Monday, January 21, 2008

There's a First Time for Everything!! by Patty Hallman about Print Competition

A Message from Patty Hallman about Print Competition

There’s a First Time for Everything!

As many already know, I won the “First Timer Award” (and a few others! :-) in print competition at the 2007 Convention in October. For anyone new to PPSC, the “First Timer Award” goes to the photographer who, as a first time entrant, has the highest average score from their top scoring 6 out of 8 entries.

If you have an interest in entering prints into competition, here are a few suggestions:

  1. Attend print judging at this year’s convention. It will start at 9am on Saturday, February 9th during PPSC convention in Myrtle Beach. Listen to the judge’s comments so you can learn what they look for in a good image.
  2. Visit the web sites of PPSC and other state PPA affiliates to see some of their state’s winning images. This is a great way to spark ideas!
  3. Ask other photographers to look over your images to give feedback or help you come up with great titles. A great title can sometimes make a good image score great in print competition!
  4. Judges want to see images or entries that “wow” them, not the same old, same old. Be as creative as you can, or dare to, and the payoff can be tremendous!
  5. Don’t forget to read and follow the rules carefully. Also, you’ll need a print case. I got mine from B&H Photovideo on-line. They cost around $100 on average.

There’s a first time for everything, so if you want to get your feet wet in competition, get busy now. I promise, you’ll be glad and proud that you did it when you see your prints hanging or album displayed, and if you’re lucky enough to hear your name called during the awards banquet. I think I may have caught the competition bug, as I’m working on my 2008 entries at this very moment!

---Patty Hallman

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