Nature & Landscapes
© Mike Hollman
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© Guy Biechele
© Thomas Mcconville
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These pictures include landscapes, outdoor scenics, nature images, sunsets, urban
landscapes, seascapes, cityscapes, and farms - to name a few.
These images showcase outdoor beauty. Note: if you enter a photo
into this category, please include the place name in the title or description of
your photo.
- Landscapes
- Scenics
- Outdoors
Animals
© Bob Jensen
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© W.J. Shattil
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These contest entries are images of all kinds of animals. They can be pictures of
pets - dogs and puppies, cats and kittens, birds, reptiles, amphibians - as well
as photos of wildlife, zoo life, farm / domesticated animals, and even insects.
Note: if you photograph an animal in a zoo or "rent-a-beast" park, including this
information in the description will not hurt your chances and will in fact help
by giving credit where credit is due.
- Pets
- Wildlife
- Zoo and farm animals
© Connie Chandler
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© Darwin Wiggett
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© Donna Eaton
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People
© Donna Rae
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© Monika Sapek
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These are pictures of people in all walks of life - parenting and family, children,
baby pics, couples and relationships, models / fashion, sports, and the like. Important:
as according to the Contest Terms &
Conditions, be sure you have signed model releases for any recognizable
people in these photos.
- Kids & Family
- Models/Fashion
- Sports
© Søren Skov
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© Colleen Walsh
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© Leslie Jané
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Elements of Design
© Bob Garas
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These artistic images make good use of graphic elements of design. We are looking
for photos that showcase line, shape, pattern, form, texture, perspective, etc.
They can consist of any subject matter.
Note: this is not a category for graphic illustrations made in a program like Adobe
Illustrator, nor would extreme digital creations belong in this category. Here we
are looking for line, shape, pattern, etc.
© Heather McFarland
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© Robert Anderson
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© Anupam Pal
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Digital Darkroom
This category is appropriate for digital art - images created or drastically altered
in software like Adobe Photoshop®. Although digitally manipulated images are
also allowed in the above categories, this is a category exclusively showcasing
such art. If the digital darkroom work is the main attraction of the photo, or plays
a big part, enter it here.
- Photoshop® composites and creations
- Images greatly manipulated with "buZZ", "Flood", or other filters
- Photos with artistic borders
- Photos stitched into a panoramic
© Daniel Biggs
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© Jessica Hughes
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© Adam Cowart
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Travel & Place
© Patricia Marroquin
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© Scott Stulberg
© David Wilkinson
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This category includes images that express the joys and adventures of travel photography,
showcasing place as an important part of the photo. Note: if you
enter a photo into this category, it's a good idea to include the place name in
the title or description of your photo.
Like the Nature & Landscape category, this category can include landscapes,
outdoor scenics, nature images, sunsets, urban landscapes, seascapes, cityscapes,
etc., but it can also include people, details, and other subjects you might encounter
while traveling. The main things for photos in this category is they express a sense
of place.
Flowers
We are looking for really interesting, unique, and beautiful pictures of flowers
in this category. They can be shot outdoors, photographed in the studio, utilizing
macro lenses and modes, and at any angle of view.
- Floral portraits - rose, iris, daisy, tulip... you name it.
- Fields of wildflowers
- Macro images of flowers
© Joy Brown
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© Heather McFarland
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© Monika Sapek
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Details & Macro
Getting in close is the name of the game for this category. We welcome pictures
of small details that suggest a larger story. This is also the place for macro photographs
(although a macro image of a flower might equally go into the Flowers category).
- Details might include a knot, a lock, or an abstract close-up. Anything goes as
long as it is a tight composition of a detail.
- Macro - flowers, insects, stamps, ice crystals, etc.
© Michael Brown
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© Piper Lehman
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Catch-All
This is the place for any image that doesn't fit into one of the other nine categories. Still-life, motion-blur,
Polaroid transfers, SX-70 images, handcolored photos. If you have an photo that you love (that doesn't seem to fit into the other categories of nature, landscape, people, animals, design, digital darkroom, travel, place, flowers, macro, details, and the monthly theme), enter it into this category.
- Polaroid image & emulsion transfers
- Still-life
- Long exposure zoomed images
- Painting with light
- Any other (family-friendly) images.
© Cathy Gamlen
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© Peter Wilson
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© David Andrade
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Monthly Theme
The category changes each month.
Final Thoughts
All contest entries can be shot with a digital or film-based camera. The contests
are open to all photographers, regardless of skill level.
In the end, a photo may fit into more than one category. For example, a landscape
with strong lines leading up to a person, that you photographed in Tibet, might
reasonably get categorized in Nature & Landscapes, People, Elements of Design,
or the Travel & Place category.
But remember... you can only enter a particular photo into one category per month.
You cannot enter a photo repeatedly in various categories. Carefully analyze your
photo, compare to previous winners, and then choose the most fitting category.
What We Do Not Take Into Account
As long as the subject matter fits, the following kinds of images can be categorized
in any of the above categories - we do not separate the contest entries based on
the following criteria:
- Digitally manipulated images
- Black and white images
- Humorous photos vs. "serious" photos
- Photos by professionals
- Photos by amateurs
- Photos taken with a digital camera
- Photos taken with a 35mm SLR
Note on Digital Manipulation
Although digitally manipulated entries are allowed, we ask that you note the
digital techniques used to create the picture in the description of
your photo. The judges do not discriminate against digital images but do appreciate
when the contestant openly shares that such digital editing has occurred.
These categories are intended to help you enjoy the photo contest. They are not
written in stone and are considered suggestions more than rules. We reserve the
right to determine when a photo fits or does not fit into a particular category.
So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and give it your best shot. When you
are ready, enter today.
Okay... not ready yet? Read the Photo Contest Guidelines
to learn more about how to win a photo contest.
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