Inkjet & Digital Printing
Xerox Gives College Students their “Big Shot” with MyShot08 Photo Contest
Thursday 31. January 2008 - Fujifilm, Adobe and H&H Color Lab join Xerox in the launch of MyShot08 contest at Photo Marketing Association Show
Attention college students; fame and fortune are just a point, click and print away. The memories you are capturing today could be your big break tomorrow.
Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX), along with FUJIFILM U.S.A, Inc., Adobe Systems Incorporated and H&H Color Lab, is kicking off a nationwide photo contest to find the best images captured by college students and presented in three hot digital printing applications – personalized photo books, greeting cards or calendars. The overall winner will be mentored and work side by side with a renowned photographer at a Miami photo shoot and receive a camera valued at $3,000.
Announced today at the 2008 Photo Marketing Association International Convention and Trade Show in Las Vegas, MyShot08 is free and open to all U.S. registered college students, regardless of their major. It emphasizes the relationship between photography and fast-growing consumer photo specialty applications.
“The contest is giving young people a way to liberate their digital images from their computers and cell phones and make printed products that capture their personalized memories,” said Quincy Allen, president, Xerox Production Systems Group. “We are hoping to open the eyes of talented college photographers about how easy and fun it is to create these kinds of specialty products.”
To kick-off the contest, Xerox is using the Web and popular social networking sites along with a variety of promotional activities to get the word out and attract interest and attention.
The Best of Show winner receives a day on location with professional photographer George Kamper. With more than 25 years of experience in traditional and digital commercial photography, Kamper’s work has appeared in such magazines as Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Rolling Stone, GQ and Travel and Leisure. The overall winner also receives a Fujifilm infrared camera and a $500 print credit from H&H Color Lab, a leading photographic and digital lab serving professional photographers across the country. First, second and third-place winners will be selected in each photo category and receive gift cards, Adobe software and print credits.
“The MyShot08 photo contest is a great way to give college students the opportunity to build their portfolio and gain valuable exposure and recognition for their talent,” said Kamper. “As a professional photographer, I’m always looking for ways to help aspiring photographers succeed. This contest will surely inspire this audience to explore new ways to showcase their work and have some fun along the way.”
Students will upload photos into one of the templates provided on www.MyShot08.com and limited to one entry per each of the three categories. All entries need to be submitted by March 31, 2008.
The panel of judges includes well-known professional photographers Kamper, Jamey Stillings, Salem Krieger and Gina LeVay and industry print expert Jim Hamilton, group director, On Demand Printing & Publishing, InfoTrends, a leading industry research and consulting firm.
The contest will also have other categories and prizes including: the most popular entry, voted on by Web users with the winner getting an Apple iPod touch and a $250 print credit at H&H Color Lab. The college of the Best of Show winner receives a $2,000 cash donation, Adobe software and a Fujifilm S5 camera; and the college with the most entries will receive a $1,500 cash donation, Adobe software and a $250 print credit at H&H Color Lab.
Each student will receive one free digital color print sample of their submission for each entry, printed on a Xerox DocuColor 240 Digital Color Printer/Copier by H&H Color Lab.
The MyShot08 Web site will also feature tips from the judges and sponsors on topics such as: shooting for digital print, lighting tips, turning up the volume on color, creating portraits with personality and how to make any photo better.
The PMA estimates that sales of photo books alone will grow 42 percent in 2008, to $359 million, from $253 million in 2007. A recent study by InfoTrends predicts the specialty photo printing market will grow at a compound rate of 24.5 percent per year through 2010, reaching $800 million in revenues.
The launch of MyShot08 caps a steady stream of photo printing related announcements from Xerox leading into PMA, including the launch of the new Xerox Picture Me Profitable Kit, the Xerox FreeFlow Print Server with JPEG Plug-In, and the news that Fujifilm U.S.A., Inc. has purchased iGen3 110 Digital Production Presses for its Fujicolor processing labs.
Occupying adjoining booths at PMA (A101, B100, D100 and E100), Xerox and Fujifilm are showcasing a wide array of products and services featuring Fujifilm’s software and photofinishing workflow integration services along with Xerox digital printers, workflow and business development tools.