What is Gurushots? A free competition platform for photographers, offering a range of prizes for challenges held regularly. Photographers vote on a selection of photos and the photographers with the most votes by the end of the competition win said prizes.
When starting with Gurushots, photographers upload their photos to their profiles. There is an area where you can look at competitions (past, current and upcoming) which are called Challenges. Photographers can enter these challenges using the photos they've uploaded to their profiles, or by simply uploading photos directly to the competition, which will automatically be added to their profile for later use.
When in a challenge, photographers vote for the photos they feel fit the category best, and of course photos they feel are worth voting for. These photos are submitted by other participants whose Identities are kept anonymous while actively voting. The voting system itself is actually well thought through. The system encourages engagement via a meter called an Exposure Bonus that is powered by a participants voting frequency. Why do you want to fill this meter? It's because the meter dictates where YOUR photos will be placed, when other photographers are voting themselves. This is important because the meter has a cap, which most people stop voting after reaching. Thus images placed lower in the set (image below for example) may get missed entirely. So the higher your meter is, the closer to the top your photos will be for others. Meaning increased visibility and higher chances for votes.
Now GuruShots used to offer pretty great prizes like camera packages and software subscriptions. However, now a days this is few and far between, offering mostly exhibition entries and bundles of what they call "Tools", which I'll dive into more in the next paragraph. Awards are given out per challenge and each one will have 3 ultimate winners Top Photographer, Top Photograph, and Guru's Top Pick. There are also other small prizes for a range of other placements such as top 100 photographs, falling in the top 20%, and even reaching the level of All Star. This normally happens when a challenge is centered around an exhibition or a publication opportunity.
Going back to Tools, I think you know your wallet sensed a disturbance. Although it is free to play, there are some purchasable items on the site, but It's not necessarily a "pay to win" situation luckily. The first class of purchasable items are the Tools. Consisting of Swaps, Fills, and Keys they all contribute to making the experience a bit easier. Swaps allow you to swap out an entry for another. It is handy if one photo isn't performing as well as you'd hoped, want to test a range of photos, or have a band new photo to submit. Fills will automatically fill your Exposure Bonus so you can skip the time it takes voting to fill it. This is very convenient when you have a few challenges ending around the same time and you're a bit too tied up to manually vote. Finally Keys allows you either enter a challenge late or unlock the boost option. The boost gives extra exposure for one photo per challenge.
Although you can pay for tools, and that these tools can be used in an advanced manner, they are not super critical to buy at all. Boots are unlocked for free during a small window in every challenge where applicable for example.
Being decisive about your photo selection can still see winning results without swaps. and participating is far more beneficial than using fills all the time. Most of all, these tools can still be earned for free by simply doing well in challenges. Sometimes even participating.
The last area that requires the monies are the exhibitions. If you've qualified and are selected to be in an exhibition, there will be a small fee to lock in your spot. Now, you have the option to pay at anytime during the challenge, so I've found it best to pay when you've actually qualified (i.e. reaching All Star Level, top 100 etc.). This is understandable as I assume it collectively covers the fees for the exhibits, which are held anywhere globally. Only a hand full of people are printed, the rest are digitally displayed, but prominently.
Finally, GuruShots has a ranking system with a path to becoming a "Guru"
(Noobie > Rookie > Challenger > Advanced > Expert > Champion > Master > GURU).
Being a Guru allows you to "run" preset competitions by giving out guru picks and picking a Gurus Top Pick winner. GuruShots progresses you for ranking well in competitions and hitting achievements like a Guru Pick, or making top 100 as a photographer or for one of your photos for example. They also have team events and mini challenges as well that help you progress and offer rewards (tools).
Overall, I think it's a great platform for all photographers, but especially new photographers. The variety of topics the challenges cover can keep you shooting if you're ever stuck for subjects or want to practice a specific area. It also allows you to stack up against other photographers in areas you're strong in and see some great work. There is a wealth of excellent photos to behold and talented photographers you can meet. I love looking at my liked section (small sample below) and seeing the amazing photos I'm jealous of, which keeps me motivated.
It also offers some level of feedback on how your photos are perceived by others. You can get a feel for your progress as a photographer, see what about your style speaks to people, and what may not resonate as well. though, it should go without saying that I wouldn't hang too heavy on that last point. Use a filter when gauging your work as GuruShots is a still game essentially.
Hopefully this helps you in some way if you were thinking of joining GuruShots. It is worth the time, safe and a good community. If you'd like more detailed information, you can find it on their FAQ page here.
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