Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Lamar University Entry Title: UPbeat Winter 2023: Hard wired for film Entry Credit: Gage Gilliam Judge Comment: None
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Lamar University Entry Title: UPbeat Winter 2023: Track & Transformers Entry Credit: Brian Quijada Judge Comment: None
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Tarrant County College Entry Title: Black Ballet Entry Credit: Alex Hoben Judge Comment: None
Place Name: Honorable Mention Contestant Name: Stephen F. Austin Entry Title: Dutch Student Entry Credit: Diego Barahona Judge Comment: None
Competition Comment: Thanks everyone for entering the contest this year! Taking the leap toward getting critique is the first step in building your foundation as a visual storyteller. As this is a news competition, I prioritized photographs that both had intentional moments included and the technical components that supported them. Overall, your captions should tell us more about who is in the image and what's going on. There were some captions that weren't too detailed and left me wanting a bit more. In terms of the images themselves, I want to see the full frame be used — crop out distracting elements outside of the "moment" in the image. Clean up your backgrounds and ask yourself: What's important? Why are we making this image? In environmental portrait, I'm also looking for other elements aside from your person photographed that add to their story. Again, ask yourself: "How can I layer elements into my photo to help continue tell the story?" You want to leave your audience with a visual treat that keeps them thinking after they click out of your site or put down your publication.
