As a pageant coach and judge, I am more often asked how do I pick the photogenic winner than how do I pick the queen. The most important thing you have to remember is the photogenic award is completely subjective. It is based on one person opinion.

I’m a very decisive person. Over the years, I’ve trained my eye to quickly pick okay photos from great ones. When I judge, the first question I ask the director is, “what are you looking for?”

A well prepared director will use very specific adjectives to give me insight into the image of their pageant system. If they use words like glamorous, red carpet, and high fashion, I’m looking for a model. But if a director tells me whoever you think is the most photogenic, then my decision is going to be based on my personal taste and opinions.

I’m going to use photographs from my last photo session with my friend and expert photographer, Rick Martinez,www.studiormphotography.com to illustrate my points. First, and foremost, you need a photographer who has an eye for lighting and makes you feel comfortable. A great photo happens when you feel comfortable in the moment and the photographer captures it at the perfect time. It is a combination of composition, background, lighting, and timing. The photographer either gets it or misses it. Your hair, makeup, wardrobe, and accessories must all harmonize with each other to create a feeling.

Having a professional stylist help you with these details will greatly enhance your photo. You could have all these components in place, but as a judge, if I feel nothing when I look into your eyes and face, it’s not a winning photograph. The picture needs to speak the moment to me.

Look at this great moment Rick captured of me and my daughters during our session. In my opinion, next to understanding lighting, timing is what makes the difference between an average photographer and an artist. This photograph captures the relationship and daily joy I experience in being the mom of my three totally diverse and precious daughters. The photo MUST speak to me.

Entering more photos is not going to improve your chances of winning the award, especially when your facial expression and the angle is exactly the same in every picture. You’re looking for the one magical moment captured on film. If you’re lucky, you might get two. When I’m judging, if I see more than two photos from a contestant, I’m turned off to that person. Sorry if that hurts your feelings but I am not alone on my thoughts on this subject. Only submit the very best. If you’re torn between two, submit them both.

I’m not talking about a modeling portfolio or a photogenic competition where you are required to submit three to five different pictures. I am talking about the regular photogenic competition at 90% of the pageants you will be competing in. If you submit more than two photos, you’re just wasting your money unless the shots are completely different, all are totally fabulous and there is an award for the most photos submitted.

When a pageant judge looks at the photo, it should elicit an immediate emotional reaction. The emotion should be appropriate for the age of the contestant being photographed and the capture the image the pageant system is promoting. Consult with the director of the pageant system if you’re unclear about the image the pageant represents or the awards being presented.

Listen closely to the words the directors use. If they’re saying wholesome, energetic, and happy, don’t submit a headshot of your 14 year old daughter with a sexy seductive look on her face.

When it comes right down to it, it is the opinion of one person choosing the photogenic winner. Hopefully, the person in charge of judge selection will get a judge who understands the pageant system and what they are looking for. You can’t always count on that though. A judge could no show at the last minute leaving the director to get anyone who is available to judge.

All you can do is submit the best photo that is in alignment with the pageant system’s ideals, and if you win, celebrate. Plain and simple, there are no standards. It is all based on one person’s opinion.

Have fun capturing the moment with your photographer.

INTERVIEW CARD

The ability to answer questions about you, your purpose, current events, and controversial topics in a clear way is an important life skill. The more you practice, the better you will get. This handy interview card is a great way to practice with a partner or to use by yourself.
The Beginning 10 Questions are the staple interview questions everyone must know the answers in an interview. Now preparing for your interview is easy and for a limited time FREE.

WTP Pageant Boot camp In
Columbus, Ohio

This two-hour boot camp is for you if you're preparing for a pageant and you want to take your skills to the next level. I will provide face-to-face training to strengthen your abilities in the following areas:

• Interview
• Modeling Technique
• Personal Introduction
• Answering Onstage Questions
• Mental Attitude

By working in a small group, you’ll benefit by listening and watching each other; expanding your knowledge of pageantry; mastering your own skills; and receiving personal feedback at an affordable price. Space is limited so reserve your time now.

Sunday, October 30, 2011
Location:
Hilton Garden Inn | 3928 Jackpot Road |Grove City, OH 43123 |
614-539-8944
Directions to Hotel: Take Exit 100 off Interstate 71South of downtown Columbus. Turn left onto Stringtown if you're coming from the north, right if coming from the south. Turn left onto Thistlewood (it’s the first big intersection with a stop light). Turn left onto Killdeer at the stop sign - (there's a Home Depot on your right- Putt Putt on your left). Turn right onto Jackpot road. The Hilton Garden is on the right behind the LaQuinta Hotel.

Session 1
Sun, October 30

1:00pm - 3:00pm

$139

Take this opportunity to Register NOW!

• You can participate in one session, or all of them. It’s up to you. The more you practice these skills, the more natural they’ll become. In each session you’ll be actually practicing your interview, modeling, personal introduction, onstage question and mental attitude skills.

• I’ll be giving you immediate feedback the entire time so it doesn’t matter if this is your first pageant or you’re a seasoned professional wanting some extra polish. I’ll meet you exactly where you are and take you to the next level.

• For boot camp contestants, I’m offering an optional 45 minute private coaching session the same day of the boot camp. This individual time is to help tailor the material to fit your specific needs. These are scheduled on a “first come” basis so schedule now to get your choice of time. Time slots will be before and after the boot camp.

All fees are nonrefundable and must be paid in full prior to the boot camp or coaching session. If you prefer to pay with a check, please contact me through info@winningthroughpageantry.com. Checks must be received at least one week prior to the date of your session. Your date is officially confirmed once payment has been received.

Once payment has been received, you will be contacted to schedule your private 45-minute coaching session.

There are only eight private sessions available each day.

Private sessions will begin at

10:00am through 12:45pm

and

3:15pm through 7:15pm

Click Here to Register

Rhonda Shappert is an expert pageant coach, an iPEC Certified Professional Coach, an Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner, and a member of the International Coach Federation. She created Winning Through Pageantry® to partner with pageant contestants and their support people to provide complete pageant preparation, achieve winning results in life through pageantry, and to Succeed From The Inside Out®. She has over 30 years experience in the pageantry world as a contestant, judge, emcee, staff member, mother of daughters who compete, Mrs. Ohio America 2005, and has held multiple titles at the local, state and national levels.
Rhonda graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelors degree in Musical Theater from The Ohio State University and has performed on stage in 15 countries on the Asian, European and American continents. This mother of three home educates their children and has been married 22 years to her husband Stephen, is the former mayor of her community, and serves on the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Virtual Academy. She and her husband perform original contemporary Christian music. For more information on Rhonda, visit  www.WinningThroughPageantry.com .

Understanding the scoring and judging methods of a beauty pageant can be confusing at times. Sometimes, members of the audience, or even the judges for that matter, walk away from a pageant scratching their heads wondering how the end results came to be. The first step to demystifying pageant judging is to understand the different ways the scoring can take place.

Ranking

• The judges have a ballot with 5 lines on it. In each phase of competition, they put their favorite contestant number or name on line 1, second favorite contestant on line 2, and so forth. The auditor will give the contestant on the 1st place line 5 points, 2nd place gets 4 points, and so on. The queen is the one with the highest points. This is comparison judging because the judges are asked to compare contestants with each other in order to determine ranking.

Numeric scoring

• Each contestant is given a score from 1-10. Some pageant systems use a higher scale. Each contestant is given a numeric score from each judge for every category of competition. The score can be either in whole numbers or in decimals, like 7.25.
• In some pageant systems, the contestants will carry the scores all the way through the pageant. The queen is the contestant with the overall highest cumulative score.
• In other pageant systems, the points that contestants earn during the preliminary competitions determine the top 5. At that point, all scores are dropped. The judges are asked to rank the top 5 in the order they believe each contestant should finish.

Mentions

• No numeric score is given by the judges. Instead, they circle the names of the contestants they like. Each time your name is circled, you are given a point by the auditor. For example, if there are 50 contestants, the director will tell the judges to circle a total of 10-15 names on their ballot. The more often your name is circled, the greater your chances are in making the top 10. Once they have their top 10, they are asked to circle their favorite 3 contestants' names. Finally, they circle the one name they feel should be the titleholder.

Consensus

• The judges take notes throughout the competition. Then they go into a closed room, talk about the competition, and all must agree on the queen and her court. There can be a lot of negotiation with this form of judging but not always. You see this form of judging at many festival level pageants.

The titleholder is determined by the average of all the judges' scores. Just to illustrate what could possibly happen at a pageant, let's say there are 5 judges on the panel. Contestant number one receives the following scores: 10, 10, 8, 9, and 8. Her average score is a 9. Two of the judges marked her as the winner (10's), one judge as the first runner-up (9) and two judges as the second runner-up (8's).

Contestant number two receives one 10 and four 9's so her average is 9.2. The crown goes to contestant number two, even though two of the five judges had contestant number one as their pick for the title.

There are a couple other things that can factor into the scoring.

• Dropping of the highest and lowest scores can impact the final results.

• Sometimes, members of the pageant staff have a vote in the outcome of the pageant.The staff is with the contestants all the time. They hear and see things that the judges don't. Remember, the directors want a well rounded titleholder that won't behave in a way that would embarrass them or the pageant system. The test of one's character is how you behave when no one is watching, or when you think no one is watching.

You need to be consistent on and off the stage. I'm not saying pretend to be someone you're not. Just know everything you say and do factor into the pageant experience.

To get the highest scores possible, hold nothing back during the preliminary competition especially with your hair and makeup. You won't make finals if you don't bring your very best during preliminaries. Then when you do make finals, turn it up a notch. You don't want to drop your energy level.

When it comes right down to it, you need to be at your very best at all times. Things are always changing in pageants. Directors learn lessons from one year to the next and make changes to make the experience better. There are so many possible varieties in the way the scoring is done that it would drain you if that's what you focused on. Instead focus on the one thing you know, you. Be your very best and enjoy the experience.

Request my free special report, 10 Insider Secrets to Winning, and receive  my free award winning newsletter weekly. Just click here or at the top of this page to GET YOUR FREE REPORT.Then fill out your name and email address in the boxes.

DEADLINE TO ENTER THE

• Do you need practice for your summer pageant?

• Are you looking for a pageant with no swimsuit or talent requirement?

• Do you like the idea that 20% of all the money raised from this pageant is going to the American

Here's your opportunity.

• Every contestant will go home with a crown and prizes valued beyond the registration fee.

Click here for full details about this opportunity and share it with your friends.

INTERVIEW CARD

The ability to answer questions about you, your purpose, current events, and controversial topics in a clear way is an important life skill that everyone can benefit from. The more you practice, the better you will get. These handy interview cards are a great way to practice with a partner or use by yourself to get you thinking about the topic.
The Beginning 10 Questions are the staple interview questions everyone must know the answers in an interview situation. Then each month you will receive a new card in the mail with fresh questions.

Now preparing for your interview is easy and for a limited time FREE.

Rhonda Shappert is an expert pageant coach, an iPEC Certified Professional Coach, an Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner, and a member of the International Coach Federation. She created Winning Through Pageantry® to partner with pageant contestants and their support people to provide complete pageant preparation, achieve winning results in life through pageantry, and to Succeed From The Inside Out®. She has over 30 years experience in the pageantry world as a contestant, judge, emcee, staff member, mother of daughters who compete, Mrs. Ohio America 2005, and has held multiple titles at the local, state and national levels.
Rhonda graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelors degree in Musical Theater from The Ohio State University and has performed on stage in 15 countries on the Asian, European and American continents. This mother of three home educates their children and has been married 22 years to her husband Stephen, is the former mayor of her community, and serves on the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Virtual Academy. She and her husband perform original contemporary Christian music. For more information on Rhonda, visit  www.WinningThroughPageantry.com .