The document provides tips for creating competitive images for photography competitions. It recommends that images tell a compelling story through a striking subject, colors, and unusual composition. Distractions should be removed and the viewer's eye guided to the main subject. Technical flaws like blurriness or over/under exposure should be eliminated. Images should be creatively cropped to best suit the format. Successful competition images have impact, style, creativity, good composition, an obvious subject, storytelling properties, and technical excellence. Photographers should study rules, critique other images, and always be prepared with a folder of high-standard images for competitions.

2. An image should have a strong story
line or message

3. Images should stand out from the
ordinary by having:
a compelling subject
striking colours
be unusual
have strong design &
composition

4. Remove or tone down distractions
in post production (if you have not
done that at the shooting stage!)

5. One needs to guide the viewer’s eyes to
what you want them to see

6. Eliminate photos which have any
technical flaws, like unsharpness,
camera shake, blown out highlights
and very dark blocked shadows.

7. Be creative with your cropping.
Crop to whatever format best suits
your image
(unless constrained by particular
dimensions)

8. These will be the very first things a
sharp judge will notice.

9. Study successful images in other
competitions
Attend as much as you can image
assessments and critique.

10. Scrupulously study the rules and
regulations and strictly adhere to
these.

11. COMPETITIVE IMAGES SHOULD:
RATE HIGH IN
IMPACT
HAVE STYLE
BE CREATIVE &
UNUSUAL
GOOD
COMPOSITION

12. AN OBVIOUS
MAIN SUBJECT
OR CENTRE
OF
INTEREST
STORY
TELLING
PROPERTIES
TECHNICAL
EXCELLENCE

13. GOOD
LIGHTING
EXCELLENT
PRESENTATION
& PRINT
QUALITY
GOOD
PRINCIPLES
OF POSING
EXCELLENT
POST
PROCESSING

14. Be always prepared!
Create an ever present folder
entitled “Competition Images” and
put in images which are of a
possible high standard.

15. © Kevin Casha
Master FSWPP FMIPP AMPS AMPA
Hon life Member MIPP
Hon life Member MPS