SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: ACTIVIST AWARDS
NEW SUBMISSIONS OPEN OCTOBER 1 and END DECEMBER 1, 2013
Overview
PhotoPhilanthrophy believes in the power of photography to inspire hope and understanding and to connect people around the world. All subjects photographed should be treated with respect, compassion and dignity. PhotoPhilanthropy reserves the the right to reject any submission based on quality, content or theme. All submissions will be reviewed by the PhotoPhilanthropy team for accuracy of information. Written essays may be edited for clarity.
Submitted photos must depict the work of a charitable organization (designated by 501(c)3 in the US, or international equivalent) and be presented as a photo essay. In order to reflect current issues, photographs in the essay must have been taken within the last 3 years. Long term projects will be accepted but they must contain some images that were taken in the last 3 years. Photographers may enter two essays in the same year. The two essays may be of work with the same nonprofit but they must be about a different subject matter. An essay entered in a previous year of the competition may not be re-entered (this includes re-editing of a previous entry).
For all submissions, collaboration with the charitable organization will be verified. For this reason it is mandatory to submit the contact name and email of the person you worked with at the organization. You will also need to provide a letter in English from the organization on their letterhead verifying your collaboration. You will upload this letter to your submission form when prompted.
Upon completion of review, accepted photo essays will be posted on the PhotoPhilanthropy website. We will inform you by email when they have been posted.
Activist Awards Prizes
The top photo essays will be awarded
- Professional Photographer: $15,000 Grand Prize
- Amateur Photographer: $2,000 Grand Prize
- Student Photographer: $2,000 Grand Prize
Two finalists in each category will also be announced.
* CBO (Community Based Organization) is no longer an award category. We are considering a grant opportunity for this community next year.
Categories
Photo essays must be entered into one of three categories:
- Professional Photographer: Any individual who earns the majority of their living from photography or has been professionally trained.
- Amateur Photographer: Any individual who does not earn the majority of their income from photography.
- Student Photographer: Any current student with less than two years of professional work including internships.
Submission Details – Professional
Submissions must be comprised of a minimum of 7 and a maximum of 10 photos. Each photo requires a caption of up to 150 characters. Your entry must also include two short written statements, both having a maximum of 250 words. We suggest you proofread and keep a copy of your written essay and captions. That way, if you need to resubmit due to an error you won’t lose your material.
- Please describe the mission of your featured organization and the specific aspect of the organization your photo essay portrays. Tell us why you chose this particular organization and describe the impact the work had on you and the organization. You may include how your work has helped the nonprofit and/or the larger community (i.e. raise awareness, funding, etc.).
- PhotoPhilanthropy is interested in how your work is being used by you and/or the nonprofit to effect positive social change. Please describe how this work is being used and distributed (i.e. website, printed materials, exhibitions, books, in the press, etc.). Please include links. Have there been results? What do you plan to do with the award prize if you win? You may include an outline for a future project with a nonprofit partner.
- This written statement will be published on the PhotoPhilanthropy website along with your photo essay. Please note that PhotoPhilanthropy reserves the right to edit all material posted to our site.
Submission Details – Amateur and Student
Submissions must be comprised of a minimum of 7 and a maximum of 10 photos. Each photo requires a caption of up to 150 characters. Your entry must also include a short written statement, having a maximum of 250 words. We suggest you proofread and keep a copy of your written essay and captions. That way, if you need to resubmit due to an error you won’t lose your material.
- Please describe the mission of your featured organization and the specific aspect of the organization your photo essay portrays. Tell us why you chose this particular organization and describe the impact the work had on you and the organization. You may include how your work has helped the nonprofit and/or the larger community (i.e. raise awareness, funding, etc.).
- PhotoPhilanthropy is interested in how your work is being used by you and/or the nonprofit to effect positive social change. Please describe how this work is currently being used and how you will continue to promote and distribute it (i.e. website, printed materials, exhibitions, books, in the press, etc.). Please include links.
- This written statement will be published on the PhotoPhilanthropy website along with your photo essay. Please note that PhotoPhilanthropy reserves the right to edit all material posted to our site.
Judging
PhotoPhilanthropy is looking for photo essays that visually articulate the mission of a nonprofit organization in a compelling manner. In order to be considered for acceptance to the PhotoPhilanthropy Activist Awards, all submissions will initially be reviewed for content and quality of imagery. PhotoPhilanthropy reserves the right to refuse any entry based on quality or content.
Once accepted, professional, amateur and student entries will be judged in two rounds. First, members of PhotoPhilanthropy and its advisors will review the essays and select the strongest to continue to a second round. In the second round, a panel of independent judges will review eligible entries and select the winners based upon the following criteria:
- Originality
- Innovative and compelling storytelling
- Relevance in portraying the issues addressed by the organization
- Visual impact (composition, emotional impact)
- Technical execution (focus, exposure)
The winners will be announced in January, 2013.
Photographic Requirements
Photographs must be in digital format, and only those submitted using the submission form provided on the PhotoPhilanthropy website will be accepted.
No print or film submissions will be accepted; scans of negatives, transparencies, or photographic prints are acceptable. All images must be uploaded through our online submissions form.
Files must be in jpeg format and fit to exactly 1000 pixels on their longest side, at a resolution of 72 dpi. No file size should be more than 2MB. Each image must be submitted as a separate file (no Powerpoint or iPhoto presentations). Please save images as RGB, ICC profile Adobe RGB (1998) or Grayscale. File name should be under 32 characters and contain no special characters (i.e. `.,!@#$%^&*). Please be sure there is not a firewall to prevent uploading images.
*If your images are an unconventional shape, please write to submissions@photophilanthropy.org for special uploading instructions.
Only minimally enhanced photographs are eligible for submission. Minor color correction is acceptable, as is cropping. High dynamic range images (HDRI) and stitched panoramas are acceptable only if the combined parts were all made at approximately the same time. Any other changes to the original photograph are not acceptable and will render the photo essay ineligible for a prize.
Copywriting of photography is encouraged; watermarking of photography is discouraged.
Every photo essay submitted must be comprised of photos that have been created exclusively by the entrant submitting the photo essay.
Model Releases
Model releases are required if photographs contain any elements that are not owned by the entrant and/or which are subject to the rights of third parties, and/or if any persons appear in the photograph, the entrant is responsible for obtaining, prior to submission of the photograph, any and all releases and consents necessary to permit the exhibition and use of the photographs by PhotoPhilanthropy and the subject of the photo essay without additional compensation.
There is a large body of discussion about when to use model releases if you have identifiable portraits in your images. We encourage you to talk to your NGO, your teacher, or go to American Association of Media Photographers and make a decision about whether or not you need a model release. Sample model releases are available on the ASMP website.
In submitting images to PhotoPhilanthropy, the photographer understands that all images may be placed on the web for public viewing, and the photographer assumes all responsibility for permission from the subject of the image.
Copyright and Content
We encourage all photographers to properly copyright their work. Please look at the latest information on copyright on the ASMP website.
PhotoPhilanthropy recognizes and respects copyright held material and photographers will retain full copyright to, and ownership of, their submitted photography.
PhotoPhilanthropy is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting documentary photography and the work of nonprofits.
Terms of Consent
Essays accepted into the competition will be posted on the PhotoPhilanthropy website. Entry constitutes permission for PhotoPhilanthropy to copy, publish and display all submitted materials in print or electronic form without compensation by PhotoPhilanthropy, for use in promoting PhotoPhilanthropy, the Activist Awards and the advancement of the goals and mission of PhotoPhilanthropy. The PhotoPhilanthropy credit, along with the photographer’s credit and the name of the featured nonprofit will appear if the image is used for these purposes. No images will be redistributed or sold to third parties for re-use. Any inquiries for licensing of images will be redirected to the photographer.
If you are interested in licensing any images displayed on this website, we are happy to connect you with the photographer to obtain usage rights (email submissions@photophilanthropy.org).
Exhibitions
PhotoPhilanthropy is extending the opportunity for photographers to have their work eligible for inclusion in our Exhibitions Program. Our most recent exhibition at the United Nations was highly praised. Please find our press release here. If you would like your submitted photo essay to be included in future curations, make sure to select ‘yes’ in the Exhibitions portion of the submission form.
We will contact you if any of your images are selected for inclusion in an upcoming exhibition. More information on PhotoPhilanthropy’s Exhibition Program can be found here.
Library of Congress
This year, PhotoPhilanthropy will also offer a unique opportunity for submitting photographers to have their work considered for the Library of Congress’ permanent photography collection. If you are interested, make sure to select ‘yes’ on the Library of Congress portion of this year’s submission form. More information on the national library of the United States is available at http://www.loc.gov/rr/print.
Please contact submissions@photophilanthropy.org with any questions about the Activist Awards Guidelines.
