Most social platforms aren’t exclusively made for photographers. This can make it hard to improve your work or find inspiration.
Gurushots, a game that’s both controversial and challenging, aims to do the opposite of that.
In essence, Gurushots is a photography game meant to challenge and reward artists. You can play it on your smartphone or computer.
The system is made up of votes and contests that are updated every day. The votes can be bought.
These are the first things you’re presented with when you join the game.
Gurushots is ideal for photographers who enjoy looking at other people’s photos and joining new challenges.
New challenges are added every day. It’s very likely that you’ll find a project that’s perfect for you.
You can also use these challenges as a way to experiment with new photography styles.
If you usually take colorful photos, you might benefit from joining a strictly black & white challenge.
Gurushots isn’t ideal for photographers who want constructive criticism. Or a voting system that relies on quality.
Some of the submissions are selfies, advertisements, or stolen photos. If you want more people to see your work, you have to use Fills and Keys. These are occasionally given out for free.
This approach prioritizes quantity over quality. It might discourage many budding photographers.
If you don’t plan on spending hours on submissions and simply want to see what the game is about, I don’t think you’ll be bothered by any of this.
There are 9 “levels” in Gurushots. You start as a Newbie and can reach the ultimate status: Guru.
You level up by earning points, getting noticed by top photographers, receiving specific awards, and more.
When you become a Guru, you can make your own contests and get to decide who wins.
The Gurushots app seems to run more smoothly than its desktop version. But both offer unique features that may or may not benefit you.
If you want to upload photos straight from your Instagram account, quickly vote for photos, and have constant access to all the contests, use the app.
If you want to see how many views each photo has, get a better idea of your voting power, and add descriptions to your photos, use the desktop version.
The prizes for every contest tend to be the same.
Almost every contest comes with Keys and Fills worth $200 or $300. The biggest prize that I’ve seen is $600. That also gives you an opportunity to have your submissions featured in an exhibition.
If your photos are chosen for the exhibition, you’ll have to pay a fee.
This might not be motivating enough to some photographers.
A Key, which lets you boost one photo only or join a special challenge, costs $2.99.
5 fills, which can expose every contest submission to thousands of people, cost $1.99.
A swap, which lets you swap a photo in case it isn’t getting enough exposure, costs $0.99.
The voting system is relatively simple. When you submit your photos to a contest, you can vote for other people.
The more you vote, the more exposure your photos will get.
When you click on a specific challenge, you can see how you rank compared to other artists.
You can also see how many votes you need to get specific rewards or statuses.
You can interact with other users by commenting on their photos or following them.
You can’t write about yourself or link to other websites on your profile. This can be a disadvantage if you like getting to know new people.
Gurushots isn’t the only leading photography game out there. Here are a few other contest websites that photographers either detest or enjoy:
Gurushots, like any photography community, has its flaws and benefits. On one hand, the endless list of contests, exposure, and rewards can make it a fun experience.
On the other hand, the voting system and hunger for popularity can make it difficult to appreciate the value of photography.
Either way, you can give it a try and see which side of the spectrum you’re on.
We have great posts on how to create cool triptych photography or use selective focus to check out next!
