Child Photo Competition Season
Every year, the photography world becomes a buzz with competition opportunities. They are the opportunity for photographers to get their best work in front of other professionals who take the time to view and critique images – usually to have a ‘best of’ for each category of the competition as well as a grand winner that sometimes gets a winning title, gift or even cash.
Glory
If you ask any of my peers why they enter contests though, typically the ‘prize’ is not nearly as valuable as the credibility it lends as well as the general pride and ‘glory’ that one feels when they win a competition. The first competition I placed 1st in was the NAPCP January 2015 competition with my image Carbon Copy and from that SECOND I found out I was hooked on this secondary hobby to a profession I love with all my heart. You can see all of my awards if you press HERE as well…the gallery is becoming rather full and I LOVE IT.
The Big News
One of those big competitions that I look forward to entering 2x a year is the Child Photo Competition Black and White Contest whose results were released today. No matter what the competition, you submit images to win – mostly because they are not free to enter (most of the time) and because if there is a prize you certainly want it. I entered five images into this competition – typically the best of what I had shot that conveyed impact, technical ability and a story because without a story, an image can be confusing and rather bland.
I am super excited and proud to announce that this morning I found out that I had been a Nominee in two categories and received an honorable mention in another.
Winning Images
.jpg)
Fine Art HONORABLE MENTION – Flicka
.jpg)
Portrait NOMINEE – “That Warm Summer Breeze”
.jpg)
Portrait NOMINEE – Hair Tickles
Honorable Mention and Nominee – what is the difference?
So you may now be wondering what the difference between an Honorable Mention and a Nominee is in the Child Photo Competition bi annual contest. The easiest way to explain it if you don’t know is that for every competition you are open to submit images into a handful of categories that best describes your work. While the number of entries was not disclosed by Child Photo Competition that I have seen yet, some other contests I enter typically have between 5,000-11,000 entries in total. I have no idea how many entries were in this round of the competition , however I would speculate with the popularity of this contest as well as the fact it has been around for a number of years those numbers would be a good guestimate.
When the judges first begin looking at images they toss the ones that score poorly – those ones are boring, not technically sound, not interesting and just sometimes don’t even fit the category that well. Once they are gone, judges go through and ‘nominate’ X amount of images that have the potential to win – sometimes a percentage of the total entries into the category where that number is decided upon by the contest owners. In the Portrait category of the Child Photo Competition 2nd Half 2016 there was about 89-90 images that were nominated and then broken down into Nominees, Honorable Mentions and then the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners.
A Big Thank You!
I want to thank Child Photo Competition obviously for my placements within their contests. The last year, I have found myself placing often in their monthly free contests as well and I feel that my style of photography and art marries quite well with their business. I always appreciate a nod from them and they are a huge inspiration to continue to create to win.
Also, thank you to my children who allow me to torment them and take so many images every year of them – sometimes when they are not really in the mood. Typically a chocolate egg or Kinder Surprise egg does the trick and I shoot what I can – usually in about 3 minutes…no joke. A few good images is all I can expect, however it is often enough to create the magic that they will be gifted throughout their lives. Recently I have begun thinking about how their pictures will be passed down to their children and their children. Perhaps I will inspire my great great grandchildren into the arts so they can begin their own legacies of art and memories.
Lastly, my thanks goes to James, my husband and despite the frustration with my many weekends away, the funds I sink into my art and the hours I spend working on creating the perfect picture on my computer – he still supports me. It is a labor of love to be married to a Creative and while his eye is always on the business, he lets me soar and create as my heart roams the halls of inspiration and creation.
Thank you.
Warmly,
Suzie
XO
Suzannetaylorphotography.com
hello@suzannetaylorphotography.com
