Comments from the Ocean Art Photo Competition 2021 Judges
The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition, one of the most prestigious underwater photography contests in the world, recently concluded after a rigorous judging process. This year, the competition received a large number of quality images despite the drastic decline in dive travel.
For underwater photographers aiming to participate in such contests, careful preparation and attention to several key aspects can significantly increase the chances of success. Here are some tips and suggestions:
## Preparation and Planning
1. **Understand the Rules**: Familiarize yourself with the contest rules, including submission deadlines, image requirements, and any specific themes or categories.
2. **Choose the Right Equipment**: Ensure you have the appropriate underwater photography gear. A good camera system, strobes, and lenses are essential. Consider using a fisheye lens for wide-angle shots or a macro lens for detailed close-ups.
3. **Plan Your Dive**: Research the location, conditions, and potential subjects. Plan your shots in advance to maximize your time underwater.
## Techniques and Tips
1. **Composition**: Pay attention to composition. Use the environment to frame your subject, and consider rules of thirds and leading lines.
2. **Lighting**: Understand how to use ambient light and strobes effectively. Proper lighting can enhance the colors and textures of your images.
3. **Subject Selection**: Choose unique or interesting subjects that tell a story. This could be a rare marine life interaction or an unusual habitat.
4. **Post-processing**: Edit your photos to enhance them without over-processing. Ensure the image is realistic and natural-looking.
## Feedback and Community
1. **Get Feedback**: Join photography communities or workshops to get feedback on your work. This can help you refine your selection and improve your chances of winning.
2. **Stay Inspired**: Follow other underwater photographers and stay inspired by their work. This can help you develop new ideas and techniques.
## Contest Strategy
1. **Select Strong Images**: Choose your strongest images that fit the contest's theme or categories. Ensure they are technically sound and visually appealing.
2. **Enter Multiple Images**: If allowed, enter multiple images to increase your chances of winning. However, ensure each image is of high quality and not repetitive.
3. **Be Patient and Persistent**: Winning photography contests often requires persistence and patience. Keep improving your skills and entering competitions regularly.
Remember, it's essential to strive for creativity and originality in your work, rather than copying someone else's successful efforts. Avoid abusing your file by using excessive saturation, vibrance, or other editing techniques, which can result in unrealistic colors. Calibration of displays before adjusting images is recommended to ensure consistency between the judges' screens and the submitter's own.
If submitting to the black and white category, familiarity with concepts like tonal range and contrast is important for creating effective black and white images. Readers are encouraged to read the rules thoroughly and consider the most appropriate category for each image.
Contestants whose images were honored this year can take pride in having their work chosen out of a competitive field that includes some of the world's most accomplished underwater shooters. Marty Snyderman, the author of Dive Training magazine's Behind the Lens column, and Mark Strickland, who has had careers as a lifeguard, boat captain, scuba instructor, and cruise director, were among the judges.
By following these tips, underwater photographers can significantly enhance their chances of success in the Ocean Art Photography Contest and other similar competitions. Good luck!
- To increase one's chances in underwater photography contests like the Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition, it's crucial to understand the contest rules thoroughly.
- A compact mirrorless camera system paired with an appropriate lens, such as a fisheye or macro lens, can be beneficial for underwater photography.
- Proper color representation in photographs is significant; calibrate your display before adjusting images for consistent color rendering among the judges.
- When composing images, consider using the environment to frame subjects and apply the rules of thirds and leading lines for effective image composition.
- For unique and interesting images that tell a story, consider capturing rare marine life interactions or unusual underwater habitats.
- To enhance the colors and textures in images, understand how to use both ambient light and strobes effectively.
- Home-and-garden enthusiasts and lifestyle photographers could find underwater photography an exciting new venture, offering opportunities to capture the beautiful bluewater and diverse underwater behavior of divers and marine life.
- Winning a photography contest often requires persistence and patience; keep refining your skills and entering competitions regularly.
- Collaborating with photography communities or attending workshops can provide valuable feedback on your work, helping you improve, and potentially winning future contests.
