Gurushots Tips
Anyone who knows me, or who has been following me on one of the social networks (Facebook, Instagram) will no doubt have heard me harp on about Gurushots. I’ve been working with them for several years now. Recently things have really taken off and the site is now one of the most popular photography websites around. I’m here to offer you some Gurushots tips..
I’m sure some of you are asking yourself ‘What is Gurushots?’ click the link to find out.
I wanted to take a few minutes to offer you some of my own Gurushots tips.
If you love photography and have not signed up yet, I can strongly recommend it. You’ll get to see some great images and play along with hundreds of thousands of other photographers. Totally free – of course, there are options to spend money too if you want ;)
The purpose of this series of posts is to give you some tips as to how to do well in Gurushots and move up the ranks faster – Because I just want to help. Now, if you’re not interested in Gurushots and have no desire to sign up you should probably stop reading here. However, if you want to get more votes in Gurushots and become a Guru that bit faster, stick around.
I’ve been studying the platform recently and think I’ve come up with several top tips that I want to share with you, The first is a simple one but can make a big difference if you’re not aware of it. If you want more tips then sign up below and I’ll email you 2 more straight away.
GURUSHOTS TIPS #1
The key to success in Gurushots isn’t a mystery, it’s simply about getting more votes. To do this you need to get your photographs seen by as many players as possible and make them stand out. One of the best ways to do this is with colour and contrast. Photographs with strong, bold, natural (or close to natural) colours draw the viewers eye. Furthermore, an increase, in contrast, will provide that extra pop which will hopefully be enough to get people voting for it. This will require you to process your images. If you’re not familiar with processing your photographs don’t be afraid. It’s not difficult. There are a huge range of software packages available to help you, in fact, your camera probably came with one in the box. Take a look at the photographs below. The one on the right has had a slight increase in both contrast and saturation. Nothing more, but the subtle differences make it stand out and is therefore almost certain to get more votes.
Give it a try. I think you’ll find it makes a big difference to the number of votes you get. Feel free to share your own Gurushots tips in the comments section below. Or if you want more tips, just sign up in the form above.
THANK YOU
A pleasure, stick around for more
I get quite a lot of guru picks. However I’m always mostly surprise as I don’t get them for photos that I expected.
My biggest challenge is to get top 100’s. For me that is the most difficult thing to get in GS. I’m stuck on guru level for ages because I can’t get top 100 votes, and at this stage the guru’s picks isn’t of any help for me.
I see some people gets a lot of top 100s but not much guru picks.
Very strange…
I’d like more tips please and thank you
thank you! I love gurushots. I just got my first real camera and I love it.
Ooohh new camera ?!! what did you get?
Thank you Tom.
No problem, best of luck in the challenges
Thanks Tom, still following your trip :)
Great !! I must do another blog post soon.
Thank you Tom, I am with gurushots already and I will take your advice. Looking forward to your tips!
Great, best of luck
Thanks…Dear Tom.for ur suggestions.
If I win any contest prize money help me to get a DSLR. Guru shots is very Good photography
site.
which may help to full fill my dream.
Ok, well I wish you the best of luck in the challenges
Tom, thanks for your tips. I’ve been using Gurushots for a little more than a month. I’m up to Advanced level and working on Veteran. I don’t expect to ever get much farther in the “game” but I find the website fun and interesting as it give me ideas about my own photography. I just inherited the best camera I’ve ever had (Nikon D750) which I’m struggling to learn to use. I look forward to more tips from you.
Hi Steve, the D750 is a great camera. Take your time to learn it and don’t, whatever you do, think you have to use manual mode all the time. I spend very little time in manual mode, I much prefer aperture priority. Simply set the aperture you want to use and you can adjust the exposure from there.
All the best
Thanks for the tip. So far everything I take using aperture priority is overexposed, but I’ll get the hang of it. I’ve been doing photography for over 50 years. So far my best seem to come from program priority but I keep working with aperture so I can get better depth of field.
That shouldn’t be too difficult to get over. in the viewfinder at the bottom you’ll notice your light meter. It look like a series of dashes with a small arrow. Using one of your dials (sorry I’ve not used a Nikon for years and can’t remember the layout) you can control where that arrow is, move it on to the 0 (zero) and you should get a reasonable exposure, at the moment it’s probably dialled in to plus (+) number.
Hope that helps
Ha ha – I guess I don’t stand much chance with an iPhone 8 then! I’ve just started with GuruShots this week and it’s all a bit of a mystery at the moment but I will persevere for a while and see how it goes. I may give up if things appear to hopeless for me though.
Just upgraded from a couple of Old Olympus E-300’s to a Panasonic G7 Lumix Mirrorless As someone who has been doing photography for back in the days of 4X5 film you’re right I learnt over the years Aperture Priority is the way to go and in most cases for everyday work in daylight have it set at F16 with the shutter speed is equivalent to the ISO I always use that as default Then (now I have a reasonable DLSR) I then check the image and make any adjustments as necessary bracketing say one f stop either way I will only change from that method when I’m shooting sports or fast action and in those situations switch to Shutter Priority
Hi Tom, great tip. I’ve been with gurushots a few years now and really find it interesting what make a photo win. Having something pop is excellent advice but also making sure the contrast isn’t full blown. There is a fine line we all have to tread.
Hi Tom — Thanks very much for recommending GuruShots. I’m new to photography and bought my camera a year ago, but was scared to take pictures. It’s just been in the last month that I’ve gotten serious about learning how to use the dang thing. I discovered GuruShots, and, although I’m pretty much guaranteed that I’ll never win anything, the challenges help motivate me to keep shooting and don’t give up.
Anyway, thanks again. Oh, and if you’ve ever got time between your world travels, how about stopping in New Mexico? Now is the best time of year to photograph the landscape as well as the Native American celebrations going on. You’d get some amazing shots.
Thanks Tom, I am having so much fun with the site.
Love the sight, man it’s hard to get a Guru pick… lol still trying that’s all I need to move to Champion.
Yeah, Guru Picks are tough!
I guess you’ve seen my post with my advice https://tombourdon.co.uk/get-a-guru-pick/
I like gurushots a lot but just now voting system is completely corrupted and it look like administrators don’t want or can not do anything with it.
Some photos have 4000 votes while other 40.
This is because same photos are appearing in voting.
The should be more carefully and test software better as many people use it.
Photos with a higher number of votes will have been in the challenge for longer, had the exposure bonus kept topped up at all times and used a boost. It is true that an excellent photo will not get a high ranking if the exposure bonus and boost are not used – A bad photo will get even fewer votes. Keeping the exposure bonus topped up and using the boost (free or paid, no difference) give the photo much more exposure.
I think this explains what you are talking about.
I have a photo on GuruShots that has been voted on by every person that viewed it until about an hour ago. I boosted it and still only have 588 views (572 votes). I constantly vote to keep my exposure high. What else can I do to get it noticed by a Guru? (I need one pick and one 10% rank to move up to Champion.)
Any advice/suggestions please?
https://gurushots.com/photo/492b640cff1c7e8b0cd5896e58520634
Hi Tina. This is not a case that everyone who viewed it has voted on it. Remeber voting power is different depending on the status of the person who voted. One vote from a Newbie is worth 1 vote, a vote from a Guru is worth 9.
Have a look at this for more information http://support.gurushots.com/support/solutions/articles/5000639664-what-is-voting-power-
The really strange thing and that let me think about the corrupted system is that some photos just a seconds to open the votes got 500 votes already… I have been following that and it happens frequently!
Hi Oscar, as you noted yourself, it’s not that strange. The trick is to boost a very good photo at the moment voting opens and fill up the exposure meter. This way you get your maximum exposure at the very first few minutes of a challenge. You will often notice that these photos fall down through the ranks later on as other photos get their maximum exposure by using the boosts.
Not easy.
I can see another things, come on guruhots near europe 10:00PM or 02:00 AM and you have more vote as in europe 02:00 PM or 04:00 PM or 10:00 AM or the other…
I’m work now 2 weeks with hopeni receive a top 20% and a GuruPic….
Not easy
Hi Yann, you are correct. If it was easy it wouldn’t be fun!
Sorry I’m not sure what you mean about the times.
Tom
I have been with gurushots for a long time and am at Master level. It has definitely changed more recently in how the voting is carried out. Before you could almost be sure that when you had voted and had your exposure level topped up you were practically certain to get a few votes after each round of voting. The same photos when first entered get a fast number of votes and I have often been surprised at the speed of that so it is not because of the photos per se.
Now you get votes at the beginning but no matter how many times you vote you will get no more votes for quite some time. One or two in a matter of days sometimes. If you get get a fast number of votes and get to skilled or higher within a few minutes then it can’t be because of the photos when nobody votes. It means they have had no exposure. I have watched this and voted continuously to see what would happen. Basically nothing! It has become boring to me for this reason.
Maureen
Hi Maureen,
The biggest change has been the number of players. We now have challenges with over 75,000 players in them. This has an effect on the algorithm. Have a look at this blog post, it might help you understand things a little better https://tombourdon.co.uk/the-gurushots-algorithm It’s important to remember that all photos receive the same amount of exposure in the voting (except those entered in the last hour or so)
My biggest issue is with views. All photo’s do not get close to equal view. I’ve had challenges with 4 photo’s where none got more than 212 views. I compare to leaders who have *all* votes in that challenge and some had more than 500 views. I know that photos are used in multiple challenges, but to say that a photo had 300 views with no votes suspends belief. Also, I can predict, like clockwork, that once a challenge hits the 20 hour or so remaining mark, my views will be, almost always, about 1 view per hour, with, at most 3 views per hour. Not exactly going to make up ground with 60 views over the final 20 hours. Votes are capricious, but without views you’re out of the game. That includes keeping exposure topped up *and* with boost.
Hi Tom, i am already Guru, how can i become a Guru pro
Hi Tom, i am already Guru, how can i become a Guru pro?
Hi Geert, Sorry for the delay, your message slipped by without me noticing.
Guru Pro is by invite only I’m affraid, currently there is no way to acheive that status through the platform
Tom
Thanks for the reply, Tom.
Waste of time,every challenge is won by a fellow guru, CON! Just checked the winners of every challenge I’ve entered and guess what! All gurus! What chance have us newbies,rookies, or even veterans got? None! Our pictures have been a lot better than these winners,but they win because they re gurus,can’t be seen to be beaten by us near mortals,it’s bullshit! GuruShots is crap!
Wow John, don’t hold back!
Ok, the reason you are seeing so many Gurus winning is because the Gurus are not only great photographers, but know how to play the game. Each and every Guru (except the Guru Pros) started off as a Newbie. As they played the game and their photography improved so did their ranking. There are certain tactics that are learnt with experience at Gurushots.
I hope that clears things up for you
Tom
Hi John, the reason the Gurus win is that they know how to play the game best – after all that’s how they became Gurus. Everyone gets the same exposure but you need to know how to best use that exposure. ie the best time to get higher votes, the best time for a Guru pick etc..
What is the best resolution to upload a picture to Gurushots? I keep getting a upload error.
Hi Robb,
The photos need to be in either JPG or JPEG format. Minimum resolution of 700px by 700px. Maximum file size 25MB.
If you are still having issues then feel free to contact the support team – support@gurushots.com
Tom
Hello Mr. Bourdon! I’ve been playing GuruShots for a week now and really love it!! Previously I was doing the challenges on PicsArt, but I like the game aspect of GuruShots a LOT more. I notice you encourage horizontal over vertical. I’ve been squaring mine to be different and as a sort of crop to focus on an image. In your opinion, should I stop putting up square photos? Thanks for any advice ♥
Thanks for the comment Dawn.
The ratio of a photograph is an interesting one. Before the days of Gurushots, I would always say that the composition of the photograph should denote the ratio of the crop. With Gurushots things are a little different and I do think horizontal photos have an edge… at the moment. This may well be changing as more and more people are voting on their mobiles as opposed to a desktop machine (this is because usually, a mobile has a vertical screen and a desktop a horizontal). It’s something worth keeping an eye on.
In the end it really does depend on the photo. I’d say play around with the crop in different challenges and see which one gets the best response, you could even swap it in the same challenge.
Tom
I was thinking the same thing until a few days ago – as I would vote on my laptop I always felt kind of sorry for the vertical photos since they would often appear rather small. But then there was an Athlete challenge and a Jumping challenge and I have so many vertical shots of indoor volleyball that I decided to to used them anyway. Ended up in top 100 and top 10% in those two challenges. Probably more people vote on their phones now.
Thanks Tom!
I love taking photos, I have always had a camera in hand since I was a teen. Though my pictures never really came out the way I wanted them to with a basic digital, I made 1 comment about my photos not being quite right and not being the image I was going for and my fiance went and bough me a real camera for my birthday 2 years ago. Ive got to say Im in love with this camera and have it with me everywhere I go. I have been on GuruShots for almost a year now and love it, cant wait to climb the ranks more 😊
I don’t think it matters at *all* what you post. To me, the game is *not* a level playing field. I have seen images almost identical to mine get 1000+ votes and be a top 5, while my photo gets less than 300. The views is the game though, and *every* single challenge I enter, over the last 16 or so hours, I will get a *total* of 15-20 views, or about 1 view per hour, and that *includes* when being boosted
Hi, thanks for your comment.
I think this article will explain what you are explaining https://tombourdon.co.uk/the-gurushots-algorithm/
Could you please share links to the photos that are nearly identical to yours with 100 extra votes. This will help me understand your concerns a little better.
…any idea why they have been down for so long today?
Hi Peter,
They were doing some essential upgrades to the system to improve performance.
Everything is back to normal now
I have always been interested in photography and finally bought a DSLR camera, still learning how everything works. I LOVE Gurushots I have learned so much from all of the challenges and looking at all of the great photos. I’ve made it to Expert, but I am have no luck with getting Guru picks, any advise?
Hi Deanna, I guess you’ve seen my blog post I guess you’ve seen my blog post on how to get a Guru Pick https://tombourdon.co.uk/get-a-guru-pick
Guru picks is also something I look at in my ebook https://tombourdon.co.uk/gurushots_tips_secrets/
Best of luck :)
Hi Tom. First of all thanks for the valuable tips. I am playing GS for a year now, and I can’t help but notice that many times the same persons win the contests (espcecially two guys from Hungary ;-)), especially when there is a good prize. I fell frustrated to be honest, because I feel they know how to manipulate the algorithm. I am not saying they are not good photographers, but the frequency of their wins is very weird, if not suspicious. I have tried to swap a lot, enter the contest in the last two hours etc but it seems they always have that extra thing. I believe I have good photos that could win, but I feel I am fighting with a wooden sword…Could you reveal some of the methods the GURU’s are using?Sorry for the long message! Regards, George.
Hi George, sorry for the delay in replying I’ve been off the grid for a few days in southern Crete.
Gurushots are aware of the people you mention but have found no foul play to be present. How they are acehiving this I am unsure myself and I don’t have access to such specific details.
One thing I do know is that they are really good at producing photographs that have mass appeal.
I honestly don’t think blindly swapping a lot has any benefit. Swapping can be used to try out different photos but the simple act of swapping isn’t going to improve your ranking. You will simply get the same amount of views.
Sorry I can’t give you more help
Tom
Hi Tom, I get to All Star rating in the Exhibition contests on Guru shots which apparently means I have a guaranteed spot showing them digitally but it also says they will show at least 400 photos. What happens if 2000 members also make All Star? Will they all be shown or is the number limited? I don’t want to pay the $12 nzd if it’s not going to be shown.
Congratulations! Yes your photo will be exhibited if you have reached All Star and paid the fee
Enjoyed your little tutorial and have enjoyed many Gurushots challenges. Most of my entries end up as All Star but I cannot seem to get over that next hurdle and have a photo be selected as a Guru Shot. Any suggestions?
I guess you’ve seen my blog post on how to get a Guru Pick https://tombourdon.co.uk/get-a-guru-pick this technique may help you in your quest :)
Hi Tom. When is the best time to use your boost? I’ve heard about 8 hours before the challenge closes, but I’m not sure. Also, does earning points at a specific time during the challenge (ie. beginning or closer to the end) have any impact on the votes?
Much appreciated, and trying hard to get guru picks.
It has been noted that boosting late in the challenge will give a higher vote count than boosting earlier. This has nothing to do with how many vews your photos get but simpy at the end of the challenges the higher ranked players (masters and Gurus) are all voting to ensure their bonus meter is topped up to the max. So the votes you receive are worth more.
Sorry, another question….
I’m currently participating in Cups & Mugs Speed challenge. Now as far as I know, you can only enter 1 photo. There are three people who have somehow (don’t ask me how, unless they have two guru accounts) entered the same photo twice, currently running at positions 140 and 142 respectively in all three cases. Is this fair? To have multiple Gurushot accounts and enter multiple times in the same speed challenge?
Hi Belinda. You are right when you say you are only allowed to enter one photo in the speed challenges and no you are not allowed to have more than one account.
However, what I think you are seeing is simply how the real time system loads the ranking pages. It works by downloading a range of photographers at a time. For example it will download the first 20 photographers as a group then as you scroll it will load the next 20 and so on. What can, and often does, happen is that between the loading of the next set of photographers the ranking changes and the photographer moves down a place or 2. That photographer then may appear twice with the same photo. In your case once when they were downloaded at position 140 in the first group and then again at position 142 in the nect group.
It’s the same photographer and the same entry it can, however, look strange.
I hope that makes sense.
Tom
Thanks Tom for clarifying it for me. I did start to wonder if it’s a glitch, because I’ve seen many more such “duplications” and thought it’s too frequent to be something that can be overlooked by Guru. However, your explanation makes 100% sense! Thanks for clarifying.
Also, does earning GS points make any difference to exposure, and does it matter when during the challenge I earn those points?
hello tom … a question: what happens with the color red challenge that the photos disappeared and can not upload new ones?
Thank you Tom! Fixed up!
:)
Hi, yes this happened during the night, but the team were able to get things back to normal in a short time. Sorry for the inconvenience.
SIR, I AM NEARING 500000 POINTS. I REACHED 100+ ALL STARS.BUT STILL I’M IN EXPERT ONLY. TELL A IDEA TO REACH THE NEXT LEVEL SIR.
Hi, have you downloaded the free ebook? if so and you still want more then I have to recommend The Gurus Secrets ebook (https://tombourdon.co.uk/gurushots_tips_secrets/)
Thank you :), I would love to know more tips.
Hi Tom, please advise me on what to do when a person is harassing me through one of my photos?
Hi Belinda, sorry to hear about this.
The best thing to do is contact the support team here (https://gurushots.com/contact) and provide them with links to the photos where the comments appear. Players have lost their accounts in similar situations, obviously I can’t guarantee this in this case, but just be aware before you respond in a negative way.
Tom,
I discovered Gurushots back in July and uploaded 4 images into the Newbie of the Month challenge and got a Top 100 and finished 28th in Elite, and then I kind of forgot about it. One day, my son started showing me what he had been posting and how he was doing (he has an amazing eye for photography, even when he was little and would come to events with me to photograph, I was amazed at his natural talent for the art; he’s 24 now) and it inspired me to put more of my work up there. Seem that the voting has been way down the past few weeks, however, but I am just making sure that I vote a couple times a day to keep up my own exposure. I will take into consideration what you’ve said about contrast.
Now, if I could just get a Gurupick so that I could move to Champion! I’ve had some votes from Guru’s, but not the challenge’s Guru.
Tim
Thanks Tim,
Have you seen my blog post on getting a Guru Pick? https://tombourdon.co.uk/get-a-guru-pick
This could be of help
I have not, will have to check it out.
Thank you!
I would love to see a monthly or quarterly challenge that only “experts” can enter to increase their chance of a getting a Guru Pick. I will head over and check your other post.
And, it just happened! And the image that got the Guru Pick makes me even happier!
-Tim
Ah.. well there you go :) congratulations!
you have brought up a very fantastic points, thanks for the post.
Hey Tom,
Thanks for the tips! I have a quick question. I just recently became a guru, how do I start a challenge?
Thanks!
Hi Mathew. If you contact the support team they will set it up for you. http://gurushots.com/contact
Best of luck
Only one tip ? Where are the rest ? I love guru shots and I’ve have photos get to top 3 then move back down the ranks quick never to return again 😬
Hi Claire.
There are more tips :) Did you get the free ebook?? https://tombourdon.co.uk/free-gurushots-tips-ebook/
I think these 2 posts will be of most interest:
Understand why your photos move down at the end of a challenge https://tombourdon.co.uk/the-gurushots-algorithm/
And the question every is asking “How to get a Guru Pick” https://tombourdon.co.uk/get-a-guru-pick/
Also check out:
https://tombourdon.co.uk/the-gurushots-algorithm/
https://tombourdon.co.uk/gurushots-tips-watermarks/
https://tombourdon.co.uk/gurushots-tips-use-framing/
https://tombourdon.co.uk/gurushots-tips-panning/
Hi. Thank you for the tips. I’m using lumix GX9 (not the best one but I love it). I’m not a professional photographer. After almost 6 months with GS have move to champions level. After read your tips do realised most of my higher ranking photos have great natural colours and higher colour contrast as you mention. Looking forward to your coming challenges.
That’s great Kahyin! The GX9 is an excellent little camera and has features I wish my Sony had.
I have one question about Guru picks. I’m Champion level and have only had 2 Guru Picks (not Top Guru Pick) and it seems like each time the Guru is picking, it happens when I am sleeping about 2 to 4 a.m. or in the middle of my work day. I have had a couple of occasions where I was logged in to GuruShots and up pops the red icon, when I check it, it says the Guru is picking now (less than a minute ago) and when I check the Guru’s Top pick, they are all already chosen. There is no way he can choose 20 or however many photos in less than a minute. Do they pre-choose the photos before hand? My photos aren’t that bad to not get a Guru Pick once in awhile.
I have one question about Guru picks. I’m Champion level and have only had 2 Guru Picks (not Top Guru Pick) and it seems like each time the Guru is picking, it happens when I am sleeping about 2 to 4 a.m. or in the middle of my work day. I have had a couple of occasions where I was logged in to GuruShots and up pops the red icon, when I check it, it says the Guru is picking now (less than a minute ago) and when I check the Guru’s Top pick, they are all already chosen. There is no way they can choose 20 or however many photos in less than a minute. Do they pre-choose the photos before hand? My photos aren’t that bad to not get a Guru Pick once in awhile.
Why do you keep deleting my question?
Thats a very good feedback. Im curious to think what type of impact this would have globally? There are times when things like this begin to have global expansion and frustration. Ill check back to see what you have to say.
I believe your opinions are quite fascinating, I appreciate reading what you write. Hope to hear more from you. Subscribed.
Currently a master (like most) and would love to progress been on the game for nearly 10 years with two different masters profiles… I NEED Guru status pls help… plus my team could really do with a boost lol (but we have no keys 😅) thank you 🙏
This is helpful! Thank you
Hi Tom,
I signed up to GS 2 weeks ago. I note that terms and conditions strictly disallow the use of AI created (obects?). However, most photo editing/enhancing packages are now AI assisted. Can you give some advice and clarity on where the line should be drawn? I responded to GS FAQ about this but all I got in return was an email containing a link back to the same AI article about which I raised the orignal query. Thanks
Hi, sure thing. It’s actually quite simple, but I can understand the confusion.
Using AI to help you in your post processing is allowed. What is not allowed is using AI to generate or add elements of the photo.
For example, if you use Lightroom to create an adjustment mask to the subject then that is fine. What you can’t do is use Photoshop to generate something in the frame what wasn’t there in the original image.
Hopefully that clears things up.