Photographic competitions

Here is a big comment, but I believe that all photographers calling themselves professional should be entering at least one professional photographic competition a year. If you are a member of that AIPP then it is a requirement of maintaining your membership to enter into the APPA's. Why do I say this? We have learnt so much from the competitions that we have entered and we have had a bit of success. We have also had a few disappointments along the way as well so it does balance out. I will admit we have been professional photographers for 8 years, but only started entering the competitions last year. That was definitely a mistake and in the end, slowed our progress. What better way is there than to get people with huge amounts of experience and technical skills to assess your work.

There are however, a couple of problems with the APPA's. Firstly it is very expensive to enter into the competition and secondly, and my point with this blog, is that you actually need to get the feedback from the judges to really benefit from the competition. That means you not only have the cost of entry, cost of the print and matting and the cost of posting to where ever the location is that year, you also have to travel to the judging. Costly from Townsville and there is also the time factor as well.

This is one of the reasons that I love the International Loupe Awards, (Google if interested). Entry is only $35/image, unlimited entry's and when you get the result you also get the judges feedback from between one and three of the judges. So here is my point. This is one of the images that has just come back from the International Loupe Awards.

The set up is the location shoot of a wedding at The Brewery, one of my favourite locations. We were photographing using the window light, generally in the narrow range, when I noticed the beautiful rim lighting effect that the light was having on Regina. The light is actually coming from the right and reflecting of the wall and through the window, stunning.

So what are your thought about it without cheating and checking on what the judges said about the image. (I have posted their comments below). I knew that I had problems with the reflections and when I took the image should have bracketed the image probably 2 to 3 stops under the exposure that I used. That would give me details in the highlighted areas that were blown out  in the original exposure.

Unfortunately, my Photoshop skills need work and that is one area I did get pick up on. The rest of the comments I completely missed. That being said the image scored 77, enough to score a bronze medal last year, but 3 points shy of award status this year. Still happy with the result and will think a little more about it next time. I also love this image but take on board what the judges have said.

Judges Comments:

Critique Comments:

Judge 1:   line runs directly through her nose

Judge 2:  The light on this is very nice and well handled. There a re a couple of fundamentals here though which weaken the image. Placement of the bride - just an inch back and you would not have that line going through her nose - its very distracting, you have taken the time to set this up so just note small things like this and adjust. She also looks a little stiff but her expression is relaxed. There is a lot of visible retouching which lets this down. Sometimes its good to just leave an image alone..

Judge 3: The line of the window, cut the nose of the Bride.

Our sporting Hero's 1 - Ellie

Ellie is a Queensland representative football player, having won a national championship with the Queensland Under 12 girls earlier this year. She also plays touch and Oz Tag, and is hoping to gain Queensland selection in both these sports later in the year and early next year. She comes from an incredibly talented family with other family members featuring on this blog in future editions. We sat down with Ellie and had a chat about her dreams and goals for the future.

ls: What sports do you play?
eh: Soccer, Oz Tag and Touch.
ls: What clubs do you play for?
eh: Annandale Falcons and now the North Queensland Fury.
ls: What position do you play?
eh: Midfield and full back.
ls: How long have you been playing?
eh: 8 years.
ls: Who is your sporting hero?
eh: Lionel Messe from Argentina and Barcelona.

ls: What representative honours have you achieved?
eh: Townsville Football, Townsville Primary School Football, North Queensland Schools Football, QLD Schools Football, Townsville Schools Touch, North Queensland Schools Touch & Townsville Oz Tag.
ls: How much time is involved?
eh: All of our time.
ls: What is the best part of playing sports?
eh: All of it.
ls: What is the worst part of playing sport?
eh: Not being able to play.
ls: What was your favourite event?
eh: Playing for QLD at the Football Nationals in Brisbane earlier this year.
ls: Why did you choose these sports?
eh: I try to get to as many sports as I can and these were the ones we had time for.
ls: What is your biggest accomplishment in your sport?
eh: Making  the QLD State side in Football
ls:What one or two things do you currently do in your training that are keys to your success?
eh: Juggling and shooting skills.
ls: What would be your ultimate achievement?
eh: Playing for Australia.
ls: How do you set your goals?
eh: I set my goals based on what I need to improve.
ls: What is the best advise you were ever given?
eh: It's not over until it is over.
ls: Do you have a saying or motto that you live your life by?
eh: Do your best and you can achieve your best.
ls: Where do you draw your inspiration from?
eh: Lionel Messe, coaches and my parents.
ls: What do you do in your spare time away from the sport?
eh: Train.
ls: Do you have a pre-match routine?
eh: No, only a warm up
ls: Anything else you would like to share?
eh: no, I love sport.
ls: Thanks for your time Ellie, good luck in the future with you goals and ambitions.

Leiden Studios would like to thank Matt and Tracey for their time and allowing us to do the shoot with Ellie. I hope she enjoyed the experience, we had a lot of fun doing the shoot and interview. We wish her all the luck in the future pursuing her dreams.

This is the first in a weekly series of sporting stars to be profiled by Leiden studios. Leiden Studios has the pleasure of working with a large number of sporting clubs and organisations both in Townsville and in Queensland and through this association we have come across a range of fantastically talented sports stars. Our aim is to profile some of these personalities and hopefully give both the athlete and the associations a bit of exposure.

We have stars lined up for the next few weeks but are always looking for more willing to do a bit of a photo shoot and give us a bit of an insight into what it takes to be a sports star. I have plans already in place for a sprinter and swimmer/ water polo. Considering we covered QLD Water Polo for 5 years I actually do not know any in Townsville.Please give us a call if you are interested in participating. There is no cost associated with the shoot.