Porter's/Tamron 2011 Calendar Photo Contest

15 chances to win!

Enter your best shots and maybe you'll win the monthly Porter's/Tamron Calendar Photo Contests and be a finalist in the Best of the Year Contest. Each month, all entries will be posted on our web site. Then we'll judge the contest, announce the winner in our e-mail newsletter. Monthly contest winners receive a Porter’s $50 gift card, and his or her photo will become a 2011 monthly calendar page, ready for downloading. At the end of the year, a gorgeous complete 2011 photo calendar can be printed. (click for last years calendar)

After the December contest has been judged, there will be another round of judging for the Best of the Year awards of gift cards worth:

$300 (First Place)
$200 (Second Place) or
$100 (Third Place)

Enter Contest

2011 Porter's/Tamron Calendar Themes

January - Surprise!
Entries for the January 2011 Calendar - Winner Sandy Carrico
February - Pet Portrait
Entries for the February 2011 Calendar - Winner Connie Fore
March - Creative cropping
Entries for the March 2011 Calendar - Winner Shawn Conro
April - Neon signs
Entries for the April 2011 Calendar - Winner Romi Ramirez
May - Spring Close-up
Entries for the May 2011 Calendar - Winner Linda Ruiz
June - Speed
Entries for the June 2011 Calendar - Winner Ralph Neurenberg
July - Fireworks
Entries for the July 2011 Calendar - Winner Gentry Ranson
August - Dramatic Weather
Entries for the August 2011 Calendar - Taking Entries Now
September - Festivals and Fairs
October - Beauty
November - Yellow
December - Holiday Children

Tips on how to win a photo contest

One of the best ways to improve your photo skills is to enter contests. Fortunately there are a lot of contests around! While contests will vary in the skills range of the photographers that they attract, there are certain tips to winning that apply to anyone who wants to participate. Below are eight basic bases to have covered before submitting an image.

Only submit images that are relevant to the contest theme or category.
In the same contest, don’t submit the same image under multiple categories. For example don’t submit the same image of kids looking around a tree under both “Child Portraits” and “State Parks”.
Focus! Well focused pictures will always be given preference by any judge while poorly focused images are almost immediately passed by.
Exposure! Properly exposed images are always in the hunt for ribbons.
Creativity! Show the world a new viewpoint. Picture the subject in a new and pleasing way. Stay on topic with the theme but consider pushing the envelope.
Image titles don’t count in the first selection rounds. If your image relies on its title to help it fit the contest theme or category it will likely not make it beyond the first round of judging.
Read, understand and follow all of the rules. If the contest asks for images as 11X14 prints or as 3 megabyte files make sure that your submission complies.
Pay particular attention to the legalese on the image submission form where the reproduction rights are spelled out.

With many contests your image will not be returned win, lose or draw. In most cases, any image submitted has limited reproduction rights released to the contest organizers for other purposes such as promotion and advertising.