Many of us love photography. Almost everyone these days love to take pictures and share them with others. In this age of camera phones with better and better cameras, virtually everyone has a camera in the pockets. That makes many of us photographers, if at least in their own eyes. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could find a way to make some money with some of our photography?
With the advent of the online photography contest, pretty much any old Joe with a camera (or camera phone) can endeavor to make some kind of money from their photographs. Seriously, there are many many free photography contests on the Internet where you can win great prizes, many times even cash. Here is a list of four great sites where anyone can find photo contests to enter.
1. ViewBug
ViewBug is actually a bit more than just a photography contest site. It’s more of a photography social network. You can have your own profile, upload your own photography and follow other users that you like. There are of course many different types of contests to enter.
There’s pretty much everything from zoomed in photos, fashion accessories, and sports to climate, feet and headshots. ViewBug is free to join but if you want more options and access to special contests, you have to upgrade to premium or pro.
2. Photography Contests Network
The Photography Contests Network is a site that helps you keep track of open photography contests that are off the site. This means that, unlike ViewBug, the contests are not related to the site. Photography Contests Network is more of a tool than a social network.
From the horse’s mouth: “Photography Competitions Network (PCN) works closely with thousands of competition organisers from around the world to bring you the very latest, and the very best, open photo contests.” You can also sign up to use the “photo contest finder” tool to make your search for the right photo contest for you that much easier.
3. Pixoto
Pixoto is an interesting online photography community. It offers prize money for weekly contests in different categories. The amount of the prize depends directly on the amount of photographs entered in that category that week. What this means is that the winners are not chosen by appointed judges but by the community itself. Very interesting indeed.
Pixoto also has a points system where a user spends points to enter photographs. Points are earned by voting on images. The voting process is cool because all it ends up being is two photos being pitted against each other at a time in what’s called an ImageDual. Voting actually becomes fun, going through and choosing your favorite out of two and going on to the next. What a fun way to share your photos and perhaps win some cash prizes!
4. PHOTObraniac
PHOTObraniac is another photography contest site with many categories to choose from where voters, not appointed judge(s), choose the winners.
Entering to compete in a contest is as simple as clicking on the image of the desired contest (in the banner rotating on the contest page), click Enter Contest, and follow the instructions (includes a quick sign-up process).
Conclusion
If you love taking pictures, and you think you’ve got some kind of skill going on, entering photographs into contests might be a great way to earn a few bucks doing something you love. In fact, if you’re even a professional photographer, entering your work into contests could be a great way to hone your craft, get your work out in front of people, and even earn a bit of cash all at the same time. There are sure to be many more sites to help find photography contests to enter and this is only a list of four. If you know of more good resources, please leave comments below!
