I have zero experience with any sort of competitions with in photography; this gives me even more reason to learn how they work to hopefully win some in the future. Winning / being short or long listed for competitions provide 5 major benefits, these are exposure, money, profile, professional practice and a way to develop and define ideas.
Exposure
Being nominated for a long or short listed for any competition is a great way to start getting your name out in the working world. The lists get published for everyone to see, plus I can always post that I have been short / long listed on my professional CV. However, obviously the best way to be recognised and build exposure is to win.
Money
Most of the competitions I have seen promoted have money as they prizes, however in the small print, this money is in the form of a grant. This means the money won has to be spent on a photography project, this then sometimes get published on their website.
Profile
Winning, being short listed or long listed can help other clients trust you more as a professional photographer.
Professional Practice
This is simple. You have to enter the competitions to win them.
Communicate and Define
Being invested in University projects for 10 weeks at time makes it difficult for me to mind map, create and define my ideas. Entering competitions gives me a great chance to sit down and think about what dream projects I would like to create in the future. Most entries require 200-500 word description and between 5-20 image portfolio.
READ THE SMALL PRINT
Many competitions require a payment to play, this tops non-profession photographers entering and flooding the submissions. Some competitions will also take your copyright on the images you submit for them to reproduce, once signed over, there I nothing you can do. I regularly google my own images to see if anyone has ever posted them trying to sell them as their own, thankfully this has never happened.
It is a good idea to research the judges of the competition to see what their work is like; from here you can slightly modify your submission to suit the judge’s taste. Another important research aspect to do before hand is make sure you can go to any dates they have listed, you would forfeit the win if you can’t make it to the interview.
Be concise and stand out. When I am applying to grants and competitions, I should only submit my best work, this including landscapes from Northern Ireland, Portraits from my Unit two and Live Music Shots from Reading Festival.
When completing my form, I should ask someone I trust to proof read it, (Vicky Knight who studies English Literature) and someone who has a natural view to help; this could be a peer or a work colleague. For the actual essay, I should keep it short and sweet, while the judges do read through every applicant; I want to grab their attention.
I want to write my own proposal, I don’t have any plans to go hand it in anywhere and hopefully go off on a massive photo project, but it is good practice. I will now brainstorm some ideas that I could write about. Below you can see a scan of a mind map I created, form it I have decided to write a proposal for traveling the UK interviewing woman of all age and race about their battle with breast cancer. This is an illness that is very personal to me and my family, and I would love to know more about the victims and their family.
More people are surviving their battle with breast cancer than ever before, but over 55,000 women are diagnosed ever year in the UK. I think it is safe to say everyone knows someone who has fought this terrible illness, and it is no lie to say I could not think of any worse new to hear first-hand. I have my own personal experience with family members fighting through, and in whole it brought our whole family closer by the end of it. That is why I am coming to you so show my idea of travelling the UK for 2 months visiting victims and their family to hear their stories and document their health. I am asking for £2,600 which will cover the all expenses on the trip including travel, living, accommodation and contingency.
I will travel to Reading, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Nottingham and finally finishing in London. Like i stated, the total cost will cover the petrol between these places, the exact numbers will be in a table at the end. I am involved in an online forum of female painter where they voice their thoughts and feelings, they often meet up for coffee, they find comfort in sharing their personal experiences with others who have the same. I know some of these women would let me enter their home and document their life for a couple days at a time, some of these women even live alone, so they would enjoy the company.
From a photographers point of view, I would use my own equipment I already own, I would be shooting exclusively on my Sony A7III. My 85mm 1.8 would be used for the close up portraits, my 55mm 1.8 for the indoor full length portraits, a 35mm 1.8 for all purpose wide angle work, both indoor and out. I will also use external flash where necessary, and even make a short video documentary about the whole photo project.
I know, if given the chance to complete this project, it would affect me and those I am shooting greatly, and I would hate to move on from one women and never have any contact with her again. I would take their contact details and keep in contact with them, sending them the images I take of them and their home. When the project is done, I will create a book that will be professionally printed including images from all 7 cities, the women, their stories, their homes, families, favourite places, jobs and everything else I photographed on my journey. I would like to then send a copy to each of the women I documented as a gesture of good will, I hope it would cheer those up who need it.
Finally, I would like to make the point that this project is a very personal project, to myself and those I will my documenting. I can not stress enough how vigilant I will approach this whole assignment, I will be delicate in how I approach and ask the victims if I can enter their home and archive their everyday activities. I know some of these people will say no, and I am prepared for that. However I am positive that those who do agree will be very happy to have me.
