Booksthetic Photo Contest WINNERS!

It’s time to announce the winners!!! ❤ Thank you all for your patience and participation. This has been very fun, and I can’t wait to share the winning (and runner-up!) photos with you. ❤

Before you view the lovely pictures, I’d like to introduce you to my amazing volunteer judges!

Elise Parsons, award-winning photographer, graphic designer, ceramic artist, and lovely human. (Her Facebook page for her pottery makes me so happy. 😉 )

Rob Webster, a professional, award-winning photographer. (Check out his site!)

Kelby Maria, professional photographer and cookie dough connoisseur. (Check out her site–the pictures are GORGEOUS.)

Jerry Willis, art major, pastor, and other cool things. 😉

Names of entrants were not known to the judges, and the scores given by each judge were averaged together to get these results.

Are you ready?!!

Background

Congratulations, Brooklyne!!! You won first place in the Background category! ❤ I’ll be contacting you soon to get your $5 Amazon giftcard to you. 😉

Elise said, “This is a really fantastic shot. Arranging the white on the book against darker elements gives you a clear separation between foreground and background, but you remembered to tie the white in with other stuff. I’m impressed that you found both an immediate and a distant background that coordinated with your theme, provided contrast, and gave some texture and color difference to add richness. Great job.”

Kelby said, “Love how you brought in elements that tied into the book you are showcasing!”

Rob said, “Simple, lovely, well balanced and exposed image.”

It was hard choosing a runner-up, but we went with this gorgeous one. (Doesn’t it just make you want to read the book?!) Great job, Grace M.!

Color

And the winner of the Color category is Maddy!!! Congrats, girl!!! The judges loved this photo, and I’ll be contacting you with your prize soon. ❤

Elise said, “You did a good job of managing the pitfalls of centering stuff and creating tons of parallel lines with your use of diagonals in the background and on the mug and the choice to center horizontally but de-center (a lot!) in the vertical.”

Kelby said, “I love the color you chose and the background you put behind was really creative!”

Rob said, “The best of this category. I love the gradation of color, the mug on top, the white in the background.”

And another runner-up mention goes to Grace M.!! Love the red and orange scheme. 😉

Object

Congrats on winning first place in the Object category, Molly!!! The judges were also a big fan of that log background. 😉 I’ll be contacting you soon with your prize. 😉

Elise said, “The sense of unease created by centered objects and objects that cut all the way across other photographic elements is totally warranted here! It’s a good way to double down on the anticipation in the cover. The contrasting textures and rich lighting make this a really fun image to explore.”

Rob said, “Great use of the hatchet, but also of the log to rest it on. A compelling image. My favorite of this group.”

Just for fun, here’s a runner-up picture by Anna P. Lovely job!

Theme/Genre

Congratulations, Kaitlyn, on winning first place in the Theme/Genre category!! The judges couldn’t say enough about this photo, and it ended up being the highest rated one in the entire contest. 😉 I’ll be contacting you with your prize soon!

Jerry said, “Masterful composition
Wonderful use of props
The treble clef bookmark is a perfect touch for a focal point attracting the eye to ride the diagonal line of the book spines to the vertical of the violin leading to the cello strings that carry the viewer back to the bookmark.
WOW!”

Elise said, “Very atmospheric use of lighting and focus. The use of curved objects emphasizes the wornness of the particular books, while the jumbled arrangement gives us a sense of what kind of place we’d find these in. Slightly more contrast or alternately a secondary light source would have helped give the treble clef clear hierarchy over the light-colored negative space under the violin.”

Rob said, “Outstanding photo, all around. Great objects, both in foreground and background. Wonderful composition.”

Coming in at a close second is this lovely photo by Anna P.! Great job!

Thanks again for entering, y’all! There were 31 total entries, and you all did such a great job! It was fun to see your creativity, and I’m inspired to try some pictures myself. 😉

And thank you so much to the amazing judges who dove right in and took the time to share great comments about the pictures! You all were amazing!