Making the Most of Competition Nights

There’s Always Something to Learn

Whether you’re entering competitions for the first time or have been doing so for years, competition nights can still bring a mixture of anticipation and apprehension. Most of us sit waiting for our image to appear on screen, wondering what the judge will make of it.

It is easy to focus on scores, places and certificates, but competitions can offer something far more valuable. A judge’s comments can help us see our work through someone else’s eyes. Agree or disagree with the observations, there is usually something to learn from them. As you become more experienced as an entrant, you will learn what to pick out from the appraisal as being useful for your learning experience and what to give less attention to.

What Judges Are Looking For

When a judge assesses an image, they are considering both the photographer’s artistic ability and technical skill and the overall effectiveness of the picture itself.

Technical considerations such as focus, exposure, processing and presentation are fundamental to a successful photograph… but the qualities that often distinguish an outstanding image are harder to measure: its impact, composition, emotional connection, storytelling, and its ability to capture and sustain the viewer’s interest.

Most judges try to explain not only what they see but why they have reached a particular conclusion… a few just describe what they see, which is less helpful! They may point to something that strengthens an image, identify an element that distracts from the main subject, or suggest an alternative approach that might have improved the result.

It is also worth remembering that photography is not an exact science. Every judge brings their own experience, skill, and often their own interests and preferences to the task. An image that one judge admires may leave another totally cold. That is part of the nature of photographic competition and should not be a cause for frustration (even though it often is!).

Beyond Your Own Images

One of the greatest benefits of competition evenings is that learning does not stop when your own photograph has been discussed. Listen carefully to comments on other members’ work. You may hear observations about lighting, composition, background distractions or processing choices that are just as relevant to your own photography. Learn from this.

Sometimes a judge will say something you have instinctively felt about a picture but have never quite been able to put into words and this “lightbulb moment” can be particularly valuable.

Beyond the Score

A score is simply one judge’s assessment on one particular evening, measured against the other images entered in that competition. On a different night, with a different selection of photographs, or with a different judge, the same image might receive a noticeably different mark, which is confusing for some members. It is often more helpful to think of the score as a ranking within that specific competition rather than an absolute measure of an image’s quality or worth.

Naturally, it is pleasing to do well, but the comments often matter, should matter, far more than the marks themselves. Constructive criticism can highlight strengths you were unaware of, or reveal bad habits that may have crept unnoticed into your work.

Over time, patterns begin to emerge in the judging. Perhaps several judges mention distractions near the edge, too strong a vignette, flat tonal range, over-saturated colours, burned out highlights or too tight cropping. When similar observations recur, they are often worth considering seriously.

Remember the Judge Is Part of the Evening

It is also worth viewing the judge not simply as someone who allocates marks, but as a key part of the evening’s entertainment. Clubs invite judges because they bring knowledge, experience, opinions and, often, plenty of personality. The best judges do far more than score photographs. They educate, provoke thought, share anecdotes, challenge assumptions and occasionally even make us laugh. Even when you disagree with their conclusions, there can be enjoyment in hearing how a different photographer interprets your work.

If you attend only to discover your own scores, you are likely to spend much of the evening disappointed or frustrated. If you attend expecting to be informed, entertained and exposed to different ideas about photography, you will gain far more from the experience.

Appraisal Evenings

Appraisal evenings at OPS can be just as valuable. A single comment may reflect personal taste, but when several people react in a similar way, it can provide useful insight into how your image is likely to be seen by others, including judges. If members repeatedly point out the same distraction, processing issue or compositional weakness, there is a good chance a judge will spot it too. Removing this sort of “judge bait” before competition night can help avoid a bruised ego and allow the judge to focus on the image’s strengths rather than its faults.

Keeping an Open Mind

Judges will sometimes suggest alternatives: a different crop, a monochrome conversion, a change in viewpoint or a tighter composition. These suggestions are not instructions. They are possibilities. You may decide the judge is entirely wrong and keep the image exactly as it is. Equally, you may revisit the file and discover that their suggestion improves it considerably.

It is easy, particularly as we gain experience, to fall into the trap of dismissing comments we do not agree with. Most of us have heard competitors mutter that the judge “doesn’t know what he/she’s talking about”. Sometimes that may even be true. Judges are not infallible, and few would claim to be. However, the value of judging lies not in whether the judge is right about every detail, but in the fact that they represent a “knowledgeable viewer” responding honestly to the image in front of them. Ignoring those reactions entirely can mean missing an opportunity to learn something useful about your work.

Photography is a lifelong learning process, for all of us, regardless of how experienced we are, or how many competitions we have won in the past, or even whether we are judges ourselves. Competition nights are not merely about deciding which image comes first. They are opportunities to collect ideas, refine our vision and continue developing as photographers.

Christine Widdall Hon OPS
Past President, Assistant Comp Sec, Webmaster