How to Choose award-winning photos for competitions

I’ve spent nearly a decade as a professional photographer entering photography contests within my genre. Over the years I’ve been really honored to frequently place among the winners and, in some cases, even win overall awards or rank highest among my peers. Choosing images for competition is a skill, as not every image – even some of the favorite photos I’ve ever taken – are award winners. Some of the most prized photos I’ve taken for clients of once-in-a-lifetime moments don’t meet the standards of competition. Truly, I feel that more than half of the reason I’ve had such luck in photo contests in my career is because I’ve chosen to enter the “right” photos for competition (not always just my favorites). 

An image I entered into the Birth Becomes You 2023 Image Showcase and placed 2nd for the “Birth Team” category and 3rd overall for the “Experienced Birth Photographer” category.

But recently I was asked to sit on the other side of an image competition as a judge for Exposing Birth’s 5th Annual “Birth Photographer of the Year” competition. (You can watch the judging here.) It was a huge honor to be among so many incredible artists giving live critiques of some truly incredible imagery in my genre. We spent so many hours viewing, scoring, and providing feedback on birth images for competitors from around the world. There were so many beautiful moments documented and so much talent among the entrants. But there were a few images I will honestly never forget. 

In the process, some truths became really clear to me about the kinds of images that win awards. Over and over, the same few aspects kept artists from getting higher scores on otherwise gorgeous photos. And the photos that stood out as truly outstanding had certain things in common. So I thought I’d share some insights that might help other photographers who are considering entering an image competition. When it’s time to choose which photos to enter, consider this: 

What I learned from judging about how to pick award-winning photos for competitions:

A collection of photos from photographer Bo De Saedelaere, who was the overall winner of the 2024 Birth Photographer of the Year award. Notice that each of these photos is technically precise, has sharp focus without distracting elements, beautiful white balance, thoughtful, straight cropping, and an interesting or compelling subject.

Of course, there are exceptions to all of the following principles. Sometimes, an image is so creative, interesting, unique, emotional, or innovative that judges are willing to overlook one or more of the below ideals. But in most cases, in order for an image to score consistently high enough among all the judges to be in award territory, most or all of the below must be followed.

1. Choose an image with SHARP focus. Did the focus land just in front of or behind your intended subject? Is the subject's face, eyes (or whatever the subject of the photo is – maybe hands or another detail) just slightly soft? If so – even if you just really love the photo – it might be more appropriate for the client’s gallery (they’ll love the photo as much as or more than you do, even if the focus isn’t perfect) or even your social media or website (in the smaller format of a web photo, a slightly soft focus might not even be evident). But competition photos are scored on both artistry and technical skill. Judges zoom in and look closely. If a photo isn’t sharp where the viewer’s eye is drawn, the judges will notice and it won’t score as high as other photos that are crisp, sharp, and executed with technical precision. 

These beautiful birth photos by Marjolein Roossien are perfect examples of unique perspectives and compelling subjects, framed and cropped perfectly, and edited with technical precision.

2. Pay attention to the crop! Because, I promise, the judges will! This particular point can actually be broken down into a few different important parts:

• Make sure the image is straight! If your image isn’t straight, if the lines of the elements in the space aren’t squared, if it looks like the subject or background components are leaning or might be about to fall over, judges will notice immediately and your score will reflect that. And, honestly, it’s a hard one to overlook because it’s truly such a quick, accessible, and easy adjustment to make. You don’t need fancy photoshop skills or even professional-quality editing software for this one. Even better if you are able to take the time to frame things properly in camera. But depending on the genre, sometimes the moment comes and goes so quickly, you do the best you can to capture it while it’s in front of you. Even so, straighten your images before entering them in competitions.

• Watch out for distracting elements! Have a peek around the edges of the frame for anything that detracts from the subject or demands your attention. Bright or colorful spots or details will draw the viewer's eye away from your subject and to the edge of the photo (and then right on out of it). It might seem nitpicky, but if the judges’ attention is competing between the subject and other distractions, they’re less likely to want to stay with the image. If you notice something on the edges that detracts from your photo, take the time to crop creatively to minimize the distraction. If doing so would affect the crop or framing in a negative way (cutting off other important elements that you don’t want to lose or making the composition feel unbalanced) or if the distraction is too far into the middle of the frame, consider cloning the element (if pixel manipulation is allowed in the competition you are entering) or dodging/darkening the area to decrease the distraction instead.

• Avoid limb chops! Be thoughtful about how, when, and how much you cut off limbs, fingers, toes, and other extremities. There are lots of guides available to help you understand where to crop a subject's limb. Google it. You’ll find one. But a good rule of thumb (no pun intended) is not to chop body parts at joints. Midway between joints (or not at all) tends to be more comfortable to look at. Certainly, there are times when the “rules” can be broken, but for the most part, if body parts like fingers or toes or wrists or ankles are cropped at the edge of the photo, the judges are going to deduct points from your score. If you can be mindful of not cutting off limbs in-camera, you’ll have a much easier time dealing with this in post. But if you have an image that you feel is really strong in all other areas, sometimes this can be fixed by cropping in further to a point on the body that’s more pleasing to the eye. If that’s not possible, you may consider using thoughtful editing to darken areas around the “problem” in order to move focus away from it.

• Should your image be a wide or tight shot? Consider whether the image benefits from having “breathing room” around the subject, additional background elements included for context and storytelling purposes, or if pulling in closer and removing distractions makes the image stronger. The answer to this question can be subjective and depends on the intentions of the artist, but it’s important to consider this question instead of just assuming that the framing is best as is. Sometimes, pulling out to include more information or cropping in to hyper-focus on the moment at hand can be the difference between an average image and an award-winning one. It’s worth your time to play around with different versions before you land on the one you’ll submit.

A photo I won “Best in Labor” in the International Association of Professional Birth Photographers 2021 Competition. While I did chop a hand in the framing of this photo, the crop was mid forearm and not at a joint. But I personally think that judges overlooked the limb chop because the perspective of the photo was interesting, the subject was sharp, the photo was straight and without distracting elements, and the title helped tell the story within the frame.

3. White Balance Matters! Make sure you are happy with how warm or cool and how green or magenta your image is before submission. We all know that different screens display colors differently, but judges will likely be viewing from calibrated screens and you should be editing from one, too. It might be worth looking at the image on a couple of different screens to see if things look significantly off before you press send. Of course, to some degree, white balance can be an artistic choice, but make sure that you’re choosing your white balance with intention, so the judges are seeing what you as an artist intend.

4. Remember: our eyes go to the brightest part of a photo first. If the brightest part of your photo isn’t your subject, consider slightly darkening other areas of the photo or brightening your subject a bit. The key here is subtlety. If done well, the viewer shouldn’t even notice that anything has been manipulated. They’ll just be pleased to find that their eye travels directly to the intended subject without being drawn away.

My Platinum Award Image in the Birth Becomes Her 2020 Image Review. Notice that your eyes go to the brightest and sharpest part of the image.

My scores for my Platinum Award Image in the Birth Becomes Her 2020 Image Review. Not every competition will use the same scoring rubric, so pay attention to how a photo will be judged if that information is available to you when preparing to enter.

5. Titles matter. Be thoughtful and creative when it comes time to name your photo for competition. Generic or overused titles like “Between Two Worlds” or “The First Cry” aren’t necessarily bad, but they definitely don’t add anything or make your entry stand out. And it can be tempting to want your image to just speak for itself. After all, we are visual artists, not wordsmiths. But sometimes a title can lend important context that helps to offer a frame with which to view an image. The highest scoring image in the 2024 Birth Photographer of the Year competition, “I Want To Hold You So Bad,” is a beautiful example of a title that brings immediate focus to the story within the frame. It’s not that the story isn’t already there in the photo itself, but the title makes it clear what the judges should be thinking about as they view the image. And the flip side is that a title that points to something that isn’t well conveyed in or isn’t actually the subject of the photo can detract from an image. For example, if you name your image “Clenched Fists,” but the hands pictured aren’t in focus and aren’t the brightest part of the photo (because the face and emotion or the person is really the subject of the photo), the judge’s eyes will be directed toward the out-of-focus hands to try to understand the story and they’ll find themselves disappointed that they aren’t sharp.

This photo has so many beautiful and compelling elements. The emotion of the parents (whose faces are in sharp focus). The masterful storytelling — the details of the image itself, along with the title, tell a complete story in one frame. With nothing distracting around the edge of the photo, and because of the sharp focus, careful crop, and thoughtful naming, the viewer’s eye is drawn right to the story — the parents reaching out, yearning to hold their new baby.

6. Be creative. Judges are looking at hundreds or thousands of images. Especially if the competition you are entering is genre-specific, there may be dozens or even hundreds of photos of the same type of subject or moment. The photos that stand out and grab the attention of the judges – the ones that they will be inspired by and will remember for years to come – are images that meet all of the above technical requirements but are also creative, innovative, intentional, emotive, and evocative. Find a unique angle or perspective. Notice and hone in on a detail that others might pass right by. Create something unique. Something that hasn’t been seen before, or at least not in the way you are showcasing it. 

One of the winning images by Beth Lindsay that I had the pleasure to judge. I will never forget this image! Its unique post processing that required such vision and skill wowed me and made this photo stand out among the crowd.

Just remember: award winning images are BOTH beautiful and interesting AND technically precise. If it’s one, but not the other, it might score well with some judges, but won’t consistently score high enough to win! Judges see countless really good images. Show them something extraordinary and you’re bound to stand out and find yourself in award territory!