'Fall Student Contest Season'

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|| SportsShooter.com: News Item: Posted 2002-09-28

'Fall Student Contest Season' - CPOY
By Jim McNay, Brooks Institute of Photography

"Breaking up is hard to do," says a song from the 50's.

Young photographers might change that to, "Breaking IN is hard to do." Breaking into photojournalism, that is.

So a frequent question from young talent is, "How do I get recognized, get noticed?"

One way - though not the only way - is to participate in the photojournalism competitions available to students. One of those, the prestigious College Photographer of the Year (CPOY) competition, has a deadline coming up in the next several days (October 10, 2002).

Students can do well in this competition either by excelling in the overall portfolio category or by earning recognition in one of the individual picture categories. Such a performance sends a signal to potential employers students are ready to work at an advanced level coming out of school. Those who finish high in the portfolio competition are instantly known across the country by photographers and editors.

One of the beauties of the competition is the pictures entered need not have been published. So while the work must be made within the last year, students can enter the pictures that represent them best.

Besides the portfolio category there are many individual picture categories for students not yet ready to take on the full portfolio competition. This allows them a chance to enter good individual pictures and continue working towards the more challenging portfolio entries as they near graduation.

The point is, wherever students are in their college career, there is room to participate in the CPOY competition.

And enter they should. After reviewing their work for the past year students should enter at least one picture in one category. Being a part of the competition is a signal one is "engaged" in the process of serious journalism, that one is striving to improve, to get in the game, to grow and to be recognized.

At the same time, it is important to keep a clear head about competitions. Contests are useful. It is nice to earn a recognition. But contests are unpredictable and out any one photographer's control. They should not be solely what a photographer is about or why one takes pictures. The pictures should be about the audience, about the community the photographer serves.

So every year about this time, students have a chance to impact their career in a major way by participating in CPOY. The chance to review the work of the last year alone is a valuable experience. And the competition proves students the chance to earn a major recognition that can ignite the
afterburners of an early career.

***

Applications for the College Photographer of the Year can be found on-line at www.cpoy.org

Related Links:

CPOY

Brooks Institute of Photography

Related Email Addresses:

Jim McNay: jmcnay@brooks.edu