The SNAPSHOTS Selfie Challenge

A Call For Photographic Submissions

Welcome to the second SNAPSHOTS photo challenge. Though before I get into the details, I just want to say a huge thank you to the writers who submitted their work to our first challenge, the 3 in 1 photo challenge.

I know I speak on behalf of the entire editorial team when I say that we were truly blown away by both the interest in, and quality of the submissions we received. Your photos covered the spectrum from emotionally moving, to beautifully breathtaking, to weirdly disturbing (in a good way), through darkly humorous. The totality of the work resulted in an amazing and diverse curated collection, one that can be found in the 3 in 1 section on our challenge feature page. Amazingly great work!

Our New Challenge

We are going to try something different this time, both in the photos we are asking for, and with our intent behind it. Welcome to the SNAPSHOTS Selfie Challenge! The goal is to get to know you, the writers and photographers behind the submissions we post. How you choose to present yourself to us is a decision that is completely up to you. The options are wide open. The only criteria is that it be an image that is representative of you personally. It could take the form of a regular selfie picture in any style you choose. Black and white, filter or photoshop usage, an image that plays with technique etc. The choice is yours. Keep in mind that the image does not have to be of your face or body at all. It could be of your pet, a favorite flower, a special item, etc. The one and only criteria is that your submission is one that you feel does an accurate job of representing you and the way in which you choose to present yourself to your peers here on Medium.

I’ll provide some examples of exactly what I’m talking about. The header image at the top of the page is of me, and was taken last spring in Toronto’s Riverdale Park on a blazingly sunny afternoon. I edited the shot using various light techniques and a bit of Photoshop.

The two images below were created using grainy filters on top of a regular selfie pic.

And as I mentioned, you don’t have to submit a picture of yourself at all. For instance, below is a shot of a few things that do a good job of making me feel comfortable, and would likely be viewed by my friends as representative of the person they know. An old sweater, trademark sunglasses, my worn, 15 year old Roots backpack, and books by two of my favorite authors, David Sedaris and Joan Didion.

If you are anything like me, you and your pet likely share one or two disturbingly similar traits, thus you could go the pet route.

Of course, you are more than welcome to stick with a traditional selfie, perhaps in black and white, or if color is more your thing, that’s fine too.

The Rules:

• In a draft post, include anywhere from 1 to 8 images that you feel represent to your peers on Medium who you are. That’s it.
• You may submit more than one entry, though please include no more than 8 images per entry. to this specific challenge.
• You may include a short narrative or poem with your images, though this is not required.
• All photos are required to meet the content guidelines of Snap Shot, as outlined in our submission guidelines.
• When you submit, please format your draft with an image at the top of the page, followed by your title, then subtitle if you are using one. You may format the rest of your piece in any style you choose.
• Please tag your submission with Photography, and selfie. You are free to add up to 3 other tags of your choosing.
• This will be an open submission (no closing date) beginning tomorrow, March 27, 2017.

This challenge is open to anyone with an active Medium account. If you are not yet a writer for us, but would like to participate, simply leave a response to this post asking to be added and one of the editors will add you right away.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

Tagging all S N A P S H O T editors and writers.

Sherry Kappel Crooked Little Flower Patricia Petersen David MontgomeryHana Leshner Jason Stelzner Erik Smith Jess Hicks Ayesha Talib WissanjiTatiana Reuter Ferreira Daan Spijer Terijo mark-john cliffordElizabeth Helmich Dennett Michael Ramsburg Mal AugustkhalilibrahimNuraine SadafGail Boenning Ellan Aldryc J. Finley DHBogucki Meg Pesky Pippi Carol Carpenter Mike Stevenson Tien Skye Erika Sauter LaMar Going Stephanie Jackson Rahul Misra Heath Houston J M Jackson miranda deely Sam Griffiths Dusty Craig non sibi cunctis Tracy Aston Clay Rivers Randy Cooper Kathy Jacobs Wild Flower Kerry Kuhn