Red Bull Illume judges are hand-picked as people who, somehow or someway, made their mark on the photography industry, some as photographers, but more often as photo editors, curators, founders of photography brands or media outlets – these are the people with taste and unrivalled know-how, which they wanted to share with you!
Be original
Laura Luykenaar, from Salt Magazine, makes it even more clear: “Just don’t take the shot that has already been shot a thousand times before.” Daniel Havlik – founder of Shutterbug – strongly agrees. "Dare to try something different – but don't forget the human element.” Which lead us to another good point… it’s often very much about the person.
Show a human experience
It’s not a hard-and-fast rule that images for Red Bull Illume require a person or athlete in them, but the contest is about adventure and action sports. People are the ones that have adventures and do action sports, so it’s a good idea to think about what the humans in your images are doing – and what they’re showing us. Says Hideko Kataoka, Photo Editor for NewsWeek Japan: "I am fascinated about the ability to capture intense moments of the human experience, and beauty of human body and activity.” Another esteemed photographer – Denis Balibous from Reuters – puts it more simply: “A picture has to cause a strong emotion.”
Don’t be afraid to smash the shutter button
Laura Luykenaar: "You can take 100 pictures of a scene and have 95 technically good photos, some crappy ones, but just 1 might turn out to be perfect. I think that luck and timing add a great deal to make a great photo.” Your takeaway? Take risks, and get lots of shots!
Nail your timing
"The two most important things for me with adventure and actions sports images are timing and composition,” says Daniel Halvik. When there’s high-speed, high-altitude, high-consequence action happening right in front of your lens, there’s no question – you’ve got to nail the timing. So, plan, plan, plan. Evgeny Tchebotarev, 500px founder and VP of Growth Asia, Skylum Software, sees it as almost a science: “The amount of work, precision, and accurate timing that goes into that resembled more a scientific lab experiment rather than an action sport photo shoot.”
… finally, just make it great.
"I can’t just name one thing,” says Luykenaar. "The composition, the light, the focus should be the best for the subject that you are photographing. A great photo needs to be ‘just right’”.
See more from the judges in the image gallery below, and more judges are set to be announced very soon on our dedicated judges page.
OK, photographers – armed with this knowledge, we implore you: go out and get your best stuff. And waste no time in getting it submitted – the July 31 deadline is going to be here before you know it!