From PPA Member Newsletter

Face it… Artists are competitive people. We all want to be the best. Perhaps that's why competition is many photographers' "drug" of choice. The nerve-wracking thrill of possibly doing well and improving your art it's addictive. But photographic competition can be so much more than a thrill. It can strengthen the entire body of your work if you approach it correctly. To experience that beneficial side effect you first have to make the most of all your competition opportunities.

Learn the Competition Process

That's something 2011 Platinum Medalist Dan Frievalt learned the hard way. "I didn't know what I was doing," he says about entering his first state competition in Wisconsin. He didn't know he could start at the smaller, local competitions or ask for help from other photographers because "I thought that if someone else saw my entries or gave advice beforehand, it would be like cheating!" Now, he takes full advantage of every chance to get extra feedback on his entries. So, don't be afraid to ask what's required at each competition level (local, state, district and international). Research beyond the official rules by asking questions of fellow competitors and your association's board members.

Sit In On Competitions

Witnessing a judging first hand can also help you make the most of competition, especially in knowing what to enter and what the jurors look for. "The best advice I ever received? Sit in on competition before you do it," notes Kimberly Smith, Master Photographer, of Oklahoma. "Pay attention to what is meriting and ask as many questions as you can." What was eye-opening to her was how much attention was paid to the details she usually didn't think about when taking an image background oddities, the placement of hands, etc. "I knew what I liked in images," she explains, "but I didn't have the experience to know what was 'good.'" Smith sat through competitions at the state and district levels before doing anything herself. A year later, she won almost every category in her state's First-Timers division and again in the Southwest District Competition!

Listen to Critiques

Though rarely easy for an artistic person to stomach, image critiques are invaluable for your growth. They provide feedback and ideas on how to make your images better (and not just for competition). Before entering, you can send your images to photographers you trust to tell you what works and what doesn't ("straight-shooters" in Frievalt's words). Dianna Walker, Master Photographer, of Texas suggests reaching out to photographers you think are "beyond good." Don't be intimidated, she says. "I've found there's not a photographer out there who would not want to help they didn't get where they are by themselves."

Attending your local, state and district competitions makes listening to critiques fairly easy to do. Live critiques are often held for a couple hours after a state competition and in many local competitions, jurors share advice and thoughts on almost every image. And even though the International Photographic Competition isn't as easy for some to attend, you can still get online video critiques. That gives you about five minutes of a juror discussing your image, which can be invaluable. In one competition, Smith recalls seeing a beautiful boat image that didn't merit because of a technical mistake: the words on the boat were backward because of an image flip. If that was your image and you couldn't be at the judging...wouldn't you want to know why it didn't merit? A video critique could have helped you out.

Enter Early & Often

"It's easy to give excuses or say you're too afraid to enter," notes Frievalt. "But competition holds you accountable for pushing yourself and your art." The good news is that the more you compete, the stronger your art will grow. So, don't be afraid to enter a full print case even if it's your first time. Each time you enter, you can get a critique. Each time you get a critique, you can use it to tweak and refine your images...and then re-enter them in the next level of competition. "So, start at the local level and work your way up," advises Walker. What you'll probably find is that competition gets "in your blood," as she says. It becomes a part of your artistic self, helping you pay even more attention to the details when you're shooting for clients. It may even give you a creative outlet to test things like different lighting, which trickle into your client work later. The key is that the more you compete, the keener your eye grows. The more images you see at competition, the more ideas you have.

That all translates into you being a stronger photographer.

From PPA Member Newsletter

There are a lot of photographic competitions out there. It's easy to get lost trying to decipher what goes where and when and why! If in doubt of your next step in the competition path, do a quick check on these milestones:

Step 1: Local Competition

Competing at your local guild or association level is a great start to formal photographic competition. It provides the perfect introduction for a newbie and helps you get over your nerves on a smaller scale. Plus, you'll get a round of critiquing and image tweaking under your belt giving your images a stronger chance to do well in state.

Step 2: Florida State Competition

Often held during the association's convention, this is the start of many photographers' competition path if they don't belong to a more local association. Critiques here are often held live, which can be a valuable asset to improving your work.

Step 3: PPA South East District Competition

Every PPA member is assigned a district based on where they live SEPPA. These district competitions are your last chance to gather critiques and advice before entering the International Photographic Competition (IPC). If an entry scores high enough, you could even earn a Seal of Approval. That means your image would automatically merit and be judged for PPA's Loan Collection...if you enter it in the next IPC!

Step 4: PPA International Photographic Competition (IPC)

This is the granddaddy of them all, where all PPA members in all corners of the world can enter and test their level of excellence. The IPC actually includes two judgings. One determines which images are merit-worthy (meaning it goes into the General Collection and earns you a point toward a PPA Master degree). The second judging is among those merited images, determining which ones earn an additional merit and a spot in the Loan Collection (the best of the best images, so to speak). Entries bearing a district's Seal of Approval will be included in that judging for the Loan Collection if they are submitted to the IPC. Now, every level of competition has a slew of awards to give to their high-scorers, so why is the IPC the cumulative event? Along with being on the international playing field, the IPC can also help you earn your PPA degree. Remember those merit-worthy images? Collect enough of them, and you're well on your way to being a Master of Photography and more!

So...where are you headed this year?

Ready, Set...Enter!

PPGF Local PPA Affiliate Competition are July and October

Florida Professional Photographers State Competition

See http://www.areyouinfocus.com/image-competition/rules/

PPA District Competition Southeast PPA SEPPA

See http://seppaonline.com/

IPC Entry Deadline June -July Annually

See http://www.ppa.com/competitions/international.php

How Do You Rate?

All PPA competitions judge images against a standard of artistic excellence via the 12 Elements of a Merit Image:

• Impact
• Technical Excellence
• Creativity
• Style
• Composition
• Presentation
• Color Balance
• Center of Interest
• Lighting
• Subject Matter
• Technique
• Story Telling
• Learn more here:

http://www.ppa.com/competitions/content.cfm?ItemNu...