The Huawei NEXT-IMAGE smartphone photography competition is currently underway, with submission of entries inspired by the 2021 theme of Better Together. Amateur smartphone photographers and visual storytellers are set to participate in the competition for a fifth consecutive year.
Canadian extreme sports photographer Reuben Krabbe and Pulitzer-winning photographer and founder of the Shanghai Center of Photography, Liu Heung Shing are among this year’s competition judges.
To help inspire budding photographers, Judge Reuben Krabbe said, “I didn’t get into mobile photography, mobile photography got into my life. It’s so important to have a good camera with you at all times, because you cannot orchestrate the real world, it plays out in front of you. So, when great moments arrive and you don’t have five lenses, the one in your pocket is the one that may capture your best image.”
Founder of the Shanghai Center of Photography, Liu Heung Shing also shares a story of how he first realised the potential of mobile photography while on a trip to London 15 years ago. According to him, the experience seemed like a natural progression from his professional photography career.
This year’s judges also gave insight into what makes a great entry, with Reuben Krabbe saying he always looks for pictures that get an emotional reaction or make him look two and three times to understand, or challenge his worldview and assumptions.
Pulitzer-winning photographer Liu Heung Shing said he always looks for authenticity in a photo. Sharing a similar sentiment, Liu Heung Shing also explains that capturing the perfect shot is not just the colour, composition, facial expression, or construction of the image. It goes deeper than that, and speaks to people from different cultures. He clarifies that this makes photography truly unique.
This year’s judges have also shared exclusive tips to inspire this year’s entrants to take their mobile photography to the next level. Reuben Krabbe acknowledges that in photography, it can be hard to get unique and it is also sometimes hard to get simple. He suggests mobile photographers work on removing distracting elements until there is a single thing to see and communicate.
Founder of the Shanghai Center of Photography, Liu Heung Shing says that of all categories, “It is always the Daily Life category that impresses me most. The images we see are parts of the puzzles of our own daily experience. And I can relate to this category. It takes a photographer’s work to the next level as it lets the participant use a grid of up to nine images to tell their story. In most cases, when we look at many different entries, we not only look at the content that is captured, but also how the photographers layered the content – from the photographer’s eyes and from the audience’s eyes.”
The 2021 Huawei NEXT-IMAGE Awards are still open for submission of entries. Deadline for submissions is November 30, 2021. To enter, interested participants should visit the Huawei Consumer Gallery website to submit images directly on the competition homepage or enter via HUAWEI Community.