Updated content & links June 2018
Yesterday I had the honor to visit the 10th edition of the Dutch wedding photography awards ceremony. Very cool to see how happy all the nominees and winners were. And how everyone in the room was very happy for the winners.
Now I absolutely believe everyone can win a wedding award (when you are a pro photographer) if you like that way of doing marketing and getting recognition. However, it does help if you know what to pay attention to when you select your images for a contest.
I put my research and my own experience on this subject in a nice handy list of tips. As for my own credits around this subject, last year I submitted 5 images and 3 got nominated (out of over 2000 submissions total, approx. 60 got nominated), nice ratio right?
Let’s go to the tips, I am looking forward to seeing your award-winning images ;-)
Wedding Photography Award Tips
1. Research the contest guidelines. I talked to a couple of the jurors last night and they were super clear on how they judged the images, just like they said so in the competition rules that you have to read before selecting your images. Very important: also get the format right, size & resolution.
2. Remove the emotion you felt at the moment you took the photo. Is the photo just as powerful to someone who did not share the moment? Show it to some friends or colleagues and see what their initial reaction is.
When you don’t have a workflow yet, creating one will considerably increase your chances to win a photography award. You will have more time (and headspace) to be creative! Start today by checking out ShootZilla or download the free workflow chart template below!
3. Research the type of contest. What images work well for this type of competition? Are they photojournalistic? Then rough, honest images stand a good chance. Are they more polished and glamorous, then send in your favorite posed images. If you look at past award-winning images of that contest you can get an idea of what images work well. Also, take note if the past awards have a lot of black & whites. If that is the case and your image works in black & white you might have a better chance to be selected when choosing black & white.
4. If there are categories involved, choose the right category. Ask your peers what category they think your image would fit best.
5. Avoid clichés and if you think your best shot is a cliché, be honest with yourself, is it really the best version of this type of pose/ image/ situation? See also tip 6 & 7 when judging your own work.
6. Aim for images that stand out! Put yourself in the judges’ shoes. Imagine you will see hundreds or thousands of wedding images, what will catch their eyes, what will stand out to them?
7. Aim for technical perfection. Is the light really adding to the subject of your photo? Is the composition perfect? Is the background free of any distractions? Does the image tell a story or is there a nice moment happening?
8. Get peer reviews for your selected images. Not as a final vote for your submission, but to see what images get the most reactions and what images get no reactions. Ask why! I have a peer group of wedding photographers and sometimes we share our images in a private Facebook group. People can easily like your photo if they think it stands a chance in a competition and this will give you some indication.
9. Act! You will never win if you don’t enter a contest now and then. If you are not part of a wedding photography association yet, become a member today. You will learn and grow! See below for a list of associations.
10. Get organized! Make it a step in your workflow (after culling or editing) to select your favorites from each wedding and put them in a separate folder. When it’s contest time you just review that folder. TIP: add this as a task in your ShootZilla wedding workflow so you will be reminded.
When you don’t have a workflow yet, creating one will considerably increase your chances to win a photography award. You will have more time (and headspace) to be creative! Start today by checking out ShootZilla or download the free workflow chart template below!
International Wedding photography Contests
Fearless Awards – https://www.fearlessphotographers.com
- Fearless Awards are stunning wedding photos that excel in redefining wedding photography or are just too amazing!
- Membership required to enter. $149 for the first year.
- 6 contests per year + overall ranking list.
- 42 free entries (7 per contest) per year.
WPJA Awards – https://www.wpja.com/
- The Wedding Photojournalist Association put the world’s best wedding photography at your fingertips. We offer a new perspective on wedding photography – quietly capturing the real moments as they happen for the bride and groom.
- Membership required to enter. $150 per year.
- 3 contests per year, top 10 overall photographers per year.
The Masters – various links, see below
- The Masters is an independent award for the best local wedding photography in different countries all over the world.
- No membership required to enter.
- 4 times a year contest + overall ranking.
- 2 free images, € 10 for each next image.
- NL, BE & LUX mastersofdutchweddingphotography.nl UK mastersofweddingphotography.co.uk IT mastersofitalianweddingphotography.it GER mastersofgermanweddingphotography.de USA, Canada & Mexico mastersofweddingphotography.org⠀
ISPW Awards – https://www.ispwp.com/
- The International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers (ISPWP) is a rarity among wedding photography organizations. Photographers cannot simply buy an ISPWP membership, they have to earn it.
- Membership required to enter. $179 per year.
- 4 contests per year. 16 FREE contest entries to the quarterly photography contests.
When you don’t have a workflow yet, creating one will considerably increase your chances to win a photography award. You will have more time (and headspace) to be creative! Start today by checking out ShootZilla or download the free workflow chart template below!
Wedding photography directory – Wedisson
- Wedisson Awards is an International Wedding Photography Contest which holds Wedding photography competitions every month. The results of each Collection are published every month on the Website and Instagram page. Less than 10% of all photographs are chosen. At the end of each competition year (12 Awards) we publish the List of the best international Wedding photographers.
- Membership required. $47 entry fee includes 3 free entries.
Shoot and Share Photo contest – https://shootandshare.com/photo-contest/
- Free and fair annual photo contest. Everyone and anyone can vote through a fun (and addictive) app where you pick the best photo out of 4 images. Every round the quality goes up and picking a winner becomes more difficult.
- Did I mention it’s free? Enter up to 50 photos in 25 categories.
- Submissions will be open from January 8 to January 26.
Way up North Awards – https://wayupnorth.co/wun-awards/
- They did an award in 2017, let’s see if there will be a sequel.
Wedding Photography Blog Awards – Junebug
- Junebug has selected the best wedding photography since 2008 and they are still going strong.
- In order to make it in their annual ‘best of the best’ lists, you have to at least be a member.
- They don’t have a contest, they pick their favorites from all the submissions from their members during the year.
WPPI Online Awards – https://www.wppionline.com
- Wedding Photographers International was founded in the 1970’s and provided a much-needed forum for photographers who had long asked for guidance, and an association of their own.
- Membership required to enter. $200 per year.
- 2 online contests, album contest, print contest.
- Discounts on entering various contests with membership.
When you don’t have a workflow yet, creating one will considerably increase your chances to win a photography award. You will have more time (and headspace) to be creative! Start today by checking out ShootZilla or download the free workflow chart template below!
Dutch Wedding Photography Awards
Bruids Foto Awards – https://www.bffa.nl/
- Started by wedding magazine ‚Bruid & Bruidegom’. Their aim is to create a platform for the best wedding photography in the Netherlands.
- No membership required to enter.
- Once a year contest. You can enter 5 photos per category.
- Approx. € 16 for each photograph you submit.
With all this information there is no time to wait. There is always a wedding photo contest out there waiting for your images! Start implementing the extra task to your workflow today so you always have great images to submit. Download the workflow chart below or check out ShootZilla so you’ll never forget to select your favorites.
Did you like this list? Please share it with the buttons below, thanks!!
Thanks for sharing, here you shared these amazing tips for sharing such amazing tips for photography.