Photography contests have the potential to provide fun, dynamic and creative outlets for both experienced, and emerging photographers alike. An experienced photographer may use these competitions to further refine their preferred style. Additionally, an emerging photographer can also use these competitions to try out different themes and styles. It is important to keep these experience levels in mind when selecting a photography theme for your competition.
There are hundreds of themes you can choose from when creating your competition. These include common themes such as landscape, portraits, and black and white shots. However, there are also many fun, detail-oriented themes that inspire creativity such as duplicates, inclines, or muse.
This article will list 35 theme ideas for your contest. However, we will only go into detail on 8 of these themes.
Before choosing your competition theme, it is important to understand exactly what a theme is. This video provides a brief explanation of themes and will help get you thinking about the types of themes available. While you’re watching, try to think about whether you have a specific photo you are hoping to receive. This will help you narrow down your theme options when the time comes to select your theme.
- Should You Run A Competition?
- Simple Yet Stunning Themes
- Themes Showcasing Live Subjects
- Abstract Themes For Your Competition
- Make Your Competition A Success
- Conclusion
Should You Run A Photo Competition?
When deciding whether to run a photo competition is important that you know your end goal. Photo competitions take a lot of time if you want to run them well. Running a competition doesn’t just mean creating the competition. You also need to allow time to advertise, moderate, and judge. Before you start a photo contest, ensure that your overall profit/gain will outweigh the time and resources spent. Rachel Mindell has some great advice when considering a photo contest.
You also need to consider your target audience. Is your following mainly corporate professionals? If so, a photo contest may not garner high engagement. Where a creative audience is more likely to be receptive to a photo contest. Jeff Bullas has a great article detailing the business side and day-to-day running of a photography competition.
Simple Yet Stunning Photography Themes For Competitions
If this is your first time hosting a photography competition, you may want to consider a simple theme. Simple themes still capture the detail and beauty of our world. Additionally, they also provide a great way to increase your skill as a promoter. Selecting a more complex theme will also require more complex guidelines. Accordingly, an inexperienced promoter may find the guidelines they set don’t garner the desired results.
Simple competition themes do not have to be plain or boring. They are open to the same amount of creative versatility as any other theme you can select. For example, competitions that implement an automotive theme keep their entries open to a wide variety of photo styles. This is because they are simply saying that it must include an automobile. But that doesn’t mean you limit entries to one specific style or that no other subject matter can be included.
Competitions that use basic themes expand the range of allowed submissions entries. You are more likely to attract higher engagement with a broad theme rather than a strict or complex one.
We have included a list of 20 simple theme ideas that you may want to consider. Though we will only look at 4 of these in detail.
- Hometown Pride
- Automotive
- Macro Magic
- Capture the Night
- Sports
- Sunsets
- Vintage Photography
- Beaches
- Black and White
- A Pop of Red
- Water Drops
- Fire
- Trees
- Circles
- Contrast
- Mailboxes
- Windows
- Seasons
- Something in Your Home
- Crowds
Simple Competition Theme Promoting Hometown Pride
Hometown pride is a great theme if you are looking for a wide range of photos. Entrants can interpret this simple theme in dozens of ways. One photographer may immediately think of their local football team. Whereas another may live in a town known for its specialty cheese! The possibilities are endless and allow entrants to communicate the best aspects of their hometown.
This theme will also encourage people to think outside of the box. It is unlikely you will receive a picture of a simple bus or a dog (unless you live in Idyllwild, California which is well known for electing a dog as their town mayor).
Another benefit of this theme is that you will learn amazing facts about towns you didn’t even know existed. For instance, did you know that Scottsboro in Alabama holds the title lost luggage capital of the world? Likewise, there is an island in Florida that has gained fame for its monkey inhabitants. Finally, Rose Hill, North Carolina has the world’s biggest frying pan. The frying pan is fully operational and cooks 365 chickens at a time!
As you can see, this simple photography theme for competitions can supply many weird, wonderful, and amazing photos.
An example of hometown pride in a beach paradise
Automotive Photography Theme For Competition
An automotive theme can be a very diverse subject, or it can be refined into something very specific. This theme could be defined as Any self-propelled vehicle. This open definition allows entries including cars, tractors, go-karts, and many more. However, it could also be a very specific theme such as A Vehicle Located in the City.
Selecting a more specific theme is ideal if you are looking for a specific skill. A Vehicle in Motion requires more than fast shutter speeds if you intend to portray the movement of the vehicle.
If you wanted to open your subject matter even further, consider a Vehicles theme rather than Automotive. This small change will allow entrants to submit subjects such as a horse and buggy found in the Amish community. Additionally, they could enter the dog sleds commonly found in Alaska.
Automotive themes are great for competitions within the automotive industry. This could include car companies, mechanics, racing experts, or vintage car enthusiasts.
Capture Macro Magic
Creating a macro competition will allow you to see the world in stunning detail. Not only will this theme showcase an entrant’s eye for detail, but it also allows them to display their creativity. Macro photography requires a specific skill set that not all photographers have mastered. There are several common mistakes made in macro photography that an inexperienced photographer is likely to make. However, this theme will allow talented artists to stand out from the rest with submissions of intricate detail.
The beauty of macro photography is that any object can be used as inspiration. This means that no potential entrants will be excluded due to the inability to access the theme subject. A good artist will be able to turn an image of the sidewalk into a patterned masterpiece. Someone with a more expensive macro lens will be able to get up close and personal with a tiny insect.
Regardless of where the entrant is from, they will be able to find something that fits this theme. If macro is your chosen theme, get ready for an amazing, up close, and personal display of our world.
Try A Night-Time Photography Theme For Your Competition
Night-time photography requires the artist to be patient, dedicated, and talented. This theme is likely to force your entrants to use manual camera functions rather than relying on pre-sets. It is easy to miscalculate aperture and ISO when photographing at night and will prove challenging for all experience levels.
Night-time photography also offers a wide variety of subject matter. Entrants could submit photos ranging from night-time cityscapes, local nightlife, or even the night sky. The possibilities are endless and add the additional challenge of capturing their subjects in low-light settings.
Photography Themes Showcasing Live Subjects
If you are looking to see the world in action a live subject’s theme is a great choice. There are multiple themes you can select from in this category, and all provide a glimpse of individual realities. This theme ranges from the local wildlife to the basic aspects of day-to-day life.
These entries can draw you into someone else’s reality. These new realities may be as an adventuring mountaineer or a bookworm relishing in the company of their furry friends. Themes that feature a live subject are a great way to experience different cultures and their daily lives.
Check out our top 10 theme ideas for live subjects below. We will go into detail on the top three themes.
- Pets
- Portraits
- Sports
- Families
- Celebratory gatherings
- Generations
- Wildlife
- Marine life
- Insects
- Avarian
Excite Your Entrants With A Theme Dedicated To Their Pets
If there is one theme that inspires entrants of all skill levels, it’s the opportunity to showcase their pets. This theme can be particularly interesting based on the wide range of animals and compositions you will see.
A pet theme is particularly fun as it is unlikely that you will receive two photos that look alike. Even if 100 entries feature a dog, the photo is likely to feature different breeds, colors, personalities, and poses. You are also likely to stumble upon unique pets like a chinchilla, rainbow-colored snakes, or even a hedgehog!
A pet-themed competition is a great way to boost engagement with your audience. Especially if your audience is likely to indulge in pet culture. Businesses involved in pet care, outdoor activities, or even families are likely to have a stronger engagement with this theme.
Example of a Black & White Pet Portrait
Set A Portrait Photography Theme For Your Competition
An unrestricted portrait photography competition will garner a wide variety of styles that are sure to impress. However, you can also narrow this down to a specific niche if desired.
Using a specific portrait genre allows for the exploration of smaller niches that are otherwise overlooked. These niches can include:
- Self-Portraits
- Glamour
- Lifestyle
- Candid
- Black & White
- Group portraits
- Close-up portraits
- Pet portraits
- Environmental portraits
Self-portraits are an interesting niche of portrait photography. As a rule, photographers capture the world around them. As such, they seldom feature in their work. This will force many photographers out of their comfort zone and tap into their creativity. A self-portrait can be captured in many ways. A reflection in a body of water, a silhouette, double exposures. Even a selfie-style photo could be used if properly set up.
All of the above niches will encourage creative photos. They will also give an intimate look at how different individuals view our world. If you are looking for something specific or unique, our list of suggested niches is a great place to start.
Sports Action Shots
Actions shots are notoriously hard to capture. Photos that are taken of moving subjects often end up with incorrect focus or too high a shutter speed. Automotive sports shots may prove difficult because of the speed that the cars move. However, live subjects face the issue of speed and also include the additional challenge of unpredictable movements.
When photographing a sporting event, not only are the athletes moving at speed, they also randomly change directions. This can cause blurry images, unappealing composition, or in extreme circumstances, they can move out of the frame entirely. These speed and movement variations arguably make this type of photography one of the more challenging themes to master.
Sports events give great photo opportunities because of their diverse nature. Sporting events featuring live subjects can include typical sports like football or soccer. However, they can also include less common events like equestrian sports, greyhound racing, or dog surfing found in California.
Abstract Photography Themes For Your Competition
As your skill as a promoter increases, the level of difficulty in your themes can also increase. A great way to experiments with more difficult themes is to include abstract concepts. Abstract photography can include corners, low light, or concepts such as a feeling.
Abstract competitions open your entries up to wild creativity and imagination. A good abstract photo will blur the lines of reality and shape our world into something entirely new. This photography theme for your competition will provide you with an entirely new world to enjoy.
See below for our top 5 suggestions for abstract themes. We will delve deeper into the theme of Feelings in this article.
- Feelings
- Intentional Camera Movement (ICM)
- Reflections
- Interesting patterns
- Long Exposure
A great example of abstract photography
Photographing Feelings
Abstract themes can include simple concepts such as black & white, corners, or reflection. These simple themes can make for interesting art that is likely to excite many viewers. However, abstract themes can also include nontangible elements such as a specific feeling. A theme featuring feelings will challenge a photographer’s creativity and push them to portray the world in a new way.
The feeling can be captured in infinite ways. For example, anger can be shown via facial expression, body language, color, and composition. Happiness is another wonderful example. Happiness can be shown using a smile, bright eyes, or uplifting colors. However, this theme is not restricted to just people. Portrayals of happiness have also been achieved by photographing a field of sunflowers or a dog excitedly carrying his favorite stick.
A theme of feeling is open to a large amount of interpretation. This pushes entrants to search deep within themselves to make sense of their unique worlds. It also poses a challenge to the judges of the competition. How do you judge whether a photo invokes a specific feeling? For this reason, if you are looking for a competition theme that challenges both entrants and judges alike, abstract themes are highly recommended.
Making Your Photography Competition A Success
There are hundreds of companies running photography contests every day, so how do you make yours stand out? It’s a complex question without a specific answer. And although we cannot give you the exact formula, we can offer you a few ideas to make sure your competition runs smoothly. We also hope to aid you in encouraging repeat participants.
There are a few general rules that can be applied to most competitions. In addition, they will also help encourage your audience to take part in your future competitions. These rules include how to prevent frustration in your entrants and how to increase participation. In the list below, we have outlined a few simple Do’s and Don’ts to help you create a great photography competition.
What You Shouldn’t Do
Require Entrants To Pay To Enter
Unless there is a large prize up for grabs, don’t charge an entry fee. There is rarely adequate incentive to outweigh the cost of entry. If the prize features amazing photography equipment, mentoring from a professional, or international recognition fees may be justified. However, there are very few competitions offering prizes that are worth the entry fee. This is especially true if the entrant is new to the industry and does not have significant income from their work.
Claiming Copyright For The Work
Requiring photographers to give the rights of their entries to you or your company is going to deter many potential entrants. Photographers make their money by selling their images, whether that be as prints or an event photographer. To deny them of their main product with no compensation or reward is not viewed in a positive light. Taking ownership of a photographer’s work is likely to discourage many photographers from participating.
Not Using A Judging Panel
Hosting a competition that is not judged by industry professionals can be very frustrating to entrants. Choosing winners by the most liked or most shared is simply a contest of who has the largest network. Selecting a winner in this manner is likely to cause two issues. Firstly, it is likely that you will frustrate the photographers taking part in your competition. Secondly, the quality of work in the winning entry may be lower quality than that of a non-winning entry.
This can happen when someone with mediocre or poor work quality has a large network. While a photographer with high-quality images may not have a comparable size network that is willing to cast a vote.
The Do’s
Make Sure The Rules Are Clear
This includes clearly conveying your theme, guidelines, restrictions, and requirements. There is nothing more frustrating than staging, capturing, editing, and submitting an entry only to find out it was disqualified. It is especially frustrating when the disqualification occurred because of poorly written requirements.
If your requirements are confusing or vague, there is potential for two negative outcomes. The first is that photographers may refrain from entering the competition. The second is that they will not re-enter any of your future competitions.
Offer A Prize
This prize does not need to be anything large, fancy, or expensive. This is especially true if you do not charge an entry fee. The prize could be simple, such as a feature on your social media outlets or a $20 gift card. You could even offer exclusive discounts for business products.
By offering a reward for outstanding work you will encourage high-quality participants. Further, you are likely to attract more professional photographers to your competition.
Your Competition Needs To Suit Your Audience
If your fan base is predominantly professionals like surgeons or accountants, a photo contest is unlikely to appeal. However, if you have a fan base that is creative and artistic your engagement is going to be much higher. Photographers, artists, scrapbookers, authors, and gamers alike, are all great audiences to market a photography competition to.
Select Your Winner!
It seems like a no-brainer, but there are competitions where the winner is announced late or not at all. This is very frustrating to entrants and will cause bad reviews and a decrease in future participation.
If you are running late with judging the competition, make sure you update your entrants. Delays can happen for many reasons and for the most part, that is ok. However, it is key to keep your participants updated on the progress of the competition.
Conclusion
There is a lot to consider when selecting a photography theme for your competition. But don’t let that stop you from creating a fun and engaging way to interact with your audience. Photography competitions may be a lot of work, but they are also a lot of fun. To ensure you run a great competition, make sure you remember the following key points:
- Know your audience
- Know your end goal
- Choose a theme that will help you achieve your goal
- Make your competition easy to understand with clear requirements
- Offer an incentive to entrants
- Don’t forget to select a winner!
The possibilities for your photography competition theme are endless. Whether you choose something unique like a fairy-tale or a classic favorite such as Black and White Portraits there is something for your competition.
