Are you ready for a new photo contest, OR WHAT!! We had this up for a couple hours today, but the blog crashed along with everything else, so here we go again! 🙂

Let’s get this Photo Contest Party started! It’s an all NEW Photo Contest! There is going to be TWO WAYS to win this time! And the theme is going to be great for EVERYONE! I’m so excited!

Jeramy, I have to hand it to you. You are the man. I read over everyone’s Photo Contest ideas, and I kept coming back to your suggestion. COMFORT it is! The official Photo Contest Theme is COMFORT. I was thinking of doing the theme of Fall, but I love how one of our readers commented on
the fact that not everyone has fall leaves and colors right now. But Fall often means COMFORT to everyone, no matter where you live. So
COMFORT it is!

Little Twist though…this is where it gets even more fun!

I want to do TWO CONTESTS at the same time! I think this would be a great exercise! Both Photo Contests will have the THEME of COMFORT,
but they will have a different focus on the skills used. You can enter both, or you can choose one! It’s up to you!

Photo Contest #1 will focus on close, tighter frames with buttery, blurry backgrounds using lower Fstops. You’ll be putting our Depth of Field conversation from yesterday into practice with a COMFORT theme.

What do I mean by “Depth of Field”? Don’t stress. You can do this. (I KNOW you can not only do it but do a beautiful job at it!) All we’re talking about is showing depth in our images-making our one dimensional images have more of a three dimensional feel. So if you have a lens with the low fstops, you can get your depth by blurring the background, using those low fstops. But if you don’t have a lens with a low fstop, you can show depth and dimension in other creative ways-like lining your family up along the curbside with ice cream cones in hand. Focus on the kid in front, get down low so you can shoot from the hip and give the sense of a never ending line of ice cream eaters. I had to use this image again b/c Ice Cream, specifically Slow Churned Jamoca Almond Fudge with whip cream and chopped almonds, is a little bit of a COMFORT to me.

Photo Contest #2 will focus on BACKGROUNDS that enhance your story! You’ll be shooting COMFORT theme images with a BACKGROUND, but the background has to enhance your story. The background is another character in your story. The background adds depth to your overall
story.

This is one of my favorite COMFORT images that Brian took this summer. It has a background with purpose and depth.

Since the theme for both Photo Contests is COMFORT, you can submit images that have to do with people comforting each other, your kids
bundled up in scarves on a Fall day, the big pot of comfort soup your cooking. The ideas are endless!

SIX SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

(PLEASE use these SIX STEPS as a checklist, SO YOUR IMAGE IS NOT
DISQUALIFIED!)

1. SIZE: Size your image(s) so the longest edge is 600 pixels. (Don’t stress. If you don’t know how to resize
your image, send us what you’ve got anyways. But if you do know how, that would be super helpful.)

2. NAME: Title your Images with your Name and a Number (example: KOH1; KOH2; KOH3, ect.)

3. SUBJECT: Here is the MOST important part so we don’t lose your image! In the Subject Title of
your email, type “BLUR” or “BACKGROUND”. This will let us know which contest your submitting your images too.

4. LOCATION: In the email, include your name and the state you live.

5. BUZZ: Please include any website or blog so that if your image is picked as a Top Five Finalist, I can send great
traffic to YOU! Also, feel free to tell me anything you’d like about the image, but you don’t have too.

6. SUBMIT: Send your submissions to contest@fioria.us before December 1st 2009!

In the past, people have forgotten to give us all their info and thus, we weren’t able to enter their images. Please make sure
you’ve completed ALL Six Submission Steps!

Have at it friends! I can’t wait to see what you all submit!!

DEADLINE for both COMFORT Photo Contest is December 1st! Both winners will be announced before Christmas!

Wait! We didn’t talk about prizes! Don’t worry, we’re cooking up some SERIOUS prizes. Think “big, bundle of goodies showing up at your front door”! I mean Christmas is around the corner right? You need UPS to bring you something too! 🙂 More details to come!

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