Imagination versus technique

Photographic technique is all very well but, at the end of the day, it’s your imagination that creates something that has a real impact

- Paul Wilkinson

Along with a team of fellow photographers, I have judged (and then celebrated) some of the UK’s very best pro photography in the past week or two.

It is one of the greatest pleasures I have – there is nothing quite like the thrill of seeing some of the most incredible work up close and personal – but it is not without its challenges. It is, after all, a huge responsibility that we take on.

At the end of every session, you can’t help but replay some of the assessments that the judging panel made, and, hand on heart, you want to know that you made the best possible decisions.

One thing we’re often asked about – likely by someone who thought they might win but didn’t – is what criteria we use to grade each image. The answer, of course, is as nuanced as the different styles of photography: impact, creativity, originality, composition, colour balance, storytelling… the list goes on. Every organization has its set criteria for assessing each image, and each judge will have referenced those as they work.

But notice one thing: impact is always at the top of the list. That indefinable ‘wow factor’ that winning images have is always at the front of every judge’s mind.