Thank you for entering print competition. This is a great resource to expand your skills as an artist.
Cost is $15 per image and you can enter up to 10 images. Good Luck!

*Awards will be given for the top three images in each category along with a Best of show trophy for the Overall Best entry. (Judges will choose awards head to head with a tiered scoring system). For every entry, regardless of category or score, is eligible for random drawing of door prizes including a FREE PPA membership, Imaging USA 2026 pass, lab credits and more! 

NOTE: WTP will be using PrintCompetition.Com to host the virtual online competition. There is an additional fee to join this service in addition to your entry fees.

*Only WTP members will be eligible for awards and prizes. All images, regardless of member status, that receive a distinction of West Texas Excellence will receive the WTP Excellence Challenge Coin. There is also an award for Best Image by a non-member. Join WTP here. 

1. Entries submitted must be entrants own work.

2. Entries that have previously scored 80(merit) or more at a previous WTP are not eligible for entry. It is permissible to enter an image from a previous competition given that the image has been altered or adjusted from its previous state. Images entered into PPA's MIR are eligible regardless of result. 

3. All entries will submitted digitally. Must be 4000px on the long side, sRGB color space and JPEG format. File not to exceed 5MB. 

4. Naming convention. Please name your entries as follows.  Image1.jpg You will have a field to enter the Image Title when submitting the entries. 

3. For wedding, commercial, illustrative and portrait categories, all elements must be created by the entrant. Artwork and digital post-production are permissible in theses categories, including compositing, as long as all photographic elements used were created by the entrant.

4. Entries in the Electronic (Artist) category may use any source image, even if the entrant did not create it and guide/reference images are mandatory and shall be visible on the entry presentation.

5. Deadline to enter Friday Aug 15th at Noon CST

6. Any one may enter. You do not have to be a WTP member to participate. However, only WTP members will be eligible for awards and prizes. An award for Best Image by a Non-Member will be awarded.

7. Entrant may enter up to 10 images and each entry can be in any of the following categories:

-Artist: Composites, restorations, digital paintings. Guide/Reference  images required on the entry.  Artificial Intelligence (AI) images are allowed as elements and must be represented as a guide image. 

-Portrait: Image of a person and/or animals under the control or supervision of the photographer. Sub Categories include Individual Portrait, High School Senior, Animal(s) and Group

-Illustrative: Still life, pictorials, scenics, wildlife, cityscapes and abstracts. Sub Categories include In Camera Artistry, Commercial, Scenic, FineArt, Reportage & Wildlife.

-In Camera Artistry: Entries of any subject matter that have little or minimal post-processing applied. Exposure, Contrast, Cropping, Monochrome conversions, dodging, burning and color correction adjustments  are allowed. No filters, extensive retouching, composites, stitches, HDR, pixel replacement or the like is permitted within this category.  

-Commercial: Image used for advertising purposes. Maybe food, product, architectural, aerial, editorial.

-Reportage/Sports Events: The overarching definition for this category is where the event occurs without direction from the photographer.Entries in this category represent a political, social, entertainment(concerts, theater) or sporting event. These image matter that have little or minimal post-processing applied. Exposure, Contrast, Cropping, Monochrome conversions, dodging, burning and color correction adjustments  are allowed. No filters, extensive retouching, composites, stitches, HDR, pixel replacement or the like is permitted within this category.  

-Wedding: Any image of a wedding party member, wedding couple or wedding event. Wedding images are to be captured during a commissioned wedding event. Engagement images need to be entered in the portrait category. 

Scoring: 

Images will be judged for Accepted/Not Accepted (Merit/No-Merit)
All images that are accepted will be judged again for Best of West Texas (Loan) and receive a WTP Excellence Challenge Coin
Awards will be selected in a head to head competition for the Best Of West Texas Collection

The West Texas Photographers holds an annual Image Competition:   The purpose of this competition is to allow the entrant to measure their skills against a standard of excellence. WTP judges use 4 elements– Impact, Technical Excellence, Composition and Creativity to determine whether an image meets the level of a High-Quality Professional Image.
Impact- Is the image compelling? Does it evoke a discernible emotion that is relevant to the story and category? Impact can be immediate, fleeting and/or lasting. 

Technical Excellence- Does the image excel in objective technical areas such as exposure, color balance, lighting, dynamic range as well as being absent of other technical flaws such as dust spots, moire, chromatic aberration, banding, clone tracks and the like. 

Composition- The visual elements of an image come together to express intent, whether that’s to please the viewer or otherwise. The viewer’s attention is captured and directed where the artist plans it to be. Jurors may also consider whether the subject matter is relevant and central to the story being told. 

Creativity - The image is original, fresh, and an external expression of the maker’s imagination. Jurors may also consider any techniques that are used to best express the story of the image. 

2025 Judges

Lisa Asp, M. Photog., M. Artist, Cr., CPP, MAI has been a professional photographer for more than 25 years and a PPA approved juror since 2022. She has won numerous awards for her work including Kodak Gallery awards, Fuji Masterpiece, Lexjet, PPA District First Place, IPC GIA First Place and GIA Second Place, two-time Diamond Photographer of the Year, Twin Cities Photographer of the year, and more. Lisa has a deep history in portrait photography and specializes in pet portraits. Her love of animals expanded into wildlife photography several years ago as well. Lisa is the current president of the International Society of Animal Photographers.

Bob Coates Photography "Specializes in not specializing" this allows us to come up with interesting new ways of photographing subjects. Combining the techniques of different types of photography and Photoshop techniques leads to new ways capturing images. Photographer, educator and author, Bob Coates is based in Sedona, AZ. See his photographers web site successful-photographer.com. Check Bob’s photographic work out on his other web sites coatesart.net and bcphotography.com Bob has Milky Way and Night Sky Photography Workshops and is available for consulting, speaking engagements.

Amber Damour is a portrait photographer & composite artist based in Dallas, Texas and I work with children, families, maternity and seniors. I focus on creating story telling imagery for my clients and designing heirloom artwork for their families. I am a PPA Master Photographer, Photographic Craftsman, TPPA Associate Fellow, DPPA Associate Fellow and ICON Associate, as well as representing Team USA for the World Photographic Cup 2024.

Phaneendra Gudapati is a portrait artist located in Plano, TX. He is inspired by classical portraiture, paintings by old masters and fashion and loves to create a fusion between fine art and fashion in his work.

Paula Swift, M.Photog. Cr.,CPP started her portrait photography business in Framingham, MA in 2004 and then move her studio to Sudbury, MA in 2013. She is the Past President of the Professional Photographers Association of Masschusetts – PPAM (2021-2023), a PPA Councilor and PPA Approved Juror. Paula was a staff photographer at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette in Worcester, Mass from 1995-2005. Three of her images were part of a Pulitzer nomination and finalist entry in 2000 in feature photography for the photography staff’s coverage of a deadly warehouse fire that took the lives of six firefighters in 1999. January 2024, Paula’s image titled “Runny Colors” made it to the top two in the Sports Category in PPA’s IPC and earned a Platinum medal . Paula was recognized as a Silver Medalist in 2022 and 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020 a Bronze Medalist.