How can I tackle a difficult competition category?

Question

There's quite an important (to me) photo competition going on right now, and the categories are very constrictive and random e.g. 'spike' , '100'. So how do you go about tackling a confusing category? What do you to gain ideas?

Not to poo-poo the question, but isn't that part of the competition? ;) — Dreamager, Oct 19 '11 at 17:46

score 4 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 19 '11 at 18:34

Looks like the point of the competition category is to be a vague as possible in an attempt to get the most creative result. You need to think hard about the titles and push them in different directions to get inspiration. I can think of loads of shots for both of these titles you just need to treat the vagueness as a plus rather than a minus.

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 19 '11 at 18:58

1

Time to get creative. Just think of anything that comes to your mind when you first listen to a word. Then develop the idea. I know its easier said than done. But giving a try is good :)

answered Oct 19 '11 at 18:58

akshay1188

303
1
6

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 20 '11 at 14:24

If you're having difficulty being "creative", try to answer these questions:

What's the first thing you think of when someone says the category name?
Could the category be a metaphor for something?
Do any colours, shapes or patterns spring to mind when thinking about the category?
What do you get if you search for the category name online?

For example, the category "100" makes me think of something that is complete - 100% done. It could be related to success or productivity. It's also used for lists and collections - a hundred. I'm not getting any colours but a grid shape springs to mind; ten times tables. Online searching suggests the 100 club in London, or a hundred dollar bill.

How can I tackle a difficult competition category?

3 Answers3