We are proud to announce the launch of our ‘Let’s get Snapping for M.E!’ 2012 Christmas Cards Photo Competition. This is a fantastic opportunity to get your photos printed on Let’s Do it for ME’s 2012 Christmas cards. The cards will be sold to help raise funds towards our £100K campaign target (see leaflet for more details). We know there are many budding and talented photographers out there and we want to give you a chance to shine. The competition is open to anyone of any age. It really is that inclusive!
Photos can be of anything you like, but must have a Christmassy feel. Traditional snowy scenes (this will probably be last winter’s photos unless you happen to live near the Cairngorms), baubles, Christmas cookies, or something a little more inventive. It’s entirely up to you. All photos must be in digital format. We recommend using an 8 Megapixel camera or higher to produce a good quality image, particularly if you are heavily cropping photos. Please email your photos to fundraising4me@gmail.com by 30th September 2012, remembering to clearly state your name and email address. Those under 16 must have the permission of their parents/guardians.
The Let’s Do it for ME team will judge the first stage, with the chosen photos being posted on this website and on the Competition’s Event page on 5th October. The second stage, the exciting bit, is where you get to vote for your favourite ones. You can vote either by emailing us or casting votes on the Competition Page by ‘Liking’ the photo. Voting will close at midnight on 7th October. Those with the most votes will win and be printed. Where there are equal votes the Let’s Do it for ME team will decide which photos are printed. We aim to print the top five photos and will officially announce the winners on 12th October. We hope to have the cards ready for sale around the beginning of November.
Winners will not only get their photos printed up on our cards but also receive free packs of this year’s Christmas cards featuring their winning photo. There’s never been a better way to share your talent and do something positive for M.E!
Competition Rules:
1) Entrants agree that Let’s Do it for ME and Invest in ME are allowed to print winning photos for fundraising and awareness purposes.
2) Entrants agree that any photos sent in can be used for awareness purposes by Let’s Do it for ME and Invest in ME.
3) Entrants agree that their full names can be used in association with their photos.
4) Entrants are not allowed to vote for their own photos.
5) Only five photos per person are allowed to be submitted into the competition.
6) The winners will be notified by email.
7) The results of the competition will be posted on this website as well as on our Competition’s Facebook Event page.
8) Let’s Do it for ME reserves the right to replace winning photos if, when going to print, we are unable to reproduce a high quality image from them.
If you have any questions regarding the competition please email us at fundraising4me@gmail.com or leave a post on our Competition Event page.
Good luck everyone!
To help you get a head start here’s a few tips and tricks
- Find a naturally well lit spot in your home. A conservatory is particularly good. Alternatively, a shady spot in the garden will do.
- If the natural light isn’t very good indoors put the light on in the room, even use a lamp to help light what you are photographing. Try to avoid using a flash if you can, it tends to spoil photos.
- To make a backdrop, drape some fabric over a chair or sofa. You can also use card or paper, or be a little more adventurous as shown in (1). You can also lay the fabric, card etc. flat on a table or bed.
Other useful tips
- Gather together objects you to want to photo, materials etc. and anything you think may be useful. This means you have everything in one place and to hand, it also makes easier to experiment with as well as less time and energy consuming.
- Play around with your shots, taking them, for instance, from different angles and different perspectives. You’d be surprised just what a difference this can make. (see 2, 3, 4, 5)
- Make sure you don’t overtire yourself. Take rests.
- If you find holding a camera difficult use a book to rest it on when taking photos.
- If taking photos outside a lightweight camping/fishing fold out stool is very handy.
- And most importantly have fun!
