Things I've Learned From Shoot & Share's Photo Contest

This year, I participated in Shoot & Share's photo contest for the first time ever and it was really a neat experience. There are several things I really like about how it's run and I learned some things for myself and my own photography from participating. There were even some surprises!

I didn't win anything, but I wasn't expecting to. I mean, there are THOUSANDS of photographers entering, many of whom have been in this for way longer than I have and just have their technique down better. A couple of photos got "favorited", which was cool, and I had one photo make it to the top 30% of all photos, which is something I never would have expected.

What's so wonderful about this contest is... well, several things. First, it's free!!! Yes, completely free to enter. They have tons of sponsors that cover costs and donate prizes. Second, it's anonymous. You have no idea who's photo you're voting for. I guess if you had a really good friend who was also participating, you might know, but there are tens of thousands of photographs entered, so the chances of seeing one you recognize are slim to none. Oh yeah, and it's completely voting based. You help chose the winning photographs, but because it's anonymous, it's way more fair than other similarly-run events.

Let me tell you, voting was addicting. I could have easily spent hours just clicking photos and seeing all the beautiful, amazing work that people have done.

WHAT I LEARNED
I learned a lot about my style of photography. Seeing so many styles and varieties of photos helped me say, "yes, this is what I like and this is what I don't like so much". Even what I personally don't want to shoot, I appreciate the unique message and beauty that it conveys.

I learned that I don't want to do certain kinds of sessions and photography. I was already pretty sure about that but this contest helped solidify that for me.

These are not so much things I learned but companies I found that are going to be SO helpful in making this photography experience even better for my clients. Two of the partners are Agree.com and Vivi the Magical Marketing Unicorn (I know).
Agree is a contract signing platform. Now it is super easy for clients to receive their contracts and sign them. This is one of those few things I would say that a new photographer should pay for if they need more than one contract at a time. Vivi is a stress-free way to make slideshow videos. Kind of like sneak peeks for clients. I've made a few slideshows in my homeschooling days (and even more recently) and it's not a strength, so I'm super excited to used Vivi.

Well, that's it! If you are a photographer or know someone who is, you can go to Shoot and Share and sign up for email updates to know when it's going on next year! I'd highly recommend entering. You have literally nothing to lose!