looking for a legit juror’s list is a good first step. Anyone even half reputable would not be part of the scam contests.

my 2¢

thanks,
sara

http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0901/contest-mania.html

If they have pages and pages of contest entries every month it certainly diminishes the value.

The model for this “contest” is similar to The Art Of Photography Show, which also takes place in San Diego. The income largely comes from photographers entering these types of shows, and not from sales. Print sales are quite bad in San Diego, even in a tourist hot-spot like Balboa Park, near the San Diego Zoo.

I agree that they should be called fund raisers, but I think their entry volume would suffer. So in the end this is marketing. The result for photographers who enter these things is that they might get one line on their exhibit history of where they exhibited. Perhaps that is another way to judge these things. Does anyone really want another one liner on their exhibit history?

http://sdnhm.org/exhibits/visions/bestofnature.php#jurors

I have no problem with a museum doing a fundraiser, but to call it a photo contest is another thing. An entry fee, then after the prints are sold, the museum gets half. Just call it a fundraiser, which it is.

But here is the best part:

Jurors/Awards

* First Round: San Diego Natural History Museum
* Final Round: Abe Ordover, owner of The Ordover Galleries
* Prizes:
o Grand Prize: $1000
o First Place: $500
o Second Place: $250
o Third Place: $150

I didn’t know museums knew how to judge photo contests.

369 S. Doheny Drive, Suite 323, Beverly Hills, CA 90211

8 Shepherd Market, Suite 639, Mayfair, London W1J 7JY

Both addresses are mailbox addresses i.e. they are not real “suites” staffed with people. Just a post office box.

Coincidence? Surely not. I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions.

https://nielsen.taleo.net/careersection/3/jobdetail.ftl?lang=en&job=12132

Thank you for being real about these internship “opportunities”. I appreciate you pointing out the fact that unpaid internships remain a possibility mostly for the privileged few who can afford to work for free. I’ve found it interesting when interviewing for internships at some prestigious photo agencies and magazines to ask what the interns went on to do. In many cases the person I interviewed with couldn’t answer and clearly didn’t care. The goal of the internship was not mutual benefit but rather free labor and the presumption that the intern was lucky to be let in the doors of this exclusive environment. I was interviewing for these internships because I felt it was a necessary right of passage though at the time I had a Master’ in Photography from NYU, a BA in Government from Smith College) and 6 years of experience as a Photo Editor at AOL and a travel dot com. Clearly my skills and experience had market value. My last internship I decided to leave when it was a problem for me to take off for my spouses ACL reconstructive surgery. I think it’s too easy to ask someone to work for free. I’m weary of the elitist expectations in this industry which keep photography the enterprise of the affluent few.

I think that the argument can be made that the biggest scam (in terms of $/effort/time/ratio of success to oblivion) in photography may be art school.

Educational work. Work in which the employer’s motive is purely for noncommercial educational or training purposes.

School work or school assignments are prime examples of educational work. The assignments requires you to do work and to learn, but the teacher does not make any financial gain off of the fruits of your labor.

There are numerous incentives for employers who offer these kinds of unpaid internships that I do not have time to list here.

http://www.portfolioday.net/

While that is student oriented, with the idea of recruiting talented students to various colleges, it was very interesting to attend. Even listening in on the critiques/reviews of the portfolios of other students was enlightening. If you are fairly quick, you could get several revues in a day.

As far as contests go, I have usually considered those that might land on the desk of someone who might be interested in my work. Of course I don’t enter many, due to deadlines for paid shoots getting in the way, but I will be entering a couple in what I anticipate might be slow here. Anyway, here are some I found interesting:

http://www.commarts.com/competitions/photography

http://www.surfacemag.com/ – Surface Magazine Avant Guardians

Outside of those, I have been in The Art Of Photography once, but decided that it was not a good direction for commercial work promotion. There are probably more Art Photography contests than any others, which I find unfortunate due to the lack of income for art photographers.

Basically, I consider whether my target AD or CD might see an image of mine in a particular publication. If the answer is maybe, and the fees and volume of entries not overwhelming, then I consider entering . . . Oh, also if I have the time to do so.

Firstly one should never enter a competition feeling as though one ought to win, there are two many factors that come into judging. I’ve hosted many competitions, hiring judges, monitoring the process and so often one thing that a judge dislikes, the color orange, for example can knock an image or ad out.

Instead one should look to the process as being valuable and knowing that IF something DOES get published or win ‘best of’ that it can be extremely good marketing. I’ve won many of the big ones and it does tend to do something, if not a direct job, it gets the name out there.

ON THE OTHER HAND, I try to only enter competitions that are bonified, and few and far between. CA photo annual is great and their standards are high and they deliberately seek to publish images that they’ve never published before. PDN is OK, although they are now doing the whole splinter competitions thing, and I can tell you from winning the best of category in one of theirs that they hold a party that photographers go to during PhotoEast, no one greeted or announced anything at the PDN party, prized were ‘to be announced’ and finally 6 months later they me a computer generated little certificate and a camera, no hand written letter, note of thanks or anything.

Now as for IPA. I’ve entered it and will again if I feel the marketing of it will help, and it likely will to some degree, but note that at least half of the other photo contests we receive emails about just so happen to trace back to the same physical address and company, which happens to be owned by Hossein Farmani, I believe. Trace back the physical address. Nothing wrong with Mr. Farmani at all, but recognize that there are many contests that all appear feed that one company. I have a problem with that.

It is at this point that I feel photographers can find themselves fleeced. IPA nicely delivers with an expensive awards show that actually brings in creatives but they have also done so by also being the Lucie Awards, awarding those creatives as well, which is OK, but just know that there is more to this than just photographers. It’s just marketed to photographers and then when you go becomes an industry award. The point isn’t so much that this is wrong…

…it’s that it’s a machine. A money making machine. And it’s a game. A game that you will choose to play because it is either good for your career or one you won’t play because it’s lining the pockets of those that are marketing multiple competitions under different names for profit.

So my advice is to do it very selectively and only do the bigger ones, expect that you won’t win, but aiming to value the process of exposing your fresh work, and by first checking into WHO OWNS THIS COMPETITION. How are the awards or recognition REALLY handled.

It can be good and it can be bad.

I’m going by more of a global standard for that statistic as opposed to an American standard.

Here is a related survey from fairly recent:
Poll: Should Magnum & VII Photographers Pay Their Interns in Exchange for Skilled-Labor?

It’s important to remember that unpaid internships are perfectly acceptable under Federal Law so long as no financial gain is made off of your labor.

If financial gain is made off your labor and you are not being paid anything, then you are being exploited, no matter how the market is.

Labor laws and the legal system both change under Democratic control of the US government, so what was normal under 8 years of Bush will not necessarily be normal under this new administration.

I once did an unpaid internship, and I learned a lot from it, but no financial gain was really made off my labor.

Hey Rob – I’m a great unpaid intern. Have any openings?

1. Take time to check out the previous year’s reviewers. You’re going to see some of these folks show up at every Festival, but they do use these events to select new artists. I’d especially recommend going to local regional reviews since most of the attending museums/spaces are funded to support local artists.
2. Only attend events where you get to select who you want to see. While you won’t get all of your picks, at Lucida I got at least 75% of my first picks.
3. Be specific about what you’re looking for from the experience. Plan to show a tight edit of around 20, but have an additional reserve group to select from. Keep the portfolio box very simple, many people just show prints in a clamshell. Avoid anything that takes time to unpack.
4. Spend time getting to know your fellow attendees. This group has continued to be valuable to me in many ways.
5. Follow-up and stay in touch.

Eventually though, the number of contests dilutes the value they once held with photographers. As long as the quality remains high, and some big names enter, it’s likely they’ll be able to make a lot of money this way. It’d actually behoove the publications to allow the big names to enter for free, or even pay some of them. The opportunity for a new photographer to have a winner in with a big name…priceless.

God I’m sounding like some wise old fart which is correct on 2 counts anyway..

Good luck!

Roll up…Roll up… you too could win the coveted SoTY* 2009

1) I’ll give 50% discount to “early entries” that way I cover my limited costs quickly.

2) If we’re nearing the entry deadline and the profit figures need a boost I’ll extend it a month or even two due to “unprecedented demand”.

3) Nice low key unpromoted website for the winners

4) There will be a book but nobody will ever see one unless they pay for it (btw its print on demand to keep overheads low).

How does that sound?

*Sucker of The Year