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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Staff photo contest for newspaper websites
Andrew Miller, Photographer
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Somerville | NJ | USA | Posted: 11:00 AM on 06.11.09 |
->> Back in January, I suggested a staff photo contest to our editors at the Home News Tribune and the Courier News that would be judged by the users of our website, www.mycentraljersey.com. The concept is similar to what we do here with the monthly contest on sportsshooter. Staff photographers would collect together their best shots from each month and load them into a gallery for the public to pick out their favorite image of the month.
I think it would be a good way for the public to interact more with our online content. Galleries have been a hugely successful aspect of our web traffic, so I feel like this contest idea would be a fun way for the public and the staff to engage with our photography.
We tend to produce large galleries, often with shots that normally wouldn't see the light of day, with the idea that more photos produce more clicks and potential reprint orders. It can be frustrating at times for us photographers to show a loose edit rather than our best work. I feel like this contest idea would be a great way to showcase our best work, our personal visions, which sometimes gets lost in the quantity over quality philosophy that we have adopted since combining together our websites.
One of the issues we are facing is what the incentive factor would be for the users to participate in the judging. Here on sportsshooter, we judge because we care about images, photography, journalism, ect. The public may need some sort of prize or something of the like to inspire the judging process. I have the idea of randomly picking a user who selected the winning image and shooting a family portrait free of cost. Any other ideas out there? Are there any other newspaper websites trying this idea out? If so, would you care to share your thoughts on the matter? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
-Andrew |
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Bruce Twitchell, Photographer
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Coeur d'Alene | ID | USA | Posted: 11:31 AM on 06.11.09 |
->> Maybe offer free home delivery of the paper for a few months?
I don't know if the family portrait idea is a good one and here is why. If this drives more traffic to the website, the paper will be able to charge more for advertising, making the paper more money. Why would you want to make more work for yourself without getting more pay?
What about getting a local business to sponsor it and they could offer something? Perhaps a free meal from a restaurant or get a local portrait studio to sponsor it and they could offer a free sitting (let them get the exposure and let them do the work of the family portrait).
I would out the pressure on the advertising department on this one. |
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Andrew Miller, Photographer
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Somerville | NJ | USA | Posted: 11:55 AM on 06.11.09 |
->> Good points and ideas, Bruce. The ad dept may be the key component this idea is missing. I don't want to give my fellow staffers any extra work, and I'd be willing to do the portraits myself every month if that's what it takes to get this idea moving. One portrait a month is a drop in the bucket. I work the 1-9pm shift, which can be slow at times.
I think your advertiser giveaway idea is far better, though it might be difficult to convince an advertiser to give something away without proven results. Great ideas to ponder, I will bring them up with the editors later today. |
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N. Scott Trimble, Photographer
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Lake Oswego | OR | USA | Posted: 12:18 PM on 06.11.09 |
->> Sorry, I find shooting a family portrait smacks of just what we photojournalists try to prove day in and out that we are above the skill level of Wal-Mart/Olin Mills poppers. I think you could do better than that. If not the newspaper providing a service (free paper subscription or something) then a good sized, signed print from an edited gallery, or maybe even a two hour photo camera lesson on how to use their cameras ( I get asked that ALL the time!)
Sorry if I offended anyone on the portrait sting, but since I've noticed editors and reporters too lazy to actually work a story manifests an assignment with "an environmental portrait" is too often the daily grind, I say let's not perpetuate that further by providing family portraits as an incentive to engage in a contest. |
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Andrew Miller, Photographer
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Somerville | NJ | USA | Posted: 12:23 PM on 06.11.09 |
| ->> Fair point Mr. Trimble. I was gasping at straws and it was literally the first idea that popped into my head. The newspaper subscription idea was the second, but our online editor gave me a funny look when I suggested it. A signed print is a good idea. The camera lesson idea is fantastic, but maybe a one hour lesson would be more reasonable. |
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Peter Wine, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Dayton | OH | USA | Posted: 6:19 PM on 06.11.09 |
->> I'd second the idea of a camera lesson. It provides something with a unique value, and if my experience on sidelines (regardless of venue or type of event) is any judge, something that is sought after by many in the community.
I'd also like to see some kind of limit to the number of votes (ideally one per person) so that you don't have a few people with 'nothing better to do' that have the best chance to win. |
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Andrew Miller, Photographer
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Somerville | NJ | USA | Posted: 6:40 PM on 06.11.09 |
| ->> Our managing editor and photo editor loved the camera lesson idea. I think that's the one we are going to go with. Thank you all for your input. I will post a link to the contest when we get it up and running, hopefully later this month. Feel free to continue sending ideas on this thread, or you can always e-mail me through my member page. |
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N. Scott Trimble, Photographer
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Lake Oswego | OR | USA | Posted: 9:12 PM on 06.11.09 |
| ->> Maybe its just me, but I get a rush when I am at a shoot with down time, and someone comes up to ask questions about their camera, and I show them the magic of shooting manual, and a quick tip on remembering what an f/stop is (squint degree of the eye) and shutter speed (how fast the eye can blink) and they walk away with a little more passion and sense of control than before. Good luck and have fun! |
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Nick Morris, Photographer
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San Marcos | CA | United States | Posted: 11:18 PM on 06.11.09 |
| ->> Can we enter? |
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Andrew Miller, Photographer
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Somerville | NJ | USA | Posted: 11:27 PM on 06.11.09 |
| ->> Yes. Your prize is a Mark III. :) |
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Chuck Liddy, Photographer
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Durham | NC | USA | Posted: 12:32 AM on 06.12.09 |
| ->> andrew, the mark III ROCKS!! two years this week both work flawlessly!! KACHING!!! |
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Andrew Miller, Photographer
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Somerville | NJ | USA | Posted: 1:33 AM on 06.12.09 |
| ->> Chuck, if you comment on a thread I started then it must be the truth. Comment rescinded. Nick, you get a family portrait instead. |
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