Guide to “How to Submit Photographs for Exhibitions”

Photography Exhibitions and Contests are a few of the ways in which one can show/display their work as well as a great means to access one’s own work.

The main benefits out of these are:

1. Your Work gets displayed and seen by a larger and a serious audience.

2. One comes to know the perspective from which a judge looks into your photograph. It may be that one you had clicked

the photograph from a different perspective and a judge sees the same from a different perspective.

3. One comes to know what kind of progress she/he has made in course of learning photography.

One of the major challenge that each and every one of us faces while submitting photographs for an exhibition or a

contest is that which photographs to submit and which to not. Since there is a limit to the maximum number of

entries that one can submit one needs to be very careful on this.

So How Should One Submit Photographs for the Exhibition?

A. Don’t hurry on the things

Many times photographers tend to submit the entries in a hurry a and without applying much of brains into it.
One should take time to do so. It may happen that you like a few photographs of yours but the same may or may not go through the screening process.
Don’t hurry on things doesn’t mean that one should take an eternity to submit photographs and it may happen that the last date for the submission is already gone.

B. Do it Step by Step

Once you are sure that you want to participate in an exhibition, do the things in a step by step manner.

Choose or understand the theme properly: Many of the exhibitions have a certain theme or themes, choose and understand the theme properly before submitting the entries.

C. Sort

Sort the best of the best photographs. For example, if the maximum limit to submit photographs for an exhibition is 7 then you should at least sort 28-30 of your best photographs (as per the theme/s).

Make a different folder of the sorted photographs.

Once you have made the folder, take a break and come back after some time to recheck the folder.

Make changes if you feel that you have made some errors in sorting.

D. Principle of Elimination

Start eliminating the photographs from the sorted photographs which you feel that are not good as per your standards.

Eliminate 2-3 photographs in one sitting not all at once. Since every time you sit on the same folder, there is a different thought process running in your mind. Make a different folder and put the eliminated ones in that folder. Repeating the process will help you find your Top 7 for submissions for the exhibition.
Before submitting show all the photographs to your peers, friends and if possible to senior photographers to take their views. Once done check if there is any suggestion to be implemented. Go ahead and submit the photographs.

The author is Anil Khubani ‘Flyaway’

Professional Photographer & Film Maker

Founder: Jaipur Photographers’ Club

Feedback and suggestion welcome

at info@jpc.rocks