There’s still time to enter the MyShot08 photo contest, which closes on March 31st. To date there have been almost 180 entries submitted by college students, with the overall winner to be mentored and work side by side with professional photographer George Kamper on a Miami photo shoot and receive a Fujifilm infrared camera valued at $3,000. Entries will be accepted until March 31 in three digital printing application categories – personalized photo books, greeting cards and calendars.

MyShot08 Press Release

An Exciting Finish Developing: There is Still Time to Enter the MyShot08 Photo Contest from Xerox and Industry Sponsors

Fujifilm, Adobe, H&H Color Lab and photo experts offer tips for successful entries

The MyShot08™ photo contest is in the home stretch.  To date there have been almost 180 entries submitted by college students, with the overall winner to be mentored and work side by side with professional photographer George Kamper on a Miami photo shoot and receive a Fujifilm infrared camera valued at $3,000.  Entries will be accepted until March 31 in three digital printing application categories – personalized photo books, greeting cards and calendars. 

The MyShot08 photo contest – sponsored by Xerox Corporation, FUJIFILM, USA, Inc., Adobe Systems Inc., and H&H Color Lab – is free and open to all U.S. registered college students, regardless of their major. 

The top five schools in terms of number of entries submitted so far are:  Virginia Commonwealth University followed by the Academy of Art University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Savannah College of Art and Design and the College of Southern Nevada.  To date, the most popular category is greeting cards, followed by calendars and then photo books. 

Another exciting aspect of the contest is that the general public can participate by visiting www.myshot08.com, view all the creative submissions and then vote online for their favorite.

To help entrants be successful, MyShot08 judges and sponsors are offering tips for producing the sharpest entries possible.

“Three things will comprise our judging criteria,” said Kamper, a MyShot08 lead judge.  “One is innovation - the degree of uniqueness or inventiveness of the entry.  The second will be how the shot is used in the context of the photo application. The third is aesthetics.  We’ll look for entries that convey the inherent beauty, personality or mood of a subject.”

According to Mike Riebesehl, a freelance photographer and Xerox iGen3® project manager, following the fundamental rules of photography will make images aesthetically pleasing and professional-looking.  Riebesehl says that, “For good photographic composition, use the “rule of thirds” to focus on unique subject matter and position it at one of the imaginary intersections; don’t forget that fore, middle and background are also thirds to be considered.  Because the submissions will be printed using digital technology, using contrasting colors and a dynamic tonal range can also enhance the picture.  These key elements will help draw the observers’ eye through the photograph and tell an interesting story.”

Information available on the MyShot08 Web site includes topics such as: shooting for digital print, lighting tips, creating portraits with personality and how to make any photo better.  Key officials helping to guide the contest offer the below tips: 
·      According to Kamper, it’s important to stay flexible when shooting still photography; don’t get locked into a certain type of staging.  Get creative and try something new by playing around with lighting.
·      Riebesehl urges contestants to be conscious of file size and resolution.  Make sure there is enough image pixel data for the final print size.  The rule of thumb is 300 dpi x length or height equals minimum pixels needed.
·      Salem Kreiger, professional photographer and contest judge, says that when working on location, don’t always count on natural light to give the control needed to achieve the look you are after; take note of street lamps, car lamps, and other types of existing light sources.

To enter the contest, students must upload photos into one of the templates provided on www.MyShot08.com and are limited to one entry in each of the three categories.  Each student will receive one free digital color print sample of their submission for each entry printed on a Xerox DocuColor® 240 Digital Color Printer/Copier by H&H Color Lab.

Those interested in discussing the photo contest can visit Facebook and view contest updates and post comments.  The MyShot08 Facebook group is titled, “MyShot My Photos My Contest.” 

For more information about contest sponsors and judges visit www.adobe.com, www.fujifilmusa.com, www.hhcolorlab.com, www.georgekamper.com, www.infotrends.com, www.salemkrieger.com, www.jameystillings.com and www.jeanmiele.com.

Your Comments