ViewBug Photo Contests

An online community for visual creators, ViewBug hosts many popular photography contests. Whether you’re new to photography or an experienced pro, you can gain exposure and recognition through ViewBug, along with opportunities to win valuable prizes. New contests and themes launch often to suit every interest and skill level. Here are some common questions photographers have about ViewBug photo contests:

5 Things to Know About ViewBug Photography Contests

1. How Does ViewBug Work?
2. What Types of Contests Does ViewBug Host?
3. How Do I Enter a ViewBug Photo Contest?
4. How Much Does It Cost to Enter a ViewBug Contest?
5. How are ViewBug Contest Winners Chosen?

ViewBug’s two founders started with the vision of building a thriving, global community of photographers and visual creators. Today, the site offers photography challenges and contests to help people grow their craft and connect with other creative individuals. These contests also allow photographers to build online portfolios to showcase their images.

1. How Does ViewBug Work?

Anyone can sign up for a free online ViewBug account. Your account gives you opportunities to post your photos and gain followers. With a free account, you can upload up to 10 photos per week and have opportunities to submit your photos to free contests. Based on your activity, you can gain rewards, points, and badges. You’ll also have the opportunity to vote in some photo contests and participate in ViewBug challenges with your free account.

For beginning photographers, a free account is a perfect way to gain experience with the site. You can also learn from viewing others’ work to help you identify your areas of focus and personal aesthetic. If you’re seeking photography inspiration, look no further than ViewBug.

As your photography skill grows, you can consider upgrading your membership. Paid memberships help you increase your exposure by allowing you to upload more photos to your portfolio and submit more photo competition entries. A paid membership can be a good value for professional photographers who want another venue to promote their talents.

2. What Types of Contests Does ViewBug Host?

What’s your photography passion? Whatever it is, there’s a good chance you’ll find a contest that matches your interest on ViewBug. New photo contests launch daily in popular categories such as:

• Abstract
• Action
• Animals
• Architecture
• Black & White
• Colors
• City
• Fashion
• Fine Nudes
• Food
• Landscapes
• Macro
• Manipulations
• Nature
• Night
• Objects
• People
• Transportation
• Water
• Wedding

Within these topic areas, ViewBug holds contests on specific themes. For example, in the “People” category, you may find an online contest called “People Working” or “We Love Mom,” or opportunities to submit examples of traditional portrait photography. In the “Colors” category, contest themes may include “Soft Tones” or “Colors of the Rainbow.” Under the “Animals” category, you may find competitions focused on everything from pet photography to incredible wildlife photography.

ViewBug also holds special “Photo of the Month” and “Photo of the Year” contests. In these competitions, members can enter any photo on any theme or topic. A panel of judges determines the winners of these prestigious competitions. Judges often select several finalists or honorable mention recipients from the body of entries.

Each contest will have specific guidelines that you’ll need to follow when entering your submissions. For example, you may need to include specific types of photography props or emphasize certain colors in your image. Pay close attention to the due dates, too, so that you don’t miss important deadlines! When you’re new to ViewBug contests and have limited weekly uploads, you should review open contests first and choose photos to upload based on current themes.

Some ViewBug contests have more than one victor—and some may name an amateur winner. Another great feature of ViewBug contests is that you can win an amazing prize! You may win high-quality cameras, lenses, tripods, and more thanks to popular photography brands that sponsor various contests. Typically, ViewBug will share winning photos on its social media accounts to help you gain even more exposure.

3. How Do I Enter a ViewBug Contest?

Entering a ViewBug competition is very simple and takes just minutes. You’ll first need to visit Viewbug.com and login to your personal ViewBug account. Once you’ve supplied your ViewBug login credentials, click on “Photo Contests” on the main site menu. This will navigate you to the main Photo Contest page on the ViewBug website. You can review open contests and click on the name of the contest to gain more details about it.

ViewBug groups its contests into the following main categories: Free, Premium, Pro, and PRO+. As you would expect, these contest categories tie to membership levels. When you are a new member with a free account, you can only select from free contests. But there are usually dozens of free to enter contests available so don’t let your account status limit you!

After you click on the name of the contest, you will go to a page that provides key information about how to enter, due dates, judging parameters and prizes. You can also see how many people have entered the contest so far. Read through the page carefully to make sure that you understand all the rules.

Be sure that your image submission meets the focus of the contest. For example, some contests may emphasize excellence in photography composition, while others aim to highlight innovative lighting or color techniques. Some competitions can have very specific parameters—such as focusing on unique examples of night bokeh.

Once you’re confident that you’ve found the right contest for you, click on the “Submit Photos” button. You can choose from images you’ve uploaded to your portfolio or add a new photograph from your computer. Finally, click “Continue” to submit your photo. That’s all you need to do to enter!

Even if you don’t have access to a computer, you can enter ViewBug contests right from your mobile phone or device. The ViewBug app lets you upload mobile photography, join competitions, view awards, and vote in contests. You can stay in touch with your community of ViewBug followers and view examples of stunning photographic art everywhere you go.

4. How Much Does It Cost to Enter a ViewBug Contest?

ViewBug offers three types of contest types: Free, Premium, and Pro. As you might expect, free contests are for members with free accounts who have not opted to pay a subscription fee. Premium, Pro, and PRO+ contests are restricted to members with those subscription levels.

If you are a free member, you’ll never pay an entry fee for any of the free contests on ViewBug. And there are typically many free contests open at any time. These free contests often attract amateurs and may have prizes designed for individuals who are new to photography. Because of their wide-open nature, these amateur photography competitions can sometimes have tens to thousands of entries. Competition can be fierce, but winning photos can earn huge acclaim and widespread recognition.

If you have more photography experience, a paid membership may be a better fit for you. Premium, Pro, and PRO+ contests let you compete with others at your skill level. Paid memberships also grant your opportunities to enter more than one photo in some contests so that you have more chances to win. Achieving victory in ViewBug’s professional photography competitions can be a huge career boost for a serious photographer. In most cases, you won’t pay any additional fees to enter contests with your paid ViewBug subscriptions.

5. How Are ViewBug Contest Winners Chosen?

There are several ways ViewBug winners are chosen. You should review the contest page for any competition of interest for specific details.

Some contests are decided by voters. In these competitions, the photo with the most votes wins. You can help secure votes by connecting with members to help spread the word about your entry. In other cases, ViewBug staff determine award winners in photo competitions.

For other contests, a panel of judges—called a “jury”—collaborates to decide the winner. ViewBug makes a commitment to attract a world-class judging panel for each of its juried contests. Winning juried photography competitions can earn a photographer great prestige and be an amazing boost to a professional resume. Juries evaluate quality, creativity, and originality when assessing photos and grant awards based on how well the image relates to the contest theme.

Even if you don’t enter contests, ViewBug judges can give you an award. Judges often review uploaded photos and may reward photographers who show promise and talent. Every ViewBug award earns you valuable exposure and a special badge that you can share via social media.

In addition, ViewBug community members can also give other contributors awards. These awards include commendations for composition and creativity. While these ViewBug awards don’t carry the same weight as winning a contest, they do raise your visibility within the community. With each award, you’ll earn a badge that you can add to your ViewBug profile.

Take Your Photography to the Next Level with ViewBug

Are you interested in leveling-up your photography talent? Do you feel like your presence on sites like Instagram and Flickr aren’t offering enough exposure? Joining the ViewBug photo contest community can be an excellent next step!

It’s free to create an account and start connecting with other users. You can also vote in some of ViewBug’s many online photo competitions and view submissions from previous winners. After exploring the site and adding images to your personal photography portfolio, you can begin entering free photography competitions. All of ViewBug’s contests are online, so you never have to worry about photo printing or mounting and framing your images.

Even if you don’t win, entering photography contests can help you learn about how viewers perceive and respond to your photos. If you do win, you can earn awesome ViewBug prizes. You can win a camera, a high-end lens, valuable editing presets, cash prizes, and more!

Be sure to visit ViewBug often to view current photographic competitions in its many contest categories. With so many contests to enter, you’re sure to find one that meets your photographic interests. Enjoy nature photography, travel photography, or street photography? Want to position yourself for photography awards and work towards your own art photography exhibition? ViewBug can help you pursue these passions—and many more. Whether you have an interest in human form photography, black and white portraits, or want to enter a cut kitten contest or a Christmas photo contest, visit ViewBug. Contests can change daily, so there are always new opportunities to explore.

Winning a ViewBug photo contest can be a springboard to photography success. You’ll gain valuable exposure within the site’s community and on social media—and that can help you position yourself to make money with photography via your own website. And you’ll likely win new photography equipment or software to help you improve your skills even more. It’s easy to see why ViewBug is considered a top source for some of the best photography competitions online.