A contest designed to promote the iPhone photography app ShootLocal could yield prizes for students interested in filmmaking and photography for taking pictures of Tuscaloosa. Students have an opportunity to win a Canon Rebel T31 camera and Composer Pro and Fisheye lenses by competing from now until August 15.
The app is designed to be a free location resource for photographers, filmmakers, advertisers and brand managers searching for new and interesting environments, ShootLocal Chief Development Officer Beverly Ingle said. It allows users to add a location marker to photos using the iPhone’s built in GPS.
“As a creative [photographer] is scouting for a shoot location and comes across something with potential, he can take a quick photo with his iPhone, post it to ShootLocal, map its location, add a description and add it to the community,” Ingle said.
The ShootLocal Location Hunt Student Competition, sponsored by Lensbaby, calls for the students who enter the contest to do just that — take pictures of locations in their town using their iPhone and post it to ShootLocal along with a description.
“People who are new to a city often see the place differently than the natives,” Lead Developer Aaron Sherrill said. “Students know the cool places that should be unlocked and available to the rest of the city to enjoy.”
The competition, which launched May 15, is open to enrolled college students throughout the country. The competition features various categories for which a winner will be named and prizes awarded. The categories include best private property, most unusual location, best natural landscape, best rustic location, best contemporary location, best industrial location and best public location.
ShootLocal’s independent judges will choose a winner for each category, as well as a best overall location winner. The overall winner will also be given the title of ShootLocal student photographer of the year.
David Salinas, CEO and founder of ShootLocal, said he hopes this competition will increase awareness of the app, build a community of users and add locations to the database.
“We want fresh, young, aspiring students to break new ground with us,” Salinas said. “Today’s youth is 100 percent digital and social. They have an uncanny understanding of the value of social media and mobile applications.”
While the focus of this competition may be to help scout new locations and raise awareness about ShootLocal, Sherrill hopes students also realize they can help “put their city on the map.”
To enter the competition and find complete rules and eligibility requirements, go online to shootlocalapp.com/competition.
