Competitions hold a lot of appeal to many underwater photographers as an outlet for their images. It is important to recognise that the process of adding competition to an artistic discipline is inherently flawed. Photography is not a sport and we can never say who the winner was in the same was as a game where the number of goals gives us a barometer of the better player or team.

Competitions are not a prerequisite for your photographs - you don’t have to enter them. If you do enter, it’s important not to get too high or too low depending on your results.