Tew's Falls, Hamilton ON
This photo won an Instagram contest and the photo on the host account got over 8000 likes, but it only got about 150 likes on my personal page. I gained a few followers and won a Fuji Instax mini camera, which my niece is enjoying, so it was all gain for little sacrifice.
Photographers today are faced with a barrage of choices as to how and when they will share their photos. To post a photo anywhere online is to risk it being stolen, but if you don't share then your work will never be seen. Photo contests are one of the most controversial areas of photo sharing, and not without good reason. Many online photo contests amount to little more than a rights grab with “exposure” as your prize. The price of entry? Free usage of your photo and sometimes the full rights to your work, meaning you don't even own it anymore!
Here are some factors to keep in mind when deciding whether to enter your photos into a competition, as well as some practical advice on which to consider and which to avoid (based on my personal experience).
