Rant about some photo contests

[Robin338]

I have always dreamt of entering the World Photographic Cup.
So I entered the WPC.Malaysia where they said that the TOP 3 winners of each category will represent Malaysia in the World Photographic Cup - which they clearly stated on their Facebook page and entry forms. I am able to do that cos I still hold my Malaysian passport. So I entered and won the top spot in the Portrait Category.
I thought I would represent Malaysia in the World Photographic Cup but when I look at the official World Photographic Cup webpage last night, my entry wasn’t there at all. I emailed and sent phone messages to the organiser - marked as "seen" but no reply.
I got my friend in Malaysia and he called up the organiser, this is what the organiser has said...organisers tried entering my photo but WPC secretiat says it does not meet criteria because we can’t have 4 people in a portrait (I checked WPC rules - nothing of that sort and in fact family portraits are allowed). No emails or phone calls were made to me.
So WPC Malaysia put in a substitute photo.
I checked the other countries’ entries - Peru, Portugal, Singapore and Sweden all submitted portraits with 4 or more people in 1 picture! So the above argument does not hold.
I have sent the World Cup Photographic organisers to see if there was really a case where the secretariat said my photo was unsuitable but have yet gotten a reply.
Even if they chose a replacement photo, I thought they would pick the 4th place, no Malaysia picked one that they didn’t even make it into TOP 10. They picked a photo out of nowhere. So, I was thinking, if they wanted to do something like this, they could have at least contacted me to ask me for another replacement photo and let them decide if it is useable - again, no communication.
Clearly, these sort of contests are not fair and I am really disturbed by it.
I know one way of dealing with the matter is just to keep quiet and move on...but hey, then we are letting such bastards get away scot free...

 

[Castor Troy]

I have always dreamt of entering the World Photographic Cup.
So I entered the WPC.Malaysia where they said that the TOP 3 winners of each category will represent Malaysia in the World Photographic Cup - which they clearly stated on their Facebook page and entry forms. I am able to do that cos I still hold my Malaysian passport. So I entered and won the top spot in the Portrait Category.
I thought I would represent Malaysia in the World Photographic Cup but when I look at the official World Photographic Cup webpage last night, my entry wasn’t there at all. I emailed and sent phone messages to the organiser - marked as "seen" but no reply.
I got my friend in Malaysia and he called up the organiser, this is what the organiser has said...organisers tried entering my photo but WPC secretiat says it does not meet criteria because we can’t have 4 people in a portrait (I checked WPC rules - nothing of that sort and in fact family portraits are allowed). No emails or phone calls were made to me.
So WPC Malaysia put in a substitute photo.
I checked the other countries’ entries - Peru, Portugal, Singapore and Sweden all submitted portraits with 4 or more people in 1 picture! So the above argument does not hold.
I have sent the World Cup Photographic organisers to see if there was really a case where the secretariat said my photo was unsuitable but have yet gotten a reply.
Even if they chose a replacement photo, I thought they would pick the 4th place, no Malaysia picked one that they didn’t even make it into TOP 10. They picked a photo out of nowhere. So, I was thinking, if they wanted to do something like this, they could have at least contacted me to ask me for another replacement photo and let them decide if it is useable - again, no communication.
Clearly, these sort of contests are not fair and I am really disturbed by it.
I know one way of dealing with the matter is just to keep quiet and move on...but hey, then we are letting such bastards get away scot free...

Contests have never been fair.
Most are rigged.
It's an exercise in frustration trying to challenge the status quo.
My solution? Work harder... Then I can buy all the toys I like without depending on contests...
Look at the latest Zeiss photo contest... appallingly low quality images

 

[ricohflex]

Some photo competitions are dubious. Some are ethical. Some are just scams used to harvest photos for a company's photo bank which they then make money from by charging for the use of the images. In the contest rules, they will have a clause (in small print) that says you consent to give up your copyright to the organisers. Some are outright scams to make money because they charge an administrative "fee" for you to take part. Winning a photo contest may not mean much. If it is not for prize money, then it may be for the ego.