If you’ve been around for a while, you might remember reading a post last spring, a post the spring before, a post the spring before, & one the spring before that about me entering the Shoot & Share Photo Contest for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, & 5th years in a row.
Well, this year was year #6 for me entering – wow. It’s crazy that this contest has been going on so long! It seems like just yesterday that I heard about it & decided, on a whim, to enter a few images!
In a nutshell, here is how the Shoot & Share Photo Contest works:
When submissions open, photographers are able to enter up to 50 images into 25 different categories. The categories range from wedding to pets to families to travel. Once the submission period closes, the contest opens for 12 rounds. With each round, a percentage of images are eliminated as the contest whittles down to the best of the best. How are these “best” images chosen? The contest is completely free & fair – meaning anyone can get on and vote. You
Here’s a little example of how this contest has grown in just 6 short years. The first year I entered, there were 890 images total entered into the “Details: Ring Shot” category. The second year, there were 3,170 images entered into the same category. The third year, there were 6,514 images entered into the same category. The fourth year, there were 8,304 images entered into the same category. The fifth year, they simply called the category “Wedding Details” and it had a whopping 16,755 images! And this year? The “Wedding Details” category had 18,829 images.
Those numbers are INSANE.
It just goes to prove how absolutely enormous this contest is & how it just keeps growing!
Want some more stats? Last year, approximately 413,000 images were submitted and just shy of 81 million votes were cast! Those numbers are staggering, but they are nothing compared to this year’s stats! This year, approximately 583,000 images were submitted & 96 million votes were cast!! In other words, in total, people spent a total of approximately 16,000 days (or over 43 years) voting during the contest. UNREAL.
Over the past few years, I’ve had images place in the top 30%, top 20%, and top 10%. The top 30% may not sound super prestigious, but when you take into consideration the above stats, it truly is something to be proud of! This year, I had 13 images make it into the top 30% (last year, I had 12, the year before I had 8, and the year before I only had 6).
Here are my images that placed in the top 30% of the contest! I already cannot wait for next year!
Place: 445 out of 7,593 | FINALIST | Phone Photography Category
Place: 876 out of 18,829 | Top 10% | Wedding Details Category
Place: 2,537 out of 17,868 | Top 20% | The Bride Category
Place: 2,831 out of 18,829 | Top 20% | Wedding Details Category
Place: 3,451 out of 18,829 | Top 20% | Wedding Details Category
Place: 6,965 out of 45,058 | Top 20% | Wedding Couple Category
Place: 7,381 out of 45,058 | Top 20% | Wedding Couple Category
Place: 8,140 out of 45,058 | Top 20% | Wedding Couple Category
Place: 2,614 out of 10,810 | Top 30% | Share Joy Category
Place: 2,303 out of 10,613 | Top 30% | Emotion & Excitement Category
Place: 2,437 out of 11,696 | Top 30% | Ceremony & Reception Category
Place: 8,760 out of 39.479 | Top 30% | Newborn Category
Place: 3,404 out of 11,412 | Top 30% | Wedding Party Category
[…] to make it thru all 12 rounds of voting. I’ve written about my experiences the last few years here – just know that voting in this contest is incredibly addicting & it’s definitely a huge […]
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