Image Submission - "statement of purpose"

[photobyjulie1]

Would somebody mind sharing a 'statement of purpose' with me? I'm ready to submit my images but have to put a statement of purpose with each one and want to get this right. Thank you!

[Stephanie_Millner]

PetPromos56.jpgSurely.
Hopefully the image is coming through - if not, it's a b/w of a same-sex couple and their dog.

It would go something like this:
This photograph was made for the clients to celebrate their two-year commitment anniversary, celebrated by purchasing Pearl, their new Jack Russel Terrier. This image was part of a series, made to be displayed as a medium-sized mantle print, later purchased by the couple. The photograph was lit with a 30x60 softbox on camera right, a strip-light kicker camera left, and a hairlight bouncing off the ceiling above the subjects to provide sufficient separation between the light white of the shirts and the light gray background.

Make it up as you go along!

[photobyjulie1]

Thank you Steff - that is what I was thinking but really wanted to be sure. :-)

[ChontelleBrown]

Mine were not near as detailed as Steff's, because I didn't know to do it that way. I did however make them up as I went along.

my descriptions were much shorter, just the 'why' like the first sentence of Steff's description.

Chontelle

[Stephanie_Millner]

I did however make them up as I went along.

...and that's the important thing!

[Heather_L._Smith]

They don't need to be quite that detailed

A simple "family portrait session with new baby" or "senior portrait session" or "candid from golf event" or something of that sort is sufficient. Keep in mind that the judges are reviewing 100+ submissions during each judging session, each with 20 images, so unless it's needed, they're probably not going to stop to read a paragraph worth of information on each image. The statement of purpose can help a judge make a determination on how to critique the image (for example, if it's from an event, and it's a candid, it will be viewed differently than a portrait in the studio where everything is under your control). So, a concise statement of purpose can be of great help to the judges. Does that make sense?

[Michael_Gan]

I agree with Heather. Concise is Mui Bueno.

And for heavens sakes, don't do something like this:

"I know the image is not technically correct, but my client insisted I do it this way with the clothing they chose"

Good way to get 5 rejections

[GregYager]

Yeah Michael that would sound like rejecting your own image prior to submitting it. Sorta like saying "Hey, here's a good reason to vote no on this one."

[KirkDarling]

The statement of purpose is more about why you're submitting it rather than why you took it--what certification requirement is the image intended to satisfy.

"Portrait."
"Wedding."
"Commercial."

Or maybe "Studio Portrait" and "Available Light Portrait."

I don't know how the "compulsory image" function is going to work out, but I'd guess for those images you might say "Broadlight Portrait" or "Shortlight Portrait."

But as Michael said, do not try to explain away anything about the image, nor should you try to explain the history leading up to the image. If you had to do something dumb because the client wanted it that way, don't use that image.

[Stephanie_Millner]

Hm, when I did my cert. stuff I really did put what I listed above for pretty much each image. Guess it was overkill, then?