5 Lessons From An Award Winning Photo

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Windermere Morning - Winner of the Olympus Global Photo Contest 2017
Windermere Morning – Winner of the Olympus Global Photo Contest 2017

A few days ago I received an email telling me that my photo “Windermere Morning” had won the Olympus Global Photo Contest 2017. Apart from the kudos that this brings as well as the nice shiny new Olympus camera and lens, it also affords an opportunity to share my thoughts on why my particular photo may have won.

I did consider calling this article “How To Create An Award Winning Photo“, but then I realized that I have no idea how to do that. I simply took a photo that won a competition and I am fully aware that this is very different.

Lesson 1: You’ll Never Get the Shot if you Don’t Get Out and Shoot!

Interestingly this shot very nearly didn’t happen. I was staying at a hotel right on the edge of Lake Windermere in the UK Lake District and had set my alarm for just before sunrise.

When I woke I could hear rain tapping on the window and I was very tempted to just stay in bed. Luckily, after a few minutes, I told myself “that is not the attitude of a landscape photographer” and dragged myself out of bed and down to the lakeside where I was greeted by the scene in the photo.

Just imagine if I had stayed in bed. Things would have been very different.

Lesson 2: The Right Equipment is Important. The Best is Not

Now let's get this straight.

In my opinion, if you are really interested in taking great photos you should invest in the best possible equipment that you can afford. Sure, you can take great photos with a phone these days but what a really good camera and a really good lens allows, is consistency.

The better your equipment the more consistent your images will be. To a point.

What my win proves is that whatever the reviews and camera shop salespeople might tell you, you do not need a top of the range DSLR to take an award winning photograph. Despite the competition being run by

Despite the competition being run by Olympus, it was open to entries shot with any make and model of camera. I happen to use Olympus but the more important point is that I use a mirrorless micro four thirds camera rather than a DSLR because that is what suits me for various reasons.

Photography snobs the world over will tell you that you can't shoot landscapes with micro four thirds. Well, I am proof that they are wrong.

This shot also happens to have been taken with a relatively cheap lens, certainly not one from Olympus' Pro range, but it was clearly up to the task in this instance, and I knew it would be as I stood on the edge of the lake.

But just as important as the camera and lens were the peripheral items. I could not have shot this without a good sturdy tripod. I personally use a Benro Travel Angel but the important thing is that you have equipment, such as a tripod that you are comfortable using and that you trust.

Get to know your equipment inside out so that using it becomes second nature. That way when you have crawled out of bed in the wee hours against your better nature, you may just get setup and ready in time for the shot, rather than fiddling with your equipment trying to remember how it works.

Lesson 3: Spend Time at Your Location

As eluded to earlier I very nearly didn't get out of bed on the morning I shot this but once I did was important to maximize the opportunity that being in one of the most beautiful parts of the world affords you.

I spent a good hour walking around the scene, weighing up the angles, monitoring the light and taking lots of photographs. From this position alone I took at least 20 photos as the ever changing light and conditions worked their magic.

I also moved up and down the shore shooting the scene from different angles, sometimes shooting high and sometimes shooting low, sometimes adding foreground interest, sometimes removing it.

I literally had no idea that this would be the shot that I would go with until it was on my computer and edited. I had seen it's potential but only then did I realize it.

Lesson 4: Capture Something that Moves People

It's not about being technically brilliant, it's about creating an emotional connection with your audience. The judge's comments when awarding my image first place were:

“The world can be a loud, fast, chaotic place. This location, free from troubles is the paradise that the modern person longs for – a place away from their busy lives. When the mind is at peace, ideas naturally come to us.”

That is why it won.

He obviously felt a connection with the serenity of the scene. Remember, I am not responsible for that serenity, that was all Mother Nature, I was simply there to capture it, but when I was doing that I could see that it was a scene that would tug at people's heartstrings because it tugged at mine.

Since it won there have been many comments on my various social channels and not one has said,
“wow, it's so sharp”, or “I love the leading line of the boats”.

All the comments and there are hundreds, have been about the serenity and the beauty or simply just how much the person loves that part of the world.

Lesson 5: You Have to “Be In It To Win It”

OK, this one may seem a bit obvious but it is amazing how easily it's over-looked. If you don't enter a competition then you won't win. Simple as that.

But how do you know you're good enough to enter?

Well, the easy way is to get feedback from your peers. Post your best (and I mean your very best) images on social media channels and photo- sharing sites such as Flickr and 500px.

If you don't get any likes it should be a warning that you're probably not ready to go for the big prize just yet. Have a look around these sites.

Look at photos you admire and see how many likes they are getting. If you get to a stage where you are in the same ballpark then that is a pretty good indication that your shots may just be ready for the big time.

About Author

Award Winning Landscape Photographer - Winner of the Olympus Global Photo Contest 2017

I have come to photography via a fairly unusual route. It was my first iPhone that really got me into photography and started me out on the path that I now find myself on. In 2009 during a cycling trip around the Lake District I took a photograph of Buttermere using an HDR app. It was my first well-composed shot and from that moment I was hooked.

I have always loved exploring the countryside of the UK whether on foot or by bicycle and it is this sense of exploration that I attempt to portray in my photography. I always try and capture a moment rather than simply a scene and I try to express how it felt to be at that place at that moment.

I appreciate how Richard Walker offers 5 practicle, attainable, fundamental photography lessons relevant to virtually any photographer aiming for best possible photos – including award-winning ones.
And it was a relief not to read about ‘Rule of Thirds’ or ‘Negative Space’ yet again.

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