Photography Contests

Photography contests invite submissions from residents for photography on a certain topic—usually character of community or special places. 

These activities are often used to stimulate interest in a visioning process, to obtain a sense of values and community character from a wide range of people, and to begin inventorying the types of places and scenes that are important in the community.  Photography contests can be used to think broadly about what residents value in a community, to identify a specific set of sites or features that residents want to protect, or to identify types of architecture or design standards that capture the community's character.

Contests can be run in many ways and it's important to think about how to set the contest up before you begin to ensure fairness and effectiveness:

• Who is eligible? Anyone in the community, or certain groups like school children? Are professional photographers eligible?
• How long should the contest be open?
• Are you limiting the contest to photography, video, or other media?
• How will you publicize the contest? Do you offer a prize?
• Are you providing digital cameras or requiring people to have their own?
• How do you want to frame the contest or challenge? Do you offer one category/question, or multiple?
• How will you share the entries with the public? Do you want to use the entries in other ways, such as producing a calendar or postcards? Is there a festival or public event where you can share the results?
• Do you want to have rights to the photos after the contest, or does the photographer retain all rights?
• Who will judge the contest? Do you want a single judge, a panel, or will voting be open to the public?
• What are the criteria for judging?
• How will you capture, share, and discuss the meaning of the photos or the data included in them?

One notable variation is the “Picture Your Place” project, which distributes disposable cameras to residents and asks them to photograph places that are meaningful to them in the communities. A sponsoring community or organization will typically collect the cameras, develop film, and organize/present the photos.  The organization may present a prize for the best work or to a randomly-selected participant.