Free Photo Contests

Posted by Melissa Sanchez on May 2nd, 2017

Free photo contests sound great on the surface. But realistically these contests should be carefully considered. Photo contests have overhead. The prizes are part of the cost. Hosting the website (and expertise to run them) another cost. And of course the judging and promotion of the contest. All of these cost money. A contest can not support itself if there aren't financial support means in place. If there is no charge to those entering a contest where is this money coming from?

In some cases the contest can be coming from the company hosting it or a sponsor. If this is the case it will be very obvios. If Hershey, for example, is sponsoring the contest that will be clear by either the topic or the fact that Hershey ads are shown throughout the website.

Unfortunately, these free photo contests are rare. And when they do exist they are normally targeted at children.

Most contests require an entry fee. And these contests should be approached with care. It's very easy for an individual to post a contest on a homemade website, charge a fee, and never provide a winner or the winner can be a friend that splits the "winnings".

When looking for a contest check for the following.

1. Is this an established contest. If, yes, you should be able to see a history of the past winners. There is also normally a history of the website or company that is hosting it.

2. Are there good reviews for this contest. Or any? There may be negative reviews but don't let that put you off. At least there are reviews. If you have no reviews for the contest or only good one that may be a reason to hold off.

3. When are the end dates for the contest or contests. Are they clear?

If all of these work you should be okay moving forward. But what many photographers are doing is foregoing the one off contests and instead joining photography communities. Photo communities offer photo contests for their subscribers. So the community as a whole supports the costs of running the contests. This takes the burden off the individual company and places it on everyone involved - usually for a very reasonable cost.

Free photo contests do exist but are now usually part of a photo community. Instead of paying for each photo contest separately you pay a membership fee to enter all the photo contests for free.

Photo communities are a fun way to share your photos and also get to know other people with similiar interests. When you enter a community you are finding other people that have the same interests in you. Often as you get to know others they will provide you feedback on your photos. This can be very beneficial as you are seeing your art through someone elses eyes.