Competitions.

[JonnyM]

I'd like to know peoples' thoughts on entering photographic competitions. I entered two free to enter competitions last year and thought I'd make more of an effort this year. As expected there are a plethora of comps, local, national and worldwide. I'm in the process of selecting 5 images for one specific competition until I noticed in the T&Cs that all submissions have to be in colour and it's £1 per entry. The restriction on monochrome put me off but this caveat was a bit too much: 'Copyright remains with the owner of the photographs but by entering the competition you agree to allow us to use the photos in promotional or commercial material of any kind.' Needless to say they would like large image files.

Maybe this is a common disclaimer and I shouldn't quibble but it just seemed a bit much, not only are they receiving £1 per image they get carte blanche to use those images even if you are unsuccessful in the competition.

I don't mind paying an entry fee per se it's the rest of the conditions that I find uncomfortable. Is this the norm?

Cheers.

Jonny.

[donoreo]

That is very common. In fact, I have not seen a major competition that did not have in it's terms their right to use your photos for promotion.

[markgozz]

I've never entered a comp before but I can't believe that you basically have to give your image and all it's rights to the competition organizers , I don't have a problem with the use for promotional purposes but it's the ( or commercial material of any kind. ) that I find hard to comprehend .

Mark

[GeoffWessex]

As the president (chairman, if you like) of a photo club in Canada, I get to see a lot of invitations to competitions, where they're hoping that I'll pass the details on to members. However, I always read the small print..... and simply do not pass on the details of about 90% of them. In many cases, particularly with a high entry fee, and with the organisers stipulating that they will use submitted images in any way they see fit, it's just a money-making racket. They want the competitors to pay while they collect stock images!

That's not to say that all competitions are 'bent'......... but check the small print - if you don't like it, don't play their game. If you read the small print and you're not bothered, there's no 'come-back'.