A clean portfolio helps after publication.
Most photographers do not fail at this stage because the camera was not good enough. The weaker point is usually decision-making: what to include, what to remove, and what the file is supposed to prove.
Use the list as a working check before submission, not as decoration after the edit is already finished.
Read the relevant category page, then the rules. If the photograph still feels right after both checks, the entry is probably in the correct place.
Internal links to consider: Winners, Gallery
Image source: Pexels photo by Anil Sharma