Well the print competition went better than I expected. I ended up scoring 2 Superiors and a Merit. 2 Prints were in the top 3 and my untitled image pictured above won best of show =)
Now the print you'll see isn't the exact file that was printed. One thing about print competition is that the print has to be very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very deep.
Things to take away from my print competition experience
- Print Deep - as explained above
- Print on glossy - which I did but leading me to the next point
- Matte the print - I had some files that used black backgrounds but when the lights were shone on the print, the black turned a weird color. So I'll have to matte the prints next time.
- Have a title - I lost a lot of points, I feel by not having a title. Sure Jerry Ghionis can win print competitions without a title but he's Jerry Ghionis and we're us. So maybe I'll go all Fallout Boy Style and have 5-6 word titles for my photographs.
- Shadow Detail - Judge were very critical of that
- Contrast - Have some
- Negative space is good but not if it's empty blackness - self explanatory
There's a whole bunch more that I learned but those are the main points.
If you're not entering print competitions and you want to be a better photographer. I think you should start. Learning about what makes a good competition print can only enhnace your photography, especially if you can apply the print competition sensibilities into your regular shooting.
All in all for my first print competition I am pleased that I did well. To improve though you have to look at it in another way. I scored an 80 on the winning print, that means I left 20 points on the table. How does one get those other 20? I don't expect to get 100s but I want to.
I'll post the other images I entered in another post soon!
Til next time.
