But I do value what they do, and I myself have benefitted quite a bit from their work, as I photograph wildlife in Maryland regularly. You do not need to educate me about Maryland's geography because I have made, literally, hundreds of trips to and through your state.
The work that Maryland DNR does is funded by tax dollars - money that is taken from the people and from state-based businesses and corporations. The DNR staff and leadership are not doing what they do out of the goodness of their hearts - they are doing it because they get paid to do it; it is their job. Just because some work is of crucial importance, and of great public benefit, does not mean that it is done out of a sense of self-sacrificial benevolence. They do it for the paychecks that they earn. And there is nothing wrong with that at all. In fact, people who do work for a paycheck are a gazillion times more effective than those who volunteer. My own state's DNR staff have told me that it takes far more work for them to facilitate volunteers than it would to do the work themselves.
Get your facts straight before you rebut me again. Base your responses to me on what I have actually written, rather than on hasty assumptions that you have made about me.
Aside from whoever is running the competition for whatever reason, they are just not for me. I am a nonconformist more often than not. I don't compromise on subject matter and how I process images. If want to use generative AI to remove something I don't want in the image, I will, even if there are the rules against. So I just won't enter. I prefer noncompetitive viewing and sharing of my images, no matter how much they are liked or not. Of course, I more than welcome constructive feedback.
These are nice illustrations. Made by AI?
Interesting article: thank you. I do wonder about getting photographs in front of a specific judge though. I understand that some of the larger groups, who get several thousand entries, have a small army of pre-screeners who narrow the field for the more note-worthy judges.