The Balance Wheel: Summer 2003
 What is
an Award-Winning Photo?
By Matt Lindler
National Wild Turkey Federation Photography Director
When I was asked to tell ACIers how to take an award-winning
photograph, I had to really think about it. When I set out to take a
photograph I don’t think about how many awards I can win , but how I
am going to tell the best story I can with the photos I take. If in
the end the photo does win an award, well that just makes life a little
better.
What determines if a photograph wins an award are variables
that change from competition to competition. The most fickle of which
are the moods of the judges. One judge may love a piece and deem it
worthy of the highest honors, another may think it is trash. A photograph
that doesn’t even place in one competition may garner the blue ribbon
at another. It’s like playing roulette: some days you break the house,
other days, you leave with nothing but the lint in your pockets.
That being said, there are some things you can do to
at least sweeten the odds in your favor. Besides the core photography
skills that must be displayed (sharp focus, good composition and exposure),
there are two things a photo must do to win an award.
An award-winning photograph is provocative. It moves
the judges emotionally. Each judge is moved by something different.
Judge A may have a childhood memory of fishing a trout stream with his
grandpa. A moody shot of a boy and his grandfather casting flies or
walking with rods in hand with a full creel will evoke some powerful
emotions from that judge.
It might not be as stirring to the other judges, but
if you have one judge who scores that piece very high, then your chances
of getting good scores from the other judges are increased.
An award-winning photograph tells a story. Expression,
lighting, composition, perspective and setting help the photo tell a
story. The more unique the story, the more likely it will win an award.
I try to accomplish several things when I compose a photograph.
First, I ask myself, what story am I trying to tell. Next, how can I
use this particular subject to best tell this story? Third, how can
I make this story different from all other stories out there ? Finally,
is there another story here that I didn’t think of before?
Anyone can take a photograph of a male hunter with a
turkey over his back. But make that hunter a woman, a child or a disabled
individual, use dramatic lighting and an expression on the subject showing
a sense of accomplishment and determination and it tells an emotional
story: “I love the outdoors, too. I am helping pass on the tradition.”
If you take a photograph that you think is sharp, well
composed, well exposed, that tells a unique story and evokes an emotion
within you, you’ve probably got an award-winning photograph. Even if
it doesn’t win an award, the satisfaction you gain while photographing
the piece, then later viewing it is worth the extra time and effort
you spent creating something memorable.
Matt Lindler was one winner in the 2001 ACI Awards
given for photography.
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