Photography competitions

Not many people will compete in photography competitions if they don’t think they are good at it. However you don’t actually need to take Pulitzer prize-winning photos to win.

Instead, fun, outrageous and quirky photos can be very popular. These competitions are great because not many will go to all that trouble, reducing the competition and giving you a better chance of winning. Some tips on how to win:

• Start carrying your camera with you wherever you go.
• If the competition is to promote a product make sure it is clearly visible in the photograph.
• Appeal to the judges’ emotions either with humour or sentiment.
• While you don’t need to take professional quality photos, you do need to make sure your picture is not blurred, dark or poorly composed.

The Guardian is currently running a competition called Urban Mura - this month’s theme is Urban Summer.  If you’ve got some great pics of British summer, post them and enter for your chance to win a Olympus Mju 800 Camera.

Times Online offers monthly travel photography competitions this month’s prize a trip to Stockholm.

Photographic magazines like The British Journal of Photography are another great place to look for competitions, however these tend to have more professional photographers entering. Photographers.co.uk also has a long list of upcoming competitions.

It’s great because it divides up the competitions by genre, prizes, and dates. Many are competitions for professional photographers, but there are still some for amateurs to try out. Get on the website of photographic shops like Jessops, they run loads of  competitions throughout the year. Check out last years winners to get an idea of what judges are looking for.