As photography has become even more popular in recent years, the number of contests and competitions for photographers has skyrocketed. The best offer recognition of great work; opportunities to get your photos in front of respected members of the photographic community; a path to exposure in galleries, well-trafficked web sites, and social media; potential publication in books; inclusion in online directories; even cash prizes. With others, winners get little more than bragging rights. Participating in contests and competitions is a great way to make connections and build your photo CV, but the costs can add up. How can you be strategic about sorting through all the options so as to maximize the return on these investments?

This spring I was the teaching assistant for Harvey Stein’s Fundamentals of Portraiture class at the International Center for Photography. At the end of the course, having created some interesting pictures for their assignments, students asked for tips on choosing competitions where they could enter their work. This article expands on suggestions I shared and includes some of my own experiences in the wide world of photo contests.

First, for any competition it’s critical to determine your goals for participating. The chance of prize money may grab your attention, but judges’ opinions are unpredictable and odds aren’t in your favor. More realistic reasons include exposing your work to a new audience, the fun of participating in an exhibition, or feedback from a judge you admire. Know your goals and make purposeful decisions about where to invest. Equally important, when your work is recognized, observe how results measure up against expectations. Did you get the new Instagram followers, likes, or web site traffic that you hoped for?

Shortly after resuming photography a few years ago, I was approached about writing an essay for a photo book, but the photographer was dismayed by my puny photo CV. How could I build it up? One tactic was to enter a small competition that exhibited winners in a local gallery. The entry fee wasn’t too steep and the result was a line item on my photographic resume. For my purposes, success! Smaller or niche contests often have a better probability of recognition. Especially if you’re just beginning, starting small can be a good way to notch some encouraging wins, gain more experience, and make connections in your local photo community, all depending on the goals you have in mind.

These days, all sorts of organizations, from well established brands to startups, sponsor competitions. Some use contests to enhance ongoing activities; others are jumping on a popular bandwagon to make money. Some are local, others national or even international. While many new entrants create value for photographers, competitions sponsored by established brands are always a safe bet; typically, revenue isn’t their top priority. Sponsors may be camera brands, national media outlets, museums or galleries, or nonprofits. Since this type of contest has the cachet of a known brand, they are usually very competitive, so be extra thoughtful about which pictures you send.

If you don’t win, don’t be discouraged. Sometimes there are dividends anyway. A few competitions offer feedback on entries (sometimes for an additional fee). And some publications that use external jurors also highlight pictures that didn’t win, but which caught staff’s eye. Depending on how they’re handled, these “picks” may generate almost as much attention as actual winners. I submitted to a competition a couple of years ago and didn’t win anything, but the sponsor posted one of my photos on Instagram as an Editor’s Pick. It ended up getting lots of attention and I gained several new Instagram followers because of it.

It also matters who the judges are. If you don’t admire their work or opinions, recognition may not mean much. If a juror is well known but their style or taste is dramatically different from yours, your work may not resonate. Aim to get your work in front of people whose point of view can help you learn and grow as a photographer. I always take a look at the judge’s work – pictures, in the case of photographers; publications in the case of photo editors; exhibits, in the case of gallerists or curators – to check for a fit. Once I entered a contest being judged by a former National Geographic editor. I scoured my archive for photos with what I felt was a “National Geographic” vibe: exotic, colorful, not too visually complicated. I entered a few and one won Third Prize and the only cash I’ve ever taken home, $400.

Many contests recur periodically, so also look at past winners. How do your pictures stack up against theirs, not only in terms of quality, but subject matter and approach? Although judges may change, the overall style of a competition is often fairly consistent year to year. Also observe how the sponsor promotes winners. Are they featured prominently online and in social media, published in a book or magazine, exhibited in a show – or does the sponsor quickly move on to advertise the next contest? And what costs do winners incur? Does the honor of being selected put you on the hook to invest more for printing, framing, or shipping? Many reputable competitions don’t have hidden downstream costs. Read the fine print to understand if it’s a contest you actually want to win.

If some of your photos do well, look for other competitions with a similar aesthetic or judging philosophy where you might submit them again. One of my photos was in the 2020 Women Street Photographers Annual Exhibition. Later, I sent it to the 2022 Miami Street Photography Festival, where it was named a Finalist. Take advantage of low-effort activities to get feedback that can help you choose which pictures to enter. Sometimes I participate in Instagram hashtag challenges or submit photos to Leica’s online LFI Gallery to learn how various images resonate with strangers. The photo I had in the 2024 Women Street Photographers Annual Exhibition began as an entry to one of their Hashtag Challenges. It was popular, so I also submitted it to the bigger contest.

On the other hand, everyone who has ever picked up a camera has made photos they love that no one else seems to. For whatever reason, the thing you find so special is not communicating with a broad audience. You can still hold these photos in your heart, but after a few rejections, stop entering them in contests. Perhaps a future generation of critics will laud them as your best work, or maybe no one else will ever appreciate them. In any case, you can spend a lot of money in an unsuccessful effort to show the world that an underloved picture is actually a masterpiece. Meanwhile, a photo that’s been selected before has a better probability of success.

To help navigate the vast number of photo contest options, I regularly follow some of the many web sites, email newsletters, and Instagram accounts that publish lists of current competitions (search for “list of photo contests” to find some). After you identify photos you want to enter, take the time to make competition-quality prints (either digital or physical). You risk undoing all your strategizing if you send images whose processing flaws distract jurors from the innate strengths.

Use the opportunities strategically, and participating in photo competitions can be a great way to learn, challenge yourself, and build your personal brand. Like any investment in personal growth and achievement, it comes at a price. Approach your choices thoughtfully and odds are, you’ll be pleased with the return on your investment. Good luck!