2014 Sony World Photography Awards Judge shares what he’s looking for in this year’s competition
You have seen the call for entries to the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards but how can you make sure yours is the photograph that the judges choose? WPO gives you an exclusive insight into the thoughts of our 2014 Honorary Jury members and exactly what they are looking for in an award-winning image.
This week, WPO interviews jury member Guy Harrington of Soho Management.
In your opinion, what makes an award-winning image? What key elements will you look for in the entries to the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards?
An image has not only to be beautiful but have something to say to be truly award-winning. It needs to be artfully constructed and technically well executed but it also needs to go beyond this – beyond being something pleasurable to look at in a decorative way – it should provoke, educate or entertain as well.
Of course there are many ways to provoke, educate or entertain so the things I will be looking for are innovation, humour or revelation.
What practical tips can you give photographers entering a competition for the first time? Is there anything a photographer should avoid doing?
To achieve an award-winning image along the lines laid out above, the picture must be technically well executed and artfully composed, and then going beyond that the photographer needs to ask if the picture is going to appeal just to themself or to a greater audience. For this reason pictures of your cat or your grandmother will fail if they are just nice personal mementos, but may succeed if they can grab the interest of a larger audience as well, if they go beyond being personal mementos to making a broader statement.
What are you hoping to see in this year’s entries?
I want to be shocked or amazed, amused or educated – to see things I haven’t seen before.
Why do you think it is important for amateur and professional photographers to enter their work into competitions?
For the amateur it’s a learning process that mimics being commissioned. You are working to a very loose brief, but you are attempting to impress others rather than just shooting for yourself.
For the professional it is of course a chance to achieve greater exposure for your work, and therefore generate more work, but it is also a chance to ‘commission yourself’ rather than working to a brief you have been given by a client. Done correctly that can be creatively very liberating.
Ready to enter the awards? Click here to learn more and submit your photographs today.
Reprinted from WPO Press Release
© Balazs Gardi, Hungary, 2nd Place, People, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards
Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter is a British photography journalist, editor, curator, and the founder of *TheAppWhisperer.com*, one of the world’s leading platforms dedicated to mobile photography and art. Since its launch in 2009, TheAppWhisperer has become an international hub for artists of all levels to discover, learn, exhibit, and engage with contemporary photographic practice.Built on principles of inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic excellence, Joanne has spent almost two decades championing mobile photography as a serious artistic medium. Through interviews, critical essays, exhibitions, competitions, and education, she has helped shape and document the evolution of mobile art on a global scale.Her work has taken her internationally, lecturing on photography and mobile art at institutions and events including the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, alongside appearances in the UK and Europe. She has served as a juror for international photography and mobile art awards across Portugal, Canada, the United States, South Korea, Italy, and the UK.Joanne is also the founder of *TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com*, one of the first online galleries dedicated exclusively to collectible mobile art, connecting artists with collectors across Europe, the United States, and Asia.Before founding TheAppWhisperer, Joanne worked extensively in print journalism and photographic publishing, including roles at a paparazzi photo agency and as deputy editor of a leading photography magazine. Her freelance journalism, criticism, and commentary have been published widely in both the UK and the US, with bylines in *The Times*, *The Sunday Times*, *The Guardian*, *Popular Photography*, *NikonPro*, *DPReview*, *Which?*, *Vogue Italia*, *LensCulture*, the *BBC*, and more recently, the *Financial Times*, where her published letters on photography continue to contribute to wider conversations around the medium.Alongside her editorial and curatorial work, Joanne’s own photographic practice has been exhibited internationally across the UK, Europe, South Korea, and the United States. Her work increasingly explores themes of grief, loss, death, memory, and the body.Her current research interests centre on grief, death, and poverty, with forthcoming postgraduate study leading towards doctoral research in these areas.Joanne is currently developing new long-form writing and photographic projects and is available for commissions, editorial projects, speaking engagements, and collaborations.Contact: joannetheappwhisperer@gmail.com)
