Amateur Photographer

Christmas cover stars

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We all have our Christmas traditions. It might be a bracing pre-breakfast walk in the park, never carving the turkey before the Queen’s speech, or photograph­ing Auntie Beryl asleep on the sofa after one too many of her annual snowballs. Since 2013, AP has also developed a tradition – its annual front cover competitio­n. It’s the one week in the year we hand over the reins to you, the reader, to shoot the most important page in the magazine.

This year, once again, Photocrowd hosted the competitio­n and we received more than 1,500 entries.

When judging, we prioritise­d portraitfo­rmat images. While it is occasional­ly possible to use a landscape-format image on the front cover, it’s always preferable not to throw away pixels – and therefore quality – by cropping. Also, the main focal point of an image can be lost when the aspect ratio is altered in this way. Then there’s the vital importance of having enough space for the ‘furniture’ – that’s magazine-speak for the masthead, coverlines and any thumbnail images we drop in. These need to stand out, so it’s always best to place them on a blank, uncluttere­d area of the image.

Our judges unanimousl­y agreed on this year’s winning image, and we hope you agree it makes a suitably festive cover. And if you disagree – well – why not get out over the Christmas period and shoot something for 2019’s competitio­n? You never know – your image could be gracing our front cover this time next year!

 ??  ?? A lovely image that is perhaps a little too quiet for a cover. We would flip it in order to fit the coverlines
A lovely image that is perhaps a little too quiet for a cover. We would flip it in order to fit the coverlines
 ??  ?? The red within the bauble stands out nicely, but overall it’s rather dark to make the final cut
The red within the bauble stands out nicely, but overall it’s rather dark to make the final cut
 ??  ??
 ??  ?? This stylish wreath shouts Christmas, but to work as a cover it needs to be a little lower in the frame
This stylish wreath shouts Christmas, but to work as a cover it needs to be a little lower in the frame
 ??  ?? Chad Briesemeis­ter won the crowd vote with this landscape-format image of an ice cave
Chad Briesemeis­ter won the crowd vote with this landscape-format image of an ice cave

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