Dear Reader,  

Here’s your weekly photo dispatch with a list of last month’s Photo Challenge winners...  

Don’t forget -- this month’s theme is Tickled Pink and it’s your last chance to enter the Challenge (and your last chance of the year to win the $2,000 Grand Prize) before voting begins in October. You’ll find details on entering and winning below...

-- Lori
Lori Allen Director, AWAI Travel Division

P.S. It’s always fun to enter photo contests, but there are better ways to make money continuously from your photos... by selling them as stock to online agencies. And you only need three photos to get started...

Check out our Quick and Dirty Stock Photography guide, here: http://www.thephotographerslife.com/stk/website

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September 2, 2009
The Right Way to Travel, Weekly Photo Tip  
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WHO'S YOUR BABY -- WINNING ENTRIES       
By Shelly Perry in Portland, OR  

Last month’s photo challenge theme was “Who's Your Baby.” The prior month's winner, Laguzda, acted as our guest judge and chose our first-place winner.    

** First Place goes to aowcannon for “Handful of Precious”  
** Second Place goes to ThisOldHag for “Penny-Lane”  
** Third Place goes to shelpix for “He Men”  
** Honorable Mention goes to sweetgrain for “Ready for Her Close-up”  

This is what Laguzda had to say about her first-place pick...  

FIRST PLACE -- HANDFUL OF PRECIOUS

"The scale of the tiny baby to the enveloping hands -- and especially the baby’s hand grasping the adult hand -- speaks volumes of security and serenity. I love the rich black background that makes the image pop even more. Beautiful photo, not only stock quality but high-end magazine caliber."
 
SECOND PLACE -- PENNY-LANE

The post-processing on this photo gives it "the Wow Factor." Its creator, ThisOldHag, contributes often to the Photo Challenge and always has a keen eye for compelling subjects and composition. Here, she really takes it up a few notches with post-processing skills that really bring out the color, creating an image that’s moody and interesting. Plus, there’s copy space and the photo has a story to it. It's fantastic to watch peoples’ work progress. Nice job.

THIRD PLACE -- HE MEN

This photo also benefits from some really nice processing. Composition, exposure, and all the other technical aspects of the photo (as far as can be seen here) are good. What I love most about "He Men" is the interaction between the two people and those fantastic expressions. A shot like this has a lot of story and could be used in a number of ways for ad campaigns.

HONORABLE MENTION -- READY FOR HER CLOSE UP

This photo makes me laugh, not only because of the child’s antics, but also for the person in the background looking on with a big grin. The shallow depth of field works to reinforce that the main subject of the photo is the child, yet the juxtaposition of the two is compelling; it indicates a relationship and interaction between subjects. 

Congratulations to each of our winners! 

The first place winner gets a $30 gift certificate to the AWAI E-Bookstore, and will also get a chance to compete for the $2,000 Grand Prize in October. Second- and third-place winners, as well as the honorable mentions from each month will all be entered in the Hall of Fame to compete for the Grand Prize, too.

ENTER TO WIN -- THIS MONTH IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!

Remember, this month's theme is "Tickled Pink." Submit your photos by 8:00 a.m. EST, Monday, September 28. If you're a first-time user, you'll need to register first on the "register" link on the right side bar. Once you have a username and password, click "Enter to Win" to upload your photo. Only one photo per applicant per month will be considered. Multiple entries will be deleted.

[ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Shelly Perry, from Portland, Oregon, specializes in people photography, what she calls documentary or lifestyle portraits. She is known especially for her imaging of children. Shelly’s concern for people is reflected both in her sense of purpose and the images she produces.  You’ll spot her images all over the globe -- on music CD covers, books, magazines, catalogues, web sites, ad campaigns and even on TV. Her work has also appeared in several local exhibits and gallery shows.

Shelly earns the majority of her living selling her photos as stock. She uploads her photos to a site, and they sell all day long, no matter what she’s doing... even when she sleeps! And that’s income that will continue to come in for the life of the photographs whether she takes another photo or not. She sells photos of everything around her... from objects in hotel rooms to friends and family. One of her best-selling pictures is of nothing more than a standard-issue red velvet curtain. Another is a guy in a sweatshirt. Find out how Shelly makes money while she sleeps... and how you can easily follow her lead, at the Ultimate Stock Photography Workshop coming up this October in Santa Fe: http://www.thephotographerslife.com/phw/santafe09 .

Be sure to hurry -- we only have 4 seats left and they’re going fast! This is a brand new workshop, full of all-new, cutting-edge material on a HOT topic. Beat the crowd and learn how to sell your shots as stock photography. We’re sure to sell out before the Early-Bird discount expires on September 18.

Reserve your spot in Santa Fe now, here: http://www.thephotographerslife.com/phw/santafe09 ]

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