Missions, Tutorials

“Be authentic” – new way to express photography without enhancements

The photo above won 3rd place and $50 + $10 in a recent country challenge, and @dmd3610 took it only with a smartphone.

Usually, we reward photos with the highest quality and almost no restrictions, giving professionals a bit of an advantage.

With the new type of missions – “Be authentic” – we want to invite you to a different competition, and we hope that it will give more of you higher chances of winning.

❌ No pro lenses.
 No studio and staged shots.
❌ No advanced digital corrections.
❌ No pro lightning and blends.
❌ No pro models, pro makeup, or pro styling.

If you want to win the Be authentic missions, you need to upload only natural-looking photos from a camera you usually have on you (for example, from a smartphone).

It doesn’t mean that photos can be of poor quality. We are still looking for pictures with proper sharpness, lighting, and natural colors to enter.

The most creative, natural-looking photos showing every mission’s theme in the best way can win. Consider this a challenge to take great photos without any props or help.

What do you think about “Be authentic” missions? Do you like this idea or not? Do you have any questions? Please share your honest feedback in the comments below.

You Might Also Like

61 Comments

  1. 1
  2. 2

    An amazing idea! There should be a competition like this every week. Us little guys and gals deserve a shot. Please consider doing these more often. Thanks!

  3. 8

    Sounds great, but, i usually have my dslr with me with the kit lens, photo entries in this case are eligible?
    Or must they be taken with a phone camera?
    Thank you for the clarification!

    • 9

      Hi alterverse! This whole Be authentic idea is something new and thanks to your feedback we will shape it. The most important is that these photos should look natural, like nice photos made by someone with a sense of aesthetics rather than a professional photography agency, and without professional equipment. You can use your DSLR camera, we do not plan to check exifs. Just try to make it simple, think about composition, and make it technically correct, do not spend time on enhancements. Good luck!

  4. 10
  5. 11
  6. 13
  7. 15
  8. 17

    It’s a great idea because it helps me believe that I have a chance to put that wining shot out there.

  9. 18

    I love this idea!! I think this is a great way to highlight talent within the community that might otherwise go unnoticed. Can’t wait to take my shot ~pun intended~ and try to win this mission!

  10. 19
  11. 20

    Great And Fair Idea , Thank You for Be More Easy with Non Professional, Quality and Topic are The Goal That’s for Sure

  12. 21

    Nice and Fair decision, Thank You for Validate Non Professional Foapers ,
    Quality and Topic are Important, I’ll Keep Working in That
    I did double comment , I made a mistake in the previous one

  13. 22
  14. 23
  15. 24
  16. 25
    • 26
  17. 27
  18. 28

    Hi, thanks for posting this kind of mission. I don’t have a camera and I always take shots with my smartphone. So I request you to post these kinds of missions often so that it would be useful for people like me who have only smartphones.

  19. 30
  20. 31
  21. 32

    As I was thinking about this type of competition so, I am happy now to see this subject. I think we have more chances to win this competition. Thanks a lot for your decision.

  22. 34
  23. 35
  24. 36
    • 37

      Hi Farzad! The currently running authentic mission is called ‘Be authentic: Summertime’ You can find it in the Active Missions tab or look it up in the search bar. 🙂

  25. 38
  26. 40
  27. 41
  28. 42

    I feel bad for all the pro and semi pro photographers, who have spent years learning f-stops and retouching, etc., and have spent a fortune on cameras, lenses, tripods, etc. But these “authentic” requirements reflect the needs of advertisers for “natural” looking pictures with “real” looking subjects – not technically excellent stock photos of businessmen walking up imaginary staircases. It also reflects the development and use of high quality phone cameras, and the ability of non-professionals to capture spontaneous, naïve images of daily life, which broadens the field to an immense number of “untrained” photographers to share their images of their worlds.

    • 43

      Hi Vivian! At Foap, we truly believe there is space for everyone, and giving an opportunity to amateur photographers, does not take anything away from professional photographers. 🙂

  29. 44
  30. 45
  31. 46
  32. 47
  33. 48

    wow!! what a great idea. make everyone have a new spirit to become a photo supplier on foap.

  34. 49
  35. 51

    Awesome idea!! I would definitely enter more photos if these types of missions were available more often.

  36. 52

    I’m excited to try! I don’t quite know how to do this on this app yet. Trying to figure it out. ?

  37. 54
  38. 55
  39. 56
  40. 57

    This is a great idea. I am just starting out in photography and at present I only use my smartphone, until I can afford a camera. Great that us newbies get to have a go at a mission and stand a chance of winning.

  41. 58
  42. 59

    I am trying to load to mission animal eyes. I am receiving an error. Whom do I contact ?
    Http 404 not found. Is error I’m receiving

    • 60

      Hi Angie! You might have been trying to upload after the mission had already ended, I’m so sorry about that! If you encounter issues like that please do not hesitate to reach out to our support either through the app or via email at support@foap.com We’d happily check things out for you!

  43. 61

Comments are closed.