Submission Tips
With the OD Photo Prize submission window fast approaching we thought we would list some helpful tips to impress our judges with your projects this Summer.
1 [ Physical Object ] With the OD Photo Prize we expect submissions from across the full spectrum of the photographic medium. So where appropriate we encourage artists to consider including just a few images in their submission set that accurately represent the finished artworks. So that could include installations of artworks on display or perhaps even images that describe your process. In a medium that is notoriously digital based, showing the panel the physicality of your work is a great way to elevate your work above most. That can also help to bring your work to life as well as giving us a better impression of how you intend to present the work.
2 [ Captions ] Don’t miss an opportunity to give context to your images. It might be revealing the size you envisage the artworks being, the materials used or it might be stories attached to a particular image or perhaps as simple as a title, you never know what might be the hook for someone looking at your work for the first time.
3 [ Project Descriptions ] This is the perfect opportunity to tell us about your work. No one knows your work better than you so take your time to get across the key messages of the series you are presenting. There is no one way to do it and we appreciate that it might not come naturally to artists as, like many of the jury, you are visually minded. But some of the best Project Descriptions I have read grab you in the first paragraph and do not need pages and pages to get their point across. A couple of paragraphs is often fine. No need to over complicate the message either. Sometimes the best work has a simple and clear identity. The key is that when we read these texts it unlocks areas that perhaps weren’t immediately obvious from simply looking at the images provided… Oh and when copying and pasting your texts, be careful with formatting errors.
4 [ Time ] I suppose following on from the previous point, remember that the Jury will each be looking through many projects in a relatively short period of time. To stand out and to grab their attention, give your work the best chance. Weight your key images at the front of the sequence of images perhaps. Ensure that the opening paragraph is punchy and draws the reader in. If you are including a CV perhaps give us a snapshot of the key dates instead… Also remember, the time spent on this submission will serve you well when it comes to exhibiting or publishing or even submitting the same work again in the future [More on that later]. So even if your work isn’t picked up in this edition, the time spent and the process of submitting is hopefully a positive one.
5 [ Jury ] We take pride in assembling a fantastic panel each year to vote for each year’s winner and shortlisted artists. We try to ensure there are industry professionals who are both influential in their field but also who are interested in different areas of the medium. From publishers, to festival directors, to gallerists, curators & successful artists, this gives a great balance to the panel and means your work will be seen by a broad range of skill sets and networks. This gives us a very well rounded winner each year but also with the panel having access to the list of artists long after the prize ends, your work has every chance of being tracked by the Jury members in the months and years to come… Make sure to check the Jury of the Award, prize or grant you are planning to submit to, particularly if there is a fee.
6 [ An Extra Pair of Eyes ] Don’t be afraid to ask for advice. Particularly when it comes to image selection. Artists are often surprisingly poor at choosing their own images. Perhaps because they have spent so much time with them some images develop meanings beyond the power of the image itself that aren’t immediately obvious to a first time viewer. A fresh pair of eyes from someone whose opinion you respect looking through your work with you can help reset your impression of the series. And who knows perhaps rediscover the potential of certain images that may have been overlooked previously… The amount of times I have been impressed by an artist’s work, clicked through to their website and found incredible images from the same series lurking in the shadows! Of course it is all subjective and the final decision should always be yours, but give every image a chance.
7 [ Bursaries ] We try our best to keep prices as low as possible but we appreciate that even our fees can be tricky to meet. There is a cost to running these open calls unfortunately. So for those artists disadvantaged due to economic or currency issues or special circumstances outside their control, we do offer a number of bursaries each year. So reach out to register your interest. When we announce the Prize each year we also offer artists signed up to our newsletter 30% off the fee. Most awards will have their set of concessions.
8 [ Rules ] It should go without saying, before you enter… read the rules. For example OD Photo Prize is focused on contemporary photographic artists that are working within the first ten years of their practise. We can’t show work to our Jury that doesn’t meet this criteria or it might disadvantage others.
9 [ Connection ] OD artist Maria Lax said it perfectly, “Great work is not necessarily the most technically perfect, sometimes it is an inexplicable quality and presence that makes a photograph gripping.” It doesn’t matter if you use an iPhone or a Hasselblad, what matters most is that you have successfully articulated your ideas or perfectly captured that moment and more importantly, that your work finds a way to connect to your audience. It’s about picking the right tool for the job. Knowing what works best for your subject matter and your own personal style.
10 [ Repeat ] I think one of the most interesting trends we have seen since we started OD Photo Prize back in 2021 is that some of the most successful artists so far have submitted the same project two years in a row. In fact our past two winners, at the point of writing this, have done just that. In each instance the artist has clearly developed the project in the intervening months. Swapping new images into the selection, revisiting the project descriptions but also perhaps a new set of judges also react slightly differently to the work too. Whatever it may be that changes, the process of submitting work is clearly a positive exercise. Helping artists to refine and evolve their projects.
Submission Deadline | 28 July, 2024
Header Image | Constanza Valderrama, Route to Argentina, 1979
Mid page image | Maria Lax [JUDGE], from Some Kind of Heavenly Fire
