Story of a Nude Contest

This contest closed on Sept 30, 2009, and the results can be found here.

This contest has been in the works for many months. It is the brainchild of former AN Gallery Director/Moderator `arachnid15. Before his departure, he asked if I would like to help organize and judge this contest along with him. My answer was an unequivocal "YES," and I am very happy to finally be announcing the long-awaited and long-promised "Story of a Nude" Artistic Nude Photography contest.

We have some great prize packages for the winners, including deviant dollars, deviantWEAR, and donated prints. We're looking forward to seeing the creative spirit at work in the contest entries. Please read on for details of the contest, requirements, and how to enter.

The Spirit of the Contest

"Show and Tell"

In human communication, words and pictures are intertwined. From children's storybooks to cutting edge multimedia presentations, we learn better, we understand better, we remember better - when information comes to us that we can absorb and interpret through more than one of our senses, engaging more than one part of our minds.

"Images and Words"

Although photography is a visual art form, the power of the images still comes from the stories they convey. How much more powerful yet when the visual story is accompanied by the artist's own words, not only showing, not only telling, but tying the story and the photograph together into a richer experience. In this contest, we'd like to explore the combined power of "images and words" through artistic nude photography.

"A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words"

There is something strikingly compelling about a nude with a story to tell. A good story has the ability to capture our attention and, more importantly, lead us so deep inside itself that we feel as though it's something we personally experienced. Although some artistic nude photography may be purely the aesthetic expression of the body, there are entire other realms where artistic nude imagery can take us. While beautiful men and women draped in gorgeous layers of light speak to the primal and symbolic, capture our eyes, our emotions, and our imaginations, nothing affects the viewer more than a story that captures both heart and mind. It is the stories that stay with us, and a story told through both word and image can become that more a part of us.

"Every Picture Tells A Story"

Here is your chance to explore the limitless possibilities that arise when story meets nude. The man with a cup of coffee in his hands getting ready to greet another day of their life. The mythical creature divulging its deepest secrets, both light and dark. The woman who sheds the layers of cotton that she has used to hide her shame for countless years. The stories are limited only by your imagination. The beauty and the art of stories told by a person at his or her most natural, uninhibited, and vulnerable state of being are those that will stay with the viewer.

We all have stories to tell. What is yours?

Contest Information:

Task:

Create an artistic nude photograph that contains a story, drawing in the viewer to feel and relate to that story.

Contest Duration:

This contest will accept entries during the three month period from June 1, 2009 until September 30, 2009. At the contest deadline of midnight PST on 9/30/09, entries will be closed and judging will commence.

Rules:

**All entries must meet the criteria of the Photography -> People & Portraits -> Artistic Nude gallery.

**All entries must be submitted to the Official Contest Category, found in the deviation submissions menu as Contests -> Story of a Nude, and viewable in the main deviantART browse menu under Contests -> 2009 -> Story of a Nude.

**Your submission must consist of an artistic nude photograph accompanied by a written story. Your written words must support the photo and enlighten the audience to the story you feel embodied in the photo.

**Written accompaniment to your photo entry should be contained in the "artist's comments" box of your submitted deviation. Your description should also specify this contest and link to this article.

**Written accompaniment must fall within deviantART policy for literary submissions, including the pornography policy for written submissions. FAQ #251: You prohibit the submission of 'pornographic literature'; what do you consider this to be?

**Written accompaniment: Up to 1000 words.
Judging will consider how well the written text supports the story in the photograph, so please make sure you write enough to describe the story you feel is told by your image. There is no minimum word length requirement for this contest. If you have a 9-word Haiku that perfectly tells the story of your image, go for it! Written submissions should be a maximum of 1000 words in length. If your photo actually does contain the story of an entire novel, please summarize it for us! Again, the purpose of the written portion of the entry is to support the image, rather than taking center stage as a finished/polished literary form.

**Contest submission does not have to be new work or a new submission to dA. If you have an existing work that carries its own story, tell us that story. Or, create a new image to tell any story you have in mind. But, the written description must accompany the contest entry, even if it is added to an existing deviation.

**This contest is limited to one entry, consisting of one photo with accompanying story, per person.

**This should be obvious, but models and photographers must be 18+ years old.

Judging:

Entries will be judged on how well the photograph conveys your story. This is a photography contest, not a literature contest, so the focus of the judges will be on the photography not the written words. Your written text must support the story shown in your image, and of course grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure contribute to communicating your story in writing. But as long as we can understand your story, we're not going to remove an entry from consideration because of spelling errors, improper punctuation, or similar issues.

Judges:

^wynnesome
`arachnid15
`Katerina423
^PurpelBlur
^quietchildae

Prizes

1st Place:
$200 deviant dollars
Metro Artist's Bag
dA Buttons
8x10 size photo print donated by `arachnid15
8x10 size photo print donated by `Katerina423

2nd Place:
$100 deviant dollars
dA Hoodie
Emoticon stress balls
8x10 size photo print donated by =LovittGirl
8x12 size photo print donated by ^Battledress

3rd Place:
$50 deviant dollars
dA Hat
dA Sticker Pack
8x12 size photo print donated by ^wynnesome

All print prizes will be from a selection determined by the donating artist, each from his/her own gallery. Additional print prize donations by other artists may be added.

We are very much looking forward to a fantastic contest - so pick up your cameras, and tell us your stories!