The APN Contest, "Nature's Natural Textures [link] ," is here. As a judge, I have a few things to suggest to make sure that you have the best possible chances of submitting a winning entry.

#1: SIZE MATTERS
- The official rules of the contest state that no image can be submitted that does not have a minimum of 400px on its longest end. Sometimes people forget that an online contest is very similar to an actual print contest. Imagine if you submitted a 4"x6" photo into a contest at a local event. How do you think that photo would fair against larger photos, 11"x14" or 16"x20"? In this contest, an image that is between 700-1,200 pixels on its longest side will allow the judges a chance to better assess the details in each photo. In a contest about textures, I'd think you'd agree.

#2: THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX
- I'm gonna make another guess here and say that there will be alot of very similar photos. When I brainstormed ideas for possible shots, wood and leaves first came to my mind. I wonder if those two things came to my mind first, how many other people will think of them first as well? There are tons of textures in nature. If you don't have any images in your gallery that you want to enter and you can't think of anything, grab your camera and go take photos. Take pictures of everything around you and soon I think you'll start seeing the world of textures. Also, experiment with different settings in your camera. Just imagine the difference in textures between freezing a waterfall with a fast shutter speed and letting the water flow into a fluffy cloud, with a long shutter speed. How would the scene look with more depth of field?

#3: GET CRITIQUED PRIOR TO SUBMISSION IN THE CONTEST
- The critique feature of DeviantArt is something that I am very glad to see was added. With the enormous amount of talent and knowledge here, there isn't ANYONE who couldn't benefit from some critique from others. Even people who spend alot of time in their post processing work and try to catch every detail of the photo will still miss something occasionally.
If there is one reason to subscribe to DA, its the critique feature. Before you submit your image to the APN Contest, ask for a critique from your watchers. If a critiquer suggests something that you agree with, go back and change the image, and then resubmit it. By getting feedback from others, your image will improve, as will your skill in the medium as a whole. Tell your watchers that you want to submit the image to the contest and that you need their help. If you have a few deviants in mind that you specifically want to critique you, ask them. Chances are, if they aren't uber busy, they'll oblige.

#4: LIGHTING
- Lighting is key to getting the most out of your texture shot. A bumpy object that is lit from directly over it will look extremely different than the same object being lit from the side. With either a flash, a reflector, or simply by experimenting using sunlight at different times of the day, you will be able to maximize the effect that you are looking for. Light angles will work on anything as small as a close macro or a huge landscape. Photography is painting with light. Choose your brushes well.

#5: TECHNICALLY SOUND
- Even if you take a picture of the coolest subject ever known on earth, if your photograph is not technically sound, it will not be considered. Pay special attention to focus, exposure, sensor dust, image shake, and other aspects that make and break an image.

#6: SUBMIT YOUR EXIF INFORMATION
- Ok, whether or not you submit your EXIF data on your photos (camera model, date, shutter speed, aperture, ISO) will not affect how you do in the competition, but...I am a firm believer in posting it for the general welfare of the photogs on DA. When you post the EXIF data, you are allowing inquiring photographers to learn how you took the shot. What did you do well? What could you have done better? Please post your EXIF and DA will grow exponentially in talent. Even if you don't upload the EXIF or don't know how to, include your shot data in your image's notes.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE! I'll be thinking of more suggestions to add to this in the weeks to come and as soon as the contest is officially announced, I'll make this into a news article.