KENT – The Kent Chamber of Commerce is looking for great photographs of Kent and is offering a contest with prizes to both amateur and professional photographers.
The contest was announced March 21 and all submissions are due by May 4. Winners will be announced May 24. All of the prizes are gift certificates to Kent businesses.
“We thought what a fun way to get the community involved because Kent is such a beautiful place and there are so many photographers that live in town and in the area. Why not get the community involved?” said Elyse Sadtler, who is the Chamber’s social media manager.
Residents and visitors, professional and amateur photographers alike are invited to submit beautiful photographs of Kent that capture the essence of the town and highlight the best of what the town has to offer.
Everyone who submits photos must agree to allow the Chamber to use the images. No one submitting will receive any compensation, but the Chamber will credit the photographer when it is possible. Winning photographs will be displayed publicly at FotoDiary in Kent during Memorial Day weekend.
“We ran this type of contest previously in 2020 during the pandemic as a way to generate beautiful high-quality images for the Chamber to use on social media or for marketing purposes in the Kent guide, website in any sort of digital or print materials that the Chamber produces,” Sadtler said.
There are five categories for submission: Scenic Landscapes/Landmarks, Recreation in Kent, Downtown, Farm/Agriculture and Town Traditions.
There are a few rules. All photos must be recent, nothing earlier than 2022. All photos must be digital originals and of high resolution.
A panel of judges will evaluate the photos. Amateur and professional work will be judged in separate categories. It is up to the person submitting to determine if they qualify as a professional or an amateur.
“We are leaving it up to folks to decide if they consider themselves an amateur or professional photographer. It is up to your own discretion,” Sadtler said. She offered that if a photographer gets paid for work, has any sort of professional photography training or apprenticed under someone, they would probably want to consider themselves a professional.
The Chamber offers many events and supports its member businesses in a variety of ways. However, this contest offers townspeople a way to connect directly with the organization.
“Most people in the community interact with the Chamber of Commerce only by proxy, by going to a service or a business that’s a member. So this is a way for the community to directly involve themselves with the Chamber of Commerce, not through a business member or through an event,” Sadtler said. “That is good to build community goodwill around the organization.”
All of the details and the entry form link for the contest can be found here. Anyone with questions may contact socialmedia@kentct.com.
