Time for a New Photo Contest!

Time for a New Photo Contest! Nina Zolotow

by Nina

Now that I'm finished with the Yoga for Healthy Aging book (except for proofing it—yikes!), I have time again to post a photo of the day, a feature that our readers really enjoyed and that also had the benefit of getting positive images of older people of all races, body types, and abilities doing yoga out into the world! It was also a fun way for me to "meet" many of you and your students. Last time around, I received some truly inspiring photos, including this one of a woman who was 101!

This is a rolling contest  and there is no deadline. I'll keep taking and using photos as long as I'm blogging. So take your time and submit a quality photograph rather than just sending in whatever snaps you have on your phone.  

Note: Last time I did not get as many photos of larger people or people with color as I'd hoped to get. Yes, you are all beautiful and I want to see all of you!

Copyright by Sara Bennet 2013

To be eligible, your photo must meet the following specifications:

1. Portray a single person or people over 50 doing a yoga pose (of any level of difficulty), meditating, or practicing a mudra. No restorative poses or chair yoga at this time. Any body type or race (diversity is encouraged!). 
2. Be a digital photograph (or scan) in a reasonably high resolution and in focus.
3. Have a reasonably attractive physical surrounding (either outside or inside). So no messy rooms, even if we sometimes do yoga in messy rooms. Pets are allowed (though I have a limit on how many cats I can take). Urban environments are as good as nature shots.
4. If the photo is a single person doing a yoga pose, the alignment must be one that I consider to be healthy. And no body parts can be cropped off, unless in an artistic fashion.
5. Be aesthetically pleasing.
6. You must either be in the photo or have taken the photo (that way, I can have your official permission to use it).

Here are some other examples of winning photos submitted to me: 

Copyright by Sara Bennet 2013

Typical reasons a photo is rejected include:

• Photo is too small (resolution is too low), so it will be blurry on the blog.
• Photo is out of focus, partly out of focus, and/or lighting is poor, so person is in shadow or whole photo is too dark.
• Figure is too small within the background, (you will look like an ant on the blog, even though, yes, that mountain is really pretty).
• A body part or parts is awkwardly cropped off (where are your feet and/or fingertips?), or your face isn't showing in a pose when it normally would (the pose was taken from an odd angle or you are wearing a hat and sunglasses).
• The facial expression seems unhappy, uncomfortable, or pained.
• The environment is messy (props, plastic water bottles, bits and pieces of other students in the classroom).
• Alignment of the pose looks unhealthy in my opinion, for example, the head and neck are not in line with the spine.
• The photo doesn't feel inspiring or uplifting to me. (Hey, if we want to get positive images of older people doing yoga out there, the images need to feel positive.)

Although I don't by any means require professional photos, typically a quick snapshot done with your phone in a classroom or out on a hike—unless it is really special—isn't going to make the grade. Trust me, I've seen a lot of them at this point. So if you want your images to be seriously considered, take some time in creating them and take multiple shots of a single pose to get a good one. Arrange the setting and move that plastic water bottle somewhere else. Have someone look at your alignment and give you some cues. Take off your hat and sunglasses and smile. Or, at least relax your face.

To submit your photos, you can either email them to me (see Contact Us) or submit via our Yoga for Healthy Aging Facebook Page. There is no deadline because you will not be competing against each other. Multiple submissions allowed. All photos that meet the specifications will be winners!

The prizes? I will share the winning photos as a photo of the day on Facebook, which people really enjoy, and I will use these photos in our posts. I will include your name, age, and a web address, if desired, so you can get a little PR. I hope there will be a huge number of prizes.

And you should feel free to “borrow” these photographs and give them even more exposure, as long as you give appropriate credits.

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