Enter your 'Dinghy Day Out' photograph for a chance to be the cover image for the 2009 RYA Volvo Dinghy Show Guide. Be sure to read Gael Pawson's comprehensive guide 'What makes a good cover shot?' below!

Closing date for this competition is Friday 21st November 2008.

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Yachts and Yachting editor Gael Pawson has to select 12 covers for the magazine over the year, as well as covers for the magazine's supplements and the RYA Volvo Dinghy Show Guide. Here is a quick guide to the main things the editorial team are looking for…

I have lost count of the number of times people have asked me, 'What do I have to do to be on the cover of Yachts and Yachting?' my answer is always the same: 'Get the right shot taken of you, and we will snap it up!'

What makes a great cover shot? It's not the same as a great photograph, there are a number of things we are looking for, and often one small detail will make an otherwise fabulous picture unsuitable for the front cover.

1. Subject matter, composition and impact

   Is the shot of the right type of boat in the right kind of conditions - we wouldn't want to run a wintery shot in the middle of the summer. We try and use a variety of different boats and types of shot so each cover looks different - we don't want someone glancing at the cover in their newsagents and thinking, 'I've already read that one!' We also look at the people in the shot, ideally they are looking at the camera and smiling, we want the cover shot to have impact and make people want to pick it up. With the cover for the RYA Volvo Dinghy Show we want the shot to show sailing at its best, without it looking too scary or inaccessible to someone who knows nothing about the sport.

2. Colour and clarity

   We are looking for a good mix of colours - with the Y&Y cover we want to be able to use a highlight colour to help the cover lines stand out, so we don't want a pink spinnaker on a green boat with the crew wearing yellow spray tops and red hats sailing in brown water! Simplicity is good; blue or green water and one or two colours in the shot. The shot needs to be in focus, the sharper the better, but we would choose a less sharp shot if the other ingredients are good enough. With the RYA Volvo Dinghy Show we already have the show logo colours to consider, so we need something that will work with those colours as well.

3. Space for cover lines and the header

   Cover lines are important, they are telling the reader a bit more about the content, and we need to have space where we can put them and they can be readable. There also needs to be room at the top for the header. We can create extra water or sky quite easily, but if someone's head is too near the top of the shot and there are complex sails in the background, there is no way we can use the image on the cover.

So there you have it! Help us to select the best shot for the 2009 RYA Volvo Dinghy Show by submitting your suggested cover shots.