28 Competition sins

Adrian Henson, M.Photog.MEI.Cr., CPP, has made a study of image competition. If you’re looking to rack up PPA merits in the International Photographic Competition, he says, avoid the following 28 sins, then find something in your image that really knocks you back in your seat. “Then you have the beginnings of what might be a great competition print,” he says.

© Adrian Henson

1. Sensor dust

2. Halos

3. Over-sharpening

4. Crooked horizon

5. Color banding

6. Out of focus

7. Bad composition

8. Bad posing

9. Poor skin tone

10. Clone tracking

11. Poor presentation

12. Over-retouching

13. Too processed

14. Artifacting

15. Depth of field too shallow

16. Boring subject/no impact

17. Too many subjects

18. No subject or center of interest

19. Bad print quality

20. Blocked up shadows

21. Blown highlights

22. Too easy

23. Repulsive subject matter

24. No color harmony/balance

25. Improper lighting

26. Wrong technique for subject matter

27. Poor choice of media type

28. Too much contrast

RELATED: Read our profile of Henson ("Fired Up") in the July 2016 issue