Think you’ve got the photographic chops? Ready to take some constructive criticism from a trio of photo experts who will pull no punches? Jump into the fire and send us your near-perfect shots!
Announcing the Adorama Learning Center’s newest feature, Photo ZAP! This is where we zap your submitted photos with praise or criticism—or, sometimes, both. This is also where your peers—fellow readers and photo enthusiasts—can weigh in with their opinions. The goal, of course, is to help everyone improve their photography by dissecting, dicing and slicing your photography.
If we like your work, we won’t just praise it—we’ll explain why we think the photo you’ve submitted succeeds visually.
If we don’t like your work, we’ll explain why, and what you could do to improve it next time.
And we may disagree with each other, because criticism is a very subjective thing. Here’s some interesting reading about that.
Think we’re full of rubbish, that we don’t know a decent photo from Squirrel droppings, and want to tell us off? Bring it on—leave a comment!
Let’s say I submit a photo. What’s in it for me?
If we choose to critique your photo, we’ll give you a $25 coupon, redeemable at Adorama.com. If we do not critique your photo, you get bupkis. We decide which photos go in, and those decisions are final.
We're not looking for masterpieces. Rather, we're interested in photos that are pretty good, but have room for improvement—photos that you're not satisfied with, but may not know why.
Kinda like the photo on the right.
If your picture is picked, we’ll post it on the Adorama Learning Center and our team of experts will weigh in with opinions, then we'll open it up so anyone can leave a comment.
How do I submit a photo?
That’s easy: E-mail Learning Center editor Mason Resnick, with the words “Photo ZAP submission” in the subject line. Please send just one photo per person per month, and set the image size at 595 pixels at its longest dimension. JPEGs only, please. (NOTE: Photos larger than 595 pixels wide or long may be eliminated from consideration. Photos that have not been downsized may be deleted immediately since they would clog up our server. Don't know how to change the dimensions of your photos? Learn how here. Thank you for not wasting bandwidth.)
Deadline is the 15th of the month before the photos will be posted. Images may be posted at any time during the next month. So photos that are submitted by October 15 and selected, may be posted at any time in November. Sorry, we can’t let you know if your image has been rejected due to the expected deluge of images, but we will be in touch with you if we plan to publish your photo so we can get the technical data.
By submitting your photo, you are giving Adorama non-exclusive rights to publish your photo electronically on the Adorama Learning Center, for as long as we wish, and to use your image in email or other marketing campaigns to promote PhotoZAP. You also are giving us permission to critique the photo any way we wish and that you’ll happily accept whatever we say in the spirit of fun and constructive criticism. VERY IMPORTANT SMALL PRINT! You retain all rights to the photos you submit to us, even if we publish ‘em, because that’s the way it should be. By submitting a image to us, you affirm that the work is original and does not infringe on any trademark or copyright.
Who are we, anyway?
While we may, occasionally, invite a guest panelist, our regular critics will be:
Monica Cipnic: Monica is the Program Director for the Workshops@Adorama, one of the most critically acclaimed and popular workshops in New York. She has been involved in many aspects of the photographic world over the past three decades, as the former photo editor for Popular Photography+Imaging, Camera Arts and Photography Annual magazines, and has written for numerous photographic publications, including American Photo (web and print). Monica has lectured extensively on photography, and reviewed portfolios at workshops, universities, and competitions throughout the United States and around the world.
Jack Howard: Director of New and Social Media for Adorama, and is the proprietor of our TechToch blog and host of our Podcasts. Jack is the author of Practical HDRI, High Dynamic Range Imaging for Photographers. Previously, Jack was the Editor of PopPhoto.com, the online photo portal for Popular Photography and American Photo Magazines. Jack is also an established photojournalist and former staff shooter for the Asbury Park Press. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Star-Ledger, The Asbury Park Press, Ithaca Journal, LI Newsday and many other papers and publications.
Mason Resnick: Before becoming the editor of the Adorama Learning Center, Mason spent stints as the managing editor of Popular Photography, the webmaster for Photo District News, and the associate editor for Modern Photography (where he served on photo critic panels for the popular Hard Knocks feature). He has been doing street photography since 1978.
