Win a prize with that picture! (This guide to photo contests will help up your odds!)

 

 

Have you ever shot a really great photo, and been just sure you could win a contest or two with it -- but you weren't sure where to start? Or perhaps you've not shot that image yet, but you've got some great ideas just waiting to be captured. Either way, it's not so surprising: There are an incredible number of photo contests both online and offline, and choosing which contests to enter can be a daunting task.

Some contests have entry fees, others don't. Some will give you cash or gear as prizes, while others bring the promise of exposure for your work -- either in front of your peers, or a much wider audience. Some are very photographer-friendly, while others can seem like a land-grab for rights to your work, without paying a cent in return.

 

 

Cutting through all the confusion, the folks over at photo hosting service PhotoShelter have just published a guide to some of the most notable photo contests, helping you to decide whether each presents a legitimate opportunity, or would best be given a wide berth. For each contest, there's information on entry fees, prizes and exposure, as well as an assessment both from past winners, and from PhotoShelter's editorial team. There are also some important Do's and Don'ts that aim to help you decide whether a contest is right for you, and what you neeed to do to stand the best chance of getting a good result.

The Photographer's Guide to Photo Contests is a 37-page PDF document, and it's available free of charge, although you will have to provide your email address to get a copy. More information on PhotoShelter's website.

 

Each month, we give away hundreds of dollars in prizes in our Photo of the Day contest.

And don't forget, we've got a monthly photo contest of our very own, right here at Imaging Resource. Each month, we give away hundreds of dollars in prizes to the best three photos, and every day of the week, a different photo gets its moment of glory on our homepage, and atop our news page. You can also browse past daily and monthly winners in our Winner's Gallery. And it really couldn't be much easier to enter -- upload up to two images each month, edit them first if you like, and simply grant us the right to display them in association with the contest. See here for our full contest rules, and get your entry in now!