The Carey Adventures

I am going to skip right over the part where I tell you what to do or what to say and get to the heart of the matter, telling you what to think.

Okay, maybe I am not going to tell you exactly what to think, but I do want to make sure some of these thoughts are going through your head the next time you enter a photo contest.

First off, photo contests, where you are asked to enter a photo with a chance of winning a prize, can be a great way to gain exposure for new or experienced photographers. But it is very important to check the fine print. After you have given the rules and regulations a thorough reading, think about some of these prints before pressing the “Enter” button.

1. Who Owns the Photo After You Press Enter?

Many contests are based on a simple give-and-take theory. They are offering you the chance at a prize and in return they want to use your photo however they desire. For a vacationer just back from a trip to Japan spotting a contest asking for Mount Fuji photos, copyright issues may be of little care. But for those wishing to possibly one day make money from their photos, giving away an amazing photograph may not be in their best interest.

Mind you, not all contests are run this way, but the vast majority ask for the right to use your photo even if you did not win a prize.

2. What Is Your Ego Asking Of You?

If you are in the middle ground between professional photographer and a vacationer who does not care about copyright, step back and ask yourself, “Am I in it for the fame or the fortune?” If you win the top prize, chances are you will gain both. But if you do not win, what have you given away? If you enter your most prized sunset photo from Hawaii and a contest asked for exclusive worldwide distribution rights, you will be out of luck in attempting to sell that photo to publications or enter it in further contests.

3. Is the Contest Really Just Asking for Free Content?

As a professional photographer this tactic tends to chap my hide. A lot of contests are run on the idea that a website/company has a need for particular photos but does not wish to pay for them directly. So, they may work with one of their advertisers to give away a product that the advertiser donates. Business-wise this arrangement makes total sense. The website pays nothing but gets hundreds or thousands of photos submitted, the advertiser often gives away what for them is an inexpensive product and in return gains extra exposure and one lucky winner gets a cool prize and gets to see their photo live on the Internet.

The company running the contest now has hundreds or thousands of photos to use in their print magazines, websites, promotional material, calendars and so much more. If the contest rules state the company gets exclusive worldwide copyright to your photo they can now do whatever they please and not compensate you.

Personally, my chosen profession aside, I prefer not to give away anything for free to companies wishing to make money off of my efforts. Yes, there is a chance I will win a wonderful trip to Amsterdam for three whole nights. But realistically the company simply wishes to obtain photographs essentially for free. To be clear, companies trying to make money do not bother me. Companies wishing me to send them a photo for free so they can make money from use of the photo, does bother me. That being said, I do always have a soft spot for charities looking for great photographs to help in their efforts to help others.

And that is my opinion. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on entering photo contests in the comments section below.