What Judges Are Looking For

Photo by Giacomo d’Orlando

The annual time of review also coincides fittingly with the season of contest entries. While some competitions, including the BarTur Photo Awards, are ready to announce their winners, others are just starting to accept submissions. 

We spoke with some of the judges for this year's BarTur Photo Awards to get their take on how to present the best body of work for contests, reviews and in general. Their responses have been edited and condensed. Hope this helps!

What's the best advice for photographers as they curate their portfolios?

I think it's important to have a strong sense of the kind of photographer you want to be and the kind of work you want to get commissioned to make. The work you show should be a reflection of that. Often, less is more. — Josh Lustig, FT Weekend Mag

Stick to a few basic rules: speak publicly only on important matters; avoid repetitions in photos, just as we avoid the same words in a sentence; avoid wordiness; make sure that the transition from one photo to another is surprising. — Tomasz Tomaszewski, photographer

It is important to create a narrative and select images accordingly. Questions to ask: What story do I tell? Will a particular image carry the information that I want to convey?  Sometimes you need to let go of a favorite image if it does not contribute to the flow of the story. — Angelika Hala, Stern

The top news stories in the world's major media are, of course, "important" news, but the contest does not require that the subject matter be directly related to those stories. There is great value in works that find universal issues and create rich conversations for a better future for all people through the diversity of subjects worldwide. — Hideko Kataoka, Newsweek Japan

Never do it in a rush. Do it once. Let it rest. Go back to it to figure out if your story is there and/or the series complete, and to be sure it is in order. Ask for advice from a professional person you trust to have his/her feedback and comments. — Dimitri Beck, Polka

Basically, they must show their statement. It must be coherent with the concept they are developing.   — Patricia Juarisiti, Patricia Conde Galeria

Don’t try to cover everything, be specific. Narrow down to the best work. Don’t try to fit in all your work, think of the body of work as a conversation with the reviewer and be concise. — Jane Yeomans, Bloomberg Businessweek

Are there any dealbreakers / pet peeves that you see in portfolio submissions?

Don't ever include work that you’re not 100% proud of. There are rules where I work on downloading things from people you don't know — either send a link to work online or attach a PDF that is smaller than 25mb. — Josh Lustig

I see people who worked on the material for no longer than one day and submitted their photos. I see a lot of wordiness and repetition; I see many errors in editing materials and building a concise and surprising narrative. — Tomasz Tomaszewski, photographer

Stylistic inconsistencies – if the portfolio switches between black/white and color or a portrait series is photographed in varying lighting set ups or formats the intent must be clear. Otherwise, it is a distraction from the message. — Angelika Hala 

No consistency. No story, only a best-of. Not in order and no clear text of presentation. Out of the scope of the theme. Read carefully the rules and description of the request. — Dimitri Beck

There are some trends and themes that everybody is doing that, for me, are a dealbreaker. They need to find their own voice, their own way of expressing themselves. In doing this, they should work hard and have a clear idea of who they are. — Patricia Juarisiti

Work which is vague and general in subject and statement. Do not be focused on what you think people want to see but rather your best work. Also make sure image files are loading, sometimes files are too large and don’t load properly. Check your files before you submit them.  — Jane Yeomans

Are there any factors that you consistently look for?

How someone goes about making portraits is a really clear indicator to me about the kind of photographer they are; how they approach their own work, and how they empathise with other people.  — Josh Lustig

Strong, original and metaphorical photos about an important issue arranged into a coherent, coherent and surprising whole. — Tomasz Tomaszewski

Being emotionally moved, image/s hold/s my attention. In a series of photographs each image should be able to stand alone. Even a detail shot can carry the story. — Angelika Hala 

The narrative, consistency and clarity. — Dimitri Beck

I look for originality in the series performance, the images, and even the production. I understand that all of us, as we start, are influenced one way or another by an artist we admire and follow, but eventually, it is essential to detach and get uniqueness. — Patricia Juarisiti

I am looking for work which is strong in subject, style and technique. I find personal work is often the most compelling work.  — Jane Yeomans

How do you approach judging work? What is the best piece of advice that you received about how to approach judging contests?

From the gut. — Josh Lustig

Look for photos that present an original and surprising image of the world that does not necessarily agree with what I think about the reality around me. Look for photos that evoke emotions and lead to reflection. — Tomasz Tomaszewski

I like to look first at the photographs before reading any description or caption info or looking up the photographer. I want to get a feeling for the entire body of work before I regard technical details.As a novice judge some years ago I followed the advice to be spontaneous in grading work – I found that draft-rating work and then going back to make the final judgment can be quite helpful. — Angelika Hala 

I am always open to the statement of the photographer. Being a photographer is research, time, experimentation, passion, and especially, hard, hard work. — Patricia Juarisiti

I look for work which moves the idea and narrative. As a visual person in a visual field I look at photos first and read supporting statements after, looking again at the work to see if it enriches the narrative of the work. Even if work is not what I would be seeking in assigning, I approach each body of work for its strength in visual storytelling.— Jane Yeomans

Bonus question: What makes a good portrait?

I think really great portraiture involves a certain amount of magic that is very hard to put your finger on. The reason I always look at a photographer's approach to portraiture, is that although a certain amount of technical proficiency is required, it's really more about how they interact with people, how they empathise and relate to other people. Portraits often say more about the maker than the sitter. — Josh Lustig