Picking contest entries

How do any of you who enter contests decide what to enter? I'm trying to narrow down my entries for the NWF contest and can't decide what to enter and what not to enter... and I even can enter up to 25 images for that entry! LOL, my "short" list is now at about 140 shots.

You have to be brutal with your self. Any little thing gets the photo into the dust bin.

25? Wow lucky. For the one contest I entered I could choose five, and only one as a print.

I was brutal with myself, I usually am anyways, but just a little more this time. I made sure all the shots I chose were straight lines, nothing too weird in post processing, sharp, little noise, good DOF for the image at hand.

I got second place. I was rather pleased.

I printed my favourite B&W shot from my holiday, and a close-up (not macro) of a hedge brown butterfly printed at the camera shop 6x4", mounted them on grey card - and a transparency of a butterfly egg macro (3:1)
Colour print and transparency got 3rd place in their category.
B&W was 4th placed.

That was when I was 15.
I thought that had to be beginners luck.

I haven't entered a competition since.
I have the photos around somewhere, haven't lost the trophies either.


If I was going to enter today, I'd make sure I threw away 90% of the photos I picked.
Being totally brutal, after being simply picky.
Then pass it by my wife, if she doesn't go "ooh" it's probably not got it.
Finally, put them up here for critique.
Only then would I think it was worth entering them.

Limit it to one or two and put some serious time into getting them perfect. Then get them critiqued here and from anyone who will listen and make them even better. - TF

Just remember that too much post processing can get the photo disqualified also. So make sure you read the rules on post processing.

Yes, no cloning allowed for this one. Just your basics (brightness/contrast/sharpening/cropping).