You would have come across many online photo competitions and you would have even participated in one or more of these competitions. The question that many people have with regard to these online competitions is whether these contests are real and whether people win in any of these photo contests online.

It is true that we come across numerous contests but we do not follow up with those contests to find out what happens to them whether the organizer announces the winners and whether the winners get the prizes that they were promised. It is not an uncommon experience for the photographers who participate in the photo contests never to hear from their organizers and get no reply to the repeated messages on the status of the competition. 

We cannot however make a blanket statement and say that all the contests offer such experiences to the contestants. There are a number of free photo contests and paid photo contests that create an exceptional experience to the participants. They organize the entire contest in a highly professional way. You will therefore find all types of contest organizers in the industry, both good and the not so good ones. If you are going to sign up for your contests in a random fashion, you will not know whether you are with the right group and that you are not wasting your time until the results are announced or until the contest moves in the direction it should.

If you do not want to waste your talent and your time then before you sign up for the contest, check the credibility of the contest organizer. Is it the first time they are organizing something like this or does the organizer regularly organize the contests? You will have to identify the most trusted contest organizers online by checking their history. If they have organized any contests in the past, you need to find out whether they have announced the winners and whether the contest photos are published anywhere. If you do a bit of homework, you will be able to find out all these details. You will end up with dubious service providers only when pick your contests without any discretion and without carefully reviewing the credibility of the contest organizers. Take your time therefore to pick your contests. There are many exciting contests out there organized by the most reliable and honest contest organizers that operate with the intent to help the budding photographers and the community of photographers. It would be good to get associated with such platforms. You will not only get good experience joining the competition but your work will also enjoy good visibility, which is very important for budding photographers and also for well-established photographers. 

You do not have to stay away from the photo contests but all that you need to do is to do your bit of homework trying to spot the most dependable service photo contest organizers before joining the online competitions.