This is the second year that I have participated in the Shoot and Share photo contest!! It’s a free, fair, and fun photo contest that is open to all photographers around the world. I love being able to see current work from talented photographers!

SHOOT AND SHARE PHOTO CONTEST

Every year, Shoot and Share (a community for photographers) puts together a photo contest. Anyone can submit up to 50 images to see how their work fairs with their peers. It is a daunting task to pick your favorites photos that you hope will do well in the contest! In January photographers submit their favorites into several different categories, some of categories include: lifestyle, maternity, children and kids, family, babies and toddlers, newborns and birth, seniors and teens, wedding, portraits and travel.

412,379 photos were submitted this year. Wow! There are 12 rounds to get to  the finals. We are currently in round 10. 42,543 photos still remain in the contest. That means that we are down to the top 10.3%. So far this year 108,053 people have voted from 125 different countries! 

It’s just as easy to vote as it is to enter! Once you are on the voting page, you see four different photos from one category, you must chose your favorite of the four photos. As soon as you click on your choice another four photos appear on your screen. Be careful, voting can be addicting! This year people have already spent 232,081 hours voting.

Picking your favorite photo can be difficult. I often want to pick more than just one! I seem to like lifestyle, black and white images, and seeing connection between people in the photos. If there’s a photo that you absolutely love, and want to learn more about after the contest is over, you can favorite the image. Actually when an image has been favorited, it receives a heart, which is the only way a photographer can know if one of their photos is moving up through the rounds. 

Keep in mind that voting can become addicting! Sometimes I wake up and think, "I'll just vote on a couple photos, and the next thing I know it's 30 minutes later! It’s inspiring to see beautiful and creative images. And I always hope that I'll have the chance to see my own image, but so far I haven't had the chance. 

I was nervous to enter this year. Last year I entered several travel images from our summer living in Europe. A portrait that I took of a French painter made it to the 11th round. This year I entered a couple images of my own kids in local parks around Pittsburgh, a couple from Norway and mostly family portraits from my photo sessions. While I looked through my images from the past year, I couldn’t help but be humbled with gratitude. Gratitude towards the families that trusted me to document family. Regardless how I do this year, I’ll continue to remember that what I get to do for others is amazing. I get to preserve the special moments in their lives.

While I am super excited to see how I fare this year, I’m even more excited to see if there is improvement from my results last year. I love that as a photographer, I can continue to improve and develop my skills and talents. There’s always room for improvement and growth!

Voting will remain open until March 3. You can vote in the contest too, just click here! I hope you enjoy voting for you favorite images as much as I do!  The results are released a couple weeks after voting has completed. I’ll be sure to the results on my next month!!

Laura Mares is an experienced photographer specializing in capturing timeless family keepsakes. Laura works on location and in her fully equipped home studio, located in Mt. Lebanon, eight miles south of Pittsburgh, PA. Laura’s style is creative, natural, and timeless. Would you like beautiful portraits of your newborn baby, to update your child and family portraits or to document a milestone in your life such as a wedding, graduation, birthday or reunion? If you are interested in high quality, timeless photographs, book your session today, call (412) 654-3367 or email [email protected]. To view a wide range of gorgeous portraits and to get great tips, advice and beautiful inspiration follow along on Instagram and Facebook.