A Guru's Pick on GuruShots — My Fine-Art Photo in The 7 Sins Challenge
Award2026-06-09

A Guru's Pick on GuruShots — My Fine-Art Photo in The 7 Sins Challenge

In short: My fine-art photograph received a Guru's Pick in the The 7 Sins challenge on GuruShots. The photo was personally chosen by the challenge guru, Jonas Wiemann, and was rewarded with +50 votes.

What I value most in photography are the moments when someone genuinely pauses at an image. That is why a Guru's Pick in the The 7 Sins challenge means so much to me — it is not an automated score, but the deliberate choice of one person who, out of thousands of entries, singled out mine.

What a Guru's Pick is

On GuruShots, every challenge is hosted by a guru — an experienced photographer acting as judge. Beyond the community vote, the guru can award a personal distinction: the Guru's Pick — the image that spoke to them most. In my case the decision came from Jonas Wiemann, who hosted the The 7 Sins challenge, and the photo was rewarded with an extra 50 votes in the ranking.

Put simply: it is recognition from a professional, not just a result of popularity. And that is exactly why it means the most to me.

The photo and the theme of the seven sins

The The 7 Sins challenge is an invitation to interpret the seven deadly sins visually — a theme that practically begs for mood, symbolism and light.

My piece is an intimate fine-art composition in a warm, sepia tone: a bottle of champagne, two filled glasses on a raw wooden surface, and the soft, out-of-focus silhouette of a figure beside them. The image plays with light and suggestion — it is a photograph about desire and savouring the moment, told subtly rather than literally. I wanted the emotion to come through atmosphere, not through what is shown outright.

Why it matters to me

Fine-art and sensual photography, for me, is above all about working with light, building mood, and telling a story through body and object — without sensationalism, with respect for form. Recognition from a judge reassures me that it is worth following my own path and consistently building a recognisable style. Every piece of feedback like this is fuel for the next project.

How GuruShots works

GuruShots is often called the world's greatest photography game. Photographers worldwide submit work to themed challenges, collect community votes, climb the rankings (from Newbie up to Guru status), and the best images are sometimes shown at gallery exhibitions around the world.

The path to recognition is simple and open to everyone:

  1. Submit a photo to a themed challenge.
  2. Collect votes from the community and rise through the ranking.
  3. A guru may award a Guru's Pick — a personal distinction for a chosen image.