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Fairfax photographer John Reid on the common practise of shady photographic competitions:

I’m talking about the increasing use of photography competitions for reasons other than the celebration of fine quality photographic image making.

One of the most common adulterations of the concept of the photographic competition is to use it as a cheap way of building a bank of images. To commission thousands of images from professional photographers would cost hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars but, trick people into giving you their photos in exchange for the chance of winning something (money, camera gear), and you can bring the cost right down.