Four green lights on the voting box are what contest entrants dream of. The lights signal that all four judges approved an entry for placement.

The judging, twittering, blogging, podcasting and watching all take place in Tucker Forum in Gannett Hall at the University of Missouri.

From left, judges Barry Locher, Nicole Frugé, Lara Solt and Zach Wise watch as images are projected onto the screen during the judging of International Picture Story.

Rita Reed/CPOY:  From left, CPOY judges Zach Wise, Seth Gitner, Lara Solt and Nicole Frugé pose on a University of Missouri sign at the corner of Ninth and Elm streets.

    • The first photo sets the tone of the portfolio and photographer.

    • Show a variety: composition, light, types of photography, moments, etc.    

    • Try to offer unique ways of seeing.

    • Convey your personal vision as an artist and photojournalist – one that serves as a cohesive unit.

    • Focus on moments. Offer intimate views into your subjects, so we connect with people on a deeper level.

    • Use layering to show multiple moments within a single frame.

    • Surprise the viewer. Show us something we've never seen before.

    • Challenge yourself. Stick with long-term stories that fuel your passion. Connect with subjects and offer visual variety. Trust your instincts.

    • Take a risk. It will push you beyond what you would normally think of doing. You never know what crazy idea could make an excellent photograph.

    • Bring more than your eyeballs. Don't just be a visual photographer; remember to tell a story.

    • Have something to say. Offer your point-of-view on life and the world.

    • Follow your own path; follow your heart. Photograph what feels right for you, don't feel like you have to trail the paths of others all the time.    

    • Edit tightly. One photo can ruin a portfolio. I'm not kidding. I saw what could've been an award-winner get voted "out" because of one image.

    • And remember, treat your subjects with respect. Empathize with your subject, make the viewer feel. Don't, and I repeat, DO NOT photograph in a way that is at the expense of your subject. We are all human beings. Treat people with the respect and dignity they deserve. The way a photo is communicated may read differently with a viewer than what you intended. Be aware of the sensitivity of the subject-matter and your viewer.

    
    I know this is a lot to think about, but hopefully this list will help when putting together your portfolio and making better photographs.
    If you want to understand this advice on a more concrete level, watch the podcast. My points will be reiterated with specific images.

To get a better idea of these patterns, CPOY took the in-camera data for all 636 of the images entered in sports action and crunched it according to aperture, shutter speed and focal length (we added camera make and model just for fun). The charts below show the most common settings (and cameras) used by entrants. Not all of the images processed had numbers for each category, making exact percentages hard to determine, but of the available data, the relative proportions are accurate.

So if you're out shooting sports with your D3 and 300mm, working the f/2.8, 1/1000 combination-- you're not alone. Just remember: in the end, it's the photo, not the camera or settings that matter.

Judge Lara Solt talks about an image that won her an award in the Personal Vision category of CPOY one year.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Photo by Lara Solt

                                                                                                                  Photo by Lara Solt

                                                                                                                  Photo by Lara Solt

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Photo by Lara Solt

John Schreiber, front, and William Lounsbury test the projector and screencast before the start of CPOY judging. Schrieber and Katie Wood, not pictured, are Co-Coordinators and operate the images shown to the judges and record "ins" and "outs," respectfully.

Six different microphones stream audio through a Soundcraft PM6 Mixer. Four judge mics, one director mic and one caption reader mic all contribute to the audio heard on the podcasts as well as in-room audio.

To record the dialogue between judges during the competition, four Shure SLX4 receivers are used to pick up the discussions. The recievers feed into a mixer, which feeds into a compressor, which feeds into an amp, which finally feeds into a computer that records the audio.

An anxious Josh Bickel rubs his head while one of his entries is being discussed as a possible candidate for final placement in a category.

The staff members of CPOY 64 prepare Tucker Forum for judging. 621 frames over about seven and a half hours. Time lapse by Brenden Neville and Matthew Cavanah.

Judging in the 64th College Photographer of the Year competition begins tomorrow morning on the University of Missouri campus with the sports action category. If you can't make it to Columbia this year you will still be able to keep track of the judging progress and additional behind-the-scenes features on this blog.

Up to date information regarding the judging schedule and web updates will be available on Twitter via @CollegePhotog. Additionally, this blog is available on FeedBurner or you can sign up for email updates with the form in the left sidebar.

Click here to view this year's judges and approximate schedule.

Make sure that you tune into the CPOY screencasts or subscribe to our iTunes podcast channel to watch the semi-final and final rounds of judging.

Check back for more. The judges arrive Saturday evening and we will be posting video introductions sometime on Sunday.

Tear down of the CPOY setup in Tucker Forum. It is amazing how much stuff (and especially how many cables) are needed, just to see a few pictures.

Rita Reed sends out a press release Saturday evening.  (Photo by Katie Barnes).

Judges watch the Winners Slideshow.  (Photo by Katie Barnes).

Home page photos are chosen and the cpoy.org webpage goes live.  (Photo by Phoebe Sexton).

More of the same, but I think that these are interesting to demonstrate the sheer number of images viewed in a day during CPOY judging.  Today we viewed over 50 multimedia video projects, and over 1,600 portrait submissions.  This timelapse consists of 1,439 images taken over an 11hour period and compressed into 29seconds and 22frames.

Jimmy Maritz in the driver's seat. 

Samantha Clemens readies her set for the judges' interviews. 

Ryan Gibbons under the hot lights.

Jimmy and Beth Suda - technical difficulties.

It begins - finals of the Sports Action on Monday morning. 

David Rees aka Sensei drops by.

The old trusty judging box.

A time lapse consisting of 1,216 still images from the judging on Monday, November 10, 2008. (Photos by John Hook).

Steve Rice (Minneapolis Star Tribune). (Video produced by Samantha Clemens).

Travis Fox (Washingtonpost.com). (Video produced by Samantha Clemens).

Melissa Farlow (National Geographic Magazine). (Video produced by Samantha Clemens).

Tammy Lechner (Freelance).  (Video produced by Samantha Clemens).

CPOY Director, Rita Reed makes introductory remarks at the start of the 63rd College Photographer of the Year contest. (Video produced by Samantha Clemens).