Photo Contest Official Rules

Tim Shields will announce the winners LIVE on July 20th, 2023 at 1 PM New York Time. After submitting your photos to the competition, you will receive instructions on how to join the live awards ceremony and see if you won!

Maximum one photo entry per category per person. Extra submissions will be immediately disqualified.

Entering the contest is free.

The Your Best Photo contest opens June 27, 2023 and closes on July 12, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

Photos must be submitted free of any watermarks or logos.

Photos will be judged solely by the Photography Academy team, and community votes will be taken into consideration.

There will be ONE winner per category.

No nudity, boudoir, or suggestive content will be accepted.

You must be the photographer who took the photo and hold all rights to the image. No illustrations or paintings. Photos can be edited however the photographer deems necessary.

Photographers using AI to generate all, or part of the photograph must submit their photos in the AI Photo category.

Photos must be submitted in JPG or PNG format.

Minimum file size is 2000 pixels wide for a horizontal image, or 2000 pixels tall for a vertical image, and in sRGB color space.

You may submit photos that were taken a maximum of 5 years ago.

Wildlife must be photos from the wild — no photos of dogs, cats, or domesticated animals will be accepted.

This contest is open to everyone; however, we do not ship products to Iran, Sudan, Cuba, Syria, North Korea, Somalia, Russia, or Uganda.

By submitting a photo to the Your Best Photo Contest, Photography Academy reserves the right to publish any entry and/or use any entry in promotional material in perpetuity. Photography Academy promotional material shall include, without limitation, any print, electronic advertising, or marketing material. Copyright and all other rights remain that of the photographer.

Winners must consent to the online sharing and promotion of their personal likeness and "profile photo" by Photography Academy.

Definitions:

Landscape: Any photo of nature without humans or buildings present. Man-made objects (ex. roads, fences, small amenities) may be present, but should not take up the majority of the image. Wildlife may be part of the image, but not the dominant subject.

Cityscape: Any photo of a city skyline, or architectural feature. Humans may be in the image, but may not be the dominant subject. Cityscape photos must be taken from the ground, or some type of platform — if the image is taken from the air, or a higher vantage point, it should be submitted in the aerial/done category.

Wildlife: Any photo where a non-domesticated animal is the main subject. Photos of domesticated animals (ex. dogs, cats, cows, goats, sheep, etc) will be disqualified. Wildlife photos can include nature in the background, though the wildlife should take more than 25% of the photo to be considered in the wildlife category.

Portrait: Any photo where one single person is the dominant subject. This can include environmental portraits, close-ups, and portraits in nature. Group portraits, or portraits of wildlife/domesticated animals will be disqualified.

Macro: Any photo taken extremely close up to the very small subjects, for example, photographs of insects, mushrooms, flowers, etc using a microscope, macro lens, or extension tubes. To be accepted, a macro photo must show a close up perspective that cannot be seen with a standard lens or the naked eye.

Aerial/Drone: Any photo taken from an airplane, helicopter, or drone.

Mobile: Any photo taken with a phone or tablet.

AI Generated: Any photo that is generated or edited in full or in part using AI tools like Photoshop Beta, Midjourney, Dall-E, Open AI, etc. AI generated photos can be portraits, cityscapes, or landscapes.

The Your Best Photo Awards Competition has closed.

You can still win a camera, drone, or photo backpack when you attend the Live Red Carpet Awards Show at
1 PM New York Time on July 20, 2023!

Buy Now

New photography course by Tim Shields

Tack Sharp Photography

Are you making THIS mistake?

There is one mistake that photographers make that will KILL even a perfect composition taken in the best light. You might be photographing the landscape of your dreams under the best sunset you have ever seen, but if your photo is not tack sharp then you cannot recover the photo.

The techniques taught in this course have been battle tested in the field from the sand dunes of Death Valley to the rice paddies of China... AND THEY WORK!

If you want tack sharp photos then you are going to want to take this course!

Get the 40% discount!

Click play on the video above to discover WHY sharp photos are ESSENTIAL to your photography workflow. If you aren't doing THIS, then you are missing out.

Does This Sound Familiar...

You've got a dream to take amazing pictures. Pictures that reflect your creative heart. Pictures that make people stop in their tracks and that you are proud of. Maybe you want to sell your prints, or enter them in photo contests, or print them and put them on the wall at home, or maybe you want to grow you Instagram account.

You're tired of seeing everyone else post beautiful photos online. You feel their photos are better than yours, but you know in your heart of hearts that you have what it takes to create your own amazing works of art.

You upload your photos to your retouching software and take a hard look at them, and you are disapointed to see that too often your photos are not tack-sharp. You know the photography essentials, but who has the time to spend hour after hour researching the exposure triangle?

What you want is to have someone show you the essential need-to-know points to take pictures that are tack-sharp, every time. Especially when it really counts.

None Of This Is Your Fault

You just don't know the three-step system that actually works to help you take tack-sharp photos...yet! It is not that you are not smart enough or lack the ability to understand the techniques to "make it happen."

The actual issue is that you've just not yet learned what the "professional photographers" know, but won't (or can't) teach you.

But the great news for you is that I'm going to to show you how to use a simple series of steps that will lead to super sharp pictures. You see, taking sharp photos every time is not the result of doing one thing right, rather, it is the result of doing a series of steps right.

Bottom line: Taking super sharp pictures is a LOT easier than you think once you know the steps to follow!

oh and one more thing...

I'm not going to tell you that I am somehow special because I figured this out, but I am going to tell you a quick story about how a failure on an important photo shoot actually changed my photography forever.

I was a photo hobbyist. At the time, I wouldn't even say the words, "I am a photographer", but rather, I would say "I love taking pictures". I had a full time job and I tried to fit photography in to my busy life. I was a solo learner, and I had no one to mentor me in photography.

I wanted to take a spectacular panorama photo of the skyline of the downtown core of Vancouver. I made friends with a security guard so that he would get me onto the rooftop of an office tower at sunset, and finally there I was, all alone, standing in front of my camera on a tripod on a rooftop overlooking the downtown skyline. The view was incredible and I got my shots.

That night I excitedly uploaded my photos to my computer at home and looked at them in Photoshop. This is what I call the moment of truth. But to my total dismay, my photos were not sharp. In fact, they were so soft I couldn't use the photo...even for a social media post.

I decided I had to do whatever it took to get really sharp pictures...every time!

My unsharp photo at 100% zoom

My tack-sharp photo one year later at 100% zoom

I spent the next year researching, learning and testing every technique I could find that would help me take sharp pictures.

I developed a step-by-step system, and once I started using it, my photography changed forever.

I started coming home from photoshoots and uploading my photos to my computer for the moment of truth, and...my photos were super sharp!

I started entering my pictures in contests and I began winning awards. I got followers on social media, and the most AMAZING thing started happening...people contacted me and asked if they could buy my prints.

The best part? I was able to get back on that same rooftop to do a reshoot, and then a buyer purchased the photo!

I was stunned!

People I didn't even know wanted my pictures hanging in the living rooms of their homes!

"People you don't know will see your pictures and ask if they can buy a print!"

It hit me like a ton of bricks when I realized that the key to amazing photography is a series of steps, and if I follow those steps like a recipe, I could get incredible pictures that are tack-sharp.

But here is the thing you may not realize, especially if you think you can just rely on the auto focus of your camera to give you tack-sharp photos.

The thing most photographers don't understand is that super sharp photos are not just the result of using auto focus on your expensive camera.

You need to use the right auto focus MODE, and the right auto focus AREA, combined with the right SHUTTER SPEED and GEAR.

It sounds complicated, but it's not!

It's True! Now YOU Can Take Tack-Sharp Pictures Just Like The Pros!

And here's more great news!

First, taking tack-sharp photos doesn't mean you have to spend years figuring it out like I did. Sharp pictures are the result of doing a number of things right in a step-by-step system that everyone, including you, can use to get great results...FAST!

Second, not only will you not have to struggle for years, but you have a unique opportunity right now to get the step-by-step system when you grab a copy of my BRAND NEW course!

Claim Your Copy of

"Tack-Sharp Photography"

(How everyone can use a simple system to take tack-sharp photos of landscapes, cityscapes, wildlife, sports and portraits...no matter what camera you use)

Here is what you get inside this video course...

21 video lessons that are bite-size so you learn about one topic per lesson.
Over 90 minutes of video content so you can watch it all in one sitting.
Lifetime access to the course content.
Watch the lessons from your phone or computer.
Come back and re-watch lessons anytime.
Straight to the point. No time wasted with fluff.
Battle tested techniques that REALLY WORK to get you taking your own super sharp photos.

**Content that is need-to-know if you want to take amazing pictures**

Lesson 1: Why tack-sharp photos are important and the two camera settings you MUST know to get them.
Lesson 2: How sharp photos fit in to the Photography Transformation Four-Step Sytem.
Lesson 3: What is a tack-sharp photo?
Lesson 4: The viewfinder diopter and how to use it so you can see through the camera clearly.
Lesson 5: What tripod to use for light or heavy cameras...and how they will affect your photo's sharpness.
Lesson 6: How to select the perfect shutter speed to get super sharp photos.
Lesson 7: Long exposures and to keep them sharp.
Lesson 8: When to use (and not use) the Image stabilization feature on your lens.
Lesson 9: How to review your photos in the field to ensure they are sharp.
Lesson 10: When to use auto ISO so your photos will be sharp and correctly exposed.
Lesson 11: Focus modes and which one to use for moving or static subjects.

Lesson 12: Focus area and which ones to select for moving subjects such as birds in flight.
Lesson 13: The focus range limiter and how it could save your shot.
Lesson 14: Manual focus - how and when you need to use it to get tack sharp photos.
Lesson15: Focus peaking why this will help you take sharp photos of leading lines for focus stacking.
Lesson 16: The focal plane and how it affects what is in focus in your frame.
Lesson 17: Is one of your lenses not sharp? Here is how to calibrate the focus of your lenses.
Lesson 18: Back button focus and how this is the setting to use for moving subjects like wildlife.
Lesson 19: Focus stacking and how you can use it to get sharp photos that are impossible for your camera to take on its own.
Lesson 20: How to find the PERFECT focus point using hyperfocal distance.
Lesson 21: Your calling (your mission) as a photographer.

Learn the 3-step system to sharp photos

Sneak Peak

Bonus video #1

Bonus video #2

Oh, and did I mention you also get an eBook version of my camera settings cheat sheet?

Save time by using my camera settings!

This eBook contains the essential camera settings for wildlife photos, landscapes, sports, portraits and more.

Sample photos with camera settings are included!

Download the eBook to your phone so you have the camera settings with you in the field.

Always know what camera settings to use!

Your pictures are about to change!

Here's something else I want you to know. I sincerely want to help you!

Maybe money is tight...or you don't believe in your own abilities to take amazing pictures. Maybe you are intimidated by all the bells and whistles on your camera. I believe in you and your desire to take awesome photos... because you wouldn't have read this far if you weren't serous about making a change.

And because you are serious, I want to do what I can to give you all these secrets to tack-sharp photography.

For today only (final day), I dropped the price of this course by 40%. You might ask, why am I not just giving all this away for free? Because as humans we don't value what we get for free. You need a bit of "skin in the game". The things you pay for are the things you pay attention to and value. So if you pay for the course you are going to watch the content and learn the skills so you can take super sharp photos.

So if you get the course I guarantee it will change the pictures you take, just like it did for me.

Get Your Discounted Copy Of The Course Now

Here's what to do next...

Hit the "buy now" button and enter your information so you can start watching the course content right away. These are skills that will help you take super professional looking photos.

Time Is Of The Essence...

Here's why...

I told you that I am discounting the price of the course by 40%, but this is only for the initial launch.

The 40% discount is coming off.

This Is Truly A Limited Offer

I want you to have these skills so you can create your own amazing photos, so take action now and pick up your copy of the course AND the eBook.

Did I mention the 40% discount is ending? Take action now and change your pictures forever!

My Promise to You!
(I have never done this before)

BUY NOW

You will learn at least one new thing!

My promise to you is that you WILL learn at least one new thing about taking tack sharp photos in this course. If you don’t, you can request a full 100% no-questions-asked refund within 30 days of purchase.
Why only one thing? Judging from people I talk to all the time about this stuff, I actually think you’ll learn MANY New things.

But… if you only learned 1 thing that will get you sharper and better-focussed photos, I believe that is easily worth $79

Think about it… you’ve spent thousands on camera equipment. If $79 can help you take just one more sharp photos when it counts, wouldn’t you spend that any day of the week?