Shoot and Share Contest Highlights

Shoot and Share

Right now, most of the photography community is participating in the Shoot and Share Photo Contest. But if you have not heard of it yet, you might be wondering what it is all about.

Shoot and Share is the world’s largest free and fair photo contest — created by photographers for photographers. It is an international competition where images are submitted without watermarks and voted on anonymously.

There are 25 categories in total, and the contest runs through 12 exciting rounds of voting. The best part? Anyone can vote, and you do not need to be a professional to participate or enjoy the process.

Why Photographers Love Shoot and Share

This contest is an incredible way to:

Discover talented photographers from around the world
Learn about new styles and photography trends
Get inspired by emotional and creative imagery
Gain feedback by seeing which of your images resonate with others

Here are some impressive statistics from the 2019 Shoot and Share contest:

583,150 photos submitted
16,400 photographers participated
174,215 voters from 144 countries
Over 90 million votes cast

And just five days ago in the current contest, the numbers already looked like this:

561,997 photos submitted
78,900,769 votes
110,249 voters from 118 countries
1,322,336 images marked as favorites
93,855 hours of total voting time — that is over ten years

The truth is, voting becomes addictive in the best way. Ten minutes quickly turns into an hour because the amount of creativity and storytelling is breathtaking.

What Makes a Photo Stand Out

After spending time voting, I realized the images that stay with me the most have a few common traits:

Emotion
Connection
Light
Warmth
Movement

The photos that move me are not just technically strong — they tell a story and invite you to feel something.

As photographer Paul Caponigro said,

"It is one thing to make a picture of what a person looks like. It is another thing to make a portrait of who they are."

If you want to be inspired or just enjoy some truly stunning photography, now is the perfect time to explore the contest.

While We Wait

While we wait for this year's final results, feel free to check out some of my images from last year. I am honored to be part of such a creative and generous community of photographers.

Whether you are a professional, a hobbyist, or simply a photography lover, I encourage you to visit the site, vote, and be inspired.