Official Rules

This contest is hosted by the Trinidad & Tobago Photographic Society (TTPhotoSoc). 

Entrants (and their legal guardians where applicable) are responsible for complying with these Official Rules.

These rules along with the FAQ constitute the guidelines for the National Photographic Awards + Exhibition.

Who may enter

The contest is open to photographers of all ages, professional or amateur, who are Trinidad and Tobago nationals or who reside in Trinidad and Tobago. 

No member of the Society’s executive or their immediate family, staff, interns, judges, or sub-committee members may enter. 

What to enter

Submissions may be digital or film photographs. Film photographs must be scanned to digital files for the online submission. 

All digital image files must be in JPEG format, be no larger than 2MB or 720p on the longer side, and must not contain any mark that identifies the photographer. 

Submissions must only be the work of the photographer submitting the images. 

Submissions must be taken in Trinidad and Tobago within the last 5 years. 

The photograph must not, in the sole and unfettered discretion of the judges, contain obscene, provocative, defamatory, sexually explicit, or otherwise objectionable or inappropriate content. 

By submitting an entry, each entrant agrees to the Official Rules and warrants that his or her entry complies with all requirements set out in therein. Participants must possess the exclusive rights to each submitted work and are responsible for obtaining any necessary permissions relating to the subject captured including model releases and property releases. By entering the Contest, entrant represents, acknowledges, and warrants that the submitted photograph is an original work created solely by the entrant, that the photograph does not infringe on the copyrights, trademarks, moral rights or intellectual property rights of any person or entity, and that no other party has any right, title, claim, or interest in the photograph. TTPhotoSoc will not be held accountable for any consequences arising out of participants not obtaining the necessary permissions. 

Categories

The categories for 2020 are: 

  • Landscape and the Environment 

From pristine, natural landscapes to manmade, urban landscapes, from forests to rivers and oceans, aerial images to long exposures and everything in between, we want to see your best images of landscapes and the environment.

  • Food & Still Life

This category is for photos of objects or arrangements of objects; they can be natural or man-made. The subject matter can be anything ranging from food, rocks, shells, flowers, tools, books, found objects. Your imagination is the limit. Composition, styling, and lighting are key.

  • People & Portraits

This category is for photographs where people or a group of people are the main focus. The aim here is to capture the personality of your subject or subjects.

  • Nature

This category is for the wonders of nature. It includes all flora and fauna on the land, in the sea or in the air. Subjects can be located in both their natural environment or in a domesticated setting such as farms or zoos. Pet portraits may also be entered in this category.

  • Street & Documentary

This category is for photos that capture the essence of human life and interaction as it happens, candidly on the street or any public area, or as part of a project documenting some aspect of society or the human condition. Interestingly enough, these images do not always have to include people.

  • Abstract & Digital Art

This category is for photos that are subjective, experimental, or conceptual; images that express an idea or an emotion. This category also includes images that are composited or significantly digitally manipulated to achieve some artistic effect.

How to enter

To enter, visit www.tt-ps.org, and complete an entry form with the required information. 

Online submissions open on  1st August 2020 and close on  20th September 2020 at 5:00 PM promptly. 

SUBMISSION DEADLINE EXTENDED TO WEDNESDAY 23rd SEPT 2020 @ 5 PM. Late Entry Fees Apply

Each entry consists of a completed entry form, digital image upload(s), and the required entry fee(s). 

The entry fees for a single entry are as follows:

Adult Member

$70.00 TTD

Late Entry Fee $100 TTD

Adult Non-Member

$115.00 TTD

Late Entry Fee $160 TTD

Under 18 Member

$35.00 TTD

 

Under 18 Non-Member

$50.00 TTD

 

 

Entries are limited to a maximum of 10 images per entrant. If more than 10 entries are received from any participant, only the first 10 entries received will be judged. Fees for entries in excess of 10 images will not be refunded. Any special free or bonus promotion entries do not count toward your 10 entries.

Entries should be visually distinct individual images and not fundamentally similar images of the same subject.

There is no category for Photo Series. 

Under 18 entrants must be under 18 years of age on or before 20th September 2020. Under 18 entrants may be required to provide proof of age.

Anonymity

Your image names and image file names must not contain any information that may divulge the identity of the photographer.

Entries submitted to the competition must be kept confidential. 

Judging 

Entries submitted which do not comply with these rules or which contain false declarations will be disqualified and any entry fees will not be refunded.

Entries will be judged only under the category in which they have been submitted. 

No refunds will be given to any entries which are unsuccessful in the preliminary judging/shortlisting or final judging phase. 

The contest will be judged digitally, i.e only digital images will be seen by the judges. 

The judging process will be conducted anonymously i.e. at no point do judges have any knowledge of the creators of the submissions. 

One member of the TTPhotoSoc executive acts as the contest administrator and is recused from any judging of images. The contest administrator oversees the processing of contest entries and then assists administratively during both phases of judging.

Decisions of the judges are final and binding. 

Criteria

The judging criteria for both phases of judging are as follows with a maximum of 50 possible points for an image

Impact 

maximum of 10 points

Creativity 

maximum of 10 points

Composition 

maximum of 10 point

Lighting 

maximum of 10 points

Story Telling

maximum of 10 points

 

In the event that an image does not meet a minimum of 25 points, it would not be eligible for shortlisting. 

Should there be any category in which there are no eligible shortlisted images, TTPhotoSoc reserves the right not to award a winner in that category.

Preliminary Judging/Shortlisting

After the closing date, the contest administrator compiles all the entries by category and age group. Every photograph is then subjected to preliminary judging by the remaining TTPhotoSoc executive. Preliminary judges only see the images along with the image title, description (if provided), the category, and age group (adult or U-18). In addition, this year we have undertaken a further step to ensure greater transparency with the inclusion of a special guest judge from the Photographers Guild of Trinidad and Tobago to participate in the preliminary judging. The top images from each category and age group proceed to the category shortlist.

Preliminary Judging/Shortlisting will take place on or before 30th September 2020. 

Final Judging

The shortlisted images in each category and age group are presented to the panel of final judges. Final judges only see the images along with the image title, description (if provided), the category, and age group (adult or U-18).

The final judges score and then select the winners and runners-up for each category and age group.

The final judges then select the National Photograph of the Year from among all the category winners.

Notifications

The final judging is completed before the shortlisting notifications are sent.

Shortlisted entrants will be listed on the TTPhotoSoc website by 25th October 2020.

Category winners and runners-up will be announced at the opening night of the Virtual Exhibition on 1st November 2020 and via email thereafter. 

People’s Choice Award

All shortlisted images will be posted on the TTPhotoSoc Facebook page soon after final judging. Anyone can vote by ‘liking’ their favourite image and sharing to increase “likes” is encouraged. 

Voting closes on 20th November 2020 – the last week of the exhibition – and the image receiving the most “likes” will win the Peoples’ Choice Award. 

The winner will be announced on 5th December 2020 on www.facebook.com/TTphotosoc and will also be notified by email. 

All winners’ names will be available online at www.tt-ps.org and www.facebook.com/TTphotosoc after 5th December 2020. 

Virtual Online Exhibition

All shortlisted entries must follow the guidelines for inclusion in the virtual online exhibition.

A high-resolution copy of the shortlisted image must be provided to the TTPhotoSoc within one week of being notified of shortlisting.

A short bio will be required for inclusion in the virtual online exhibition

Prizes

National Photograph of the Year Winner

  • The winner will receive a $4,000 cash prize
  • In addition, the winner will receive a SureColor P700 13-inch Photo Printer courtesy Epson Caribbean (valued at $799 USD)
  • The winner will also receive a commemorative TTPhotoSoc trophy
  • The winning image will be promoted on TTPhotoSoc website and Social Media Platforms including a special featured  artist interview
  • The winner will be invited to promote their work by hosting a 1 week Instagram Take Over of @ttphotosoc
  • The winning image will be featured in our dedicated winner’s gallery on the TTPhotoSoc website
  • The winner will be specially invited to present their work at one of our monthly members’ meetings
  • The winner will receive a 50% discount on any one (1) 2020/2021 TTPhotoSoc Workshop of their choice

Category Winners

  • In the People & Portraits Adult category the winner will receive $2,500 courtesy DIGICEL
  • Each adult 1st place winner in the remaining categories will receive a cash prize of $2000
  • Each Under-18 1st place category winner will receive a cash prize of $1000
  • The U-18 1st place winner in the Street & Documentary category will also receive a 1-year mobile plan courtesy DIGICEL
  • The U-18 1st place winner in the Abstract & Digital Art category will also receive a 6-month mobile plan courtesy DIGICEL
  • All category winners and runners-up will receive a commemorative TTPhotoSoc trophy
  • Category winners and runners-up will be invited to present their winning image at our Winner’s Night Event.
  • All winning and runner-up images will be featured on our dedicated winner’s gallery on the TTPhotoSoc website
  • All winners and runners-up will receive one free admission to any one (1) 2020/2021 TTPhotoSoc Photography Safari of their choice
  • 2nd Place Runner-up in the Food & Still Life Adult Category will receive a $250 gift voucher courtesy Kaizan Sushi
  • 2nd Place Runner-up in the Food & Still Life U-18 Category will receive a $250 gift voucher courtesy Kaizan Sushi
  • 3rd Place Runner-up in the Food & Still Life Adult Category will receive a $100 gift voucher courtesy Papadums
  • 3rd Place Runner-up in the Food & Still Life U-18 Category will receive a $100 gift voucher courtesy Kaizan Sushi
  • 2nd Place Runner-up in the Landscape & The Environment Adult Category will receive a $500 cash award courtesy Niko Photography and a Travel Tripod courtesy Affordable Imports
  • 2nd Place Runner-up in the Landscape & The Environment U-18 Category will receive a cash award of $500 courtesy Niko Photography and a Sensor Cleaning courtesy The Camera Doctor
  • 3rd Place Runner-up in the Landscape & The Environment Adult Category will receive a cash award of $350 courtesy Niko Photography
  • 3rd Place Runner-up in the Landscape & The Environment U-18 Category will receive a cash award of $350 courtesy Niko Photography
  • 2nd Place Runner-up in the Nature Adult Category will receive a $500 cash award courtesy Niko Photography
  • 2nd Place Runner-up in the Nature U-18 Category will receive a $500 cash award courtesy Niko Photography
  • 3rd Place Runner-up in the Nature U-18 Category will receive a $300 cash award courtesy Niko Photography

DIGICEL People’s Choice Award

  • The winner will receive $3,000 courtesy of DIGICEL
  • The winner will receive a commemorative TTPhotoSoc trophy
  • The winner will also receive a $250 Framing Gift Certificate courtesy Arnim’s Framing Solutions Co. Ltd
  • Winner will be invited to present their winning image at our Winner’s Night Event.
  • The winning image will be featured in our dedicated winner’s gallery on the TTPhotoSoc website
  • Winner will receive one free admission to any one (1) 2020/2021 TTPhotoSoc Photography Safari of their choice

Highest Scoring Under-18 Winner

  • In addition to any other prizes, the highest-scoring U-18 winner will also receive a state of the art Samsung smartphone courtesy of DIGICEL

License 

Through submission of electronic images, entrants (and their legal guardians where applicable) grant non-exclusive reproduction and publication rights to the works submitted to the Trinidad and Tobago Photographic Society. Entrants will retain the copyright to their images but by submitting their images they are granting consent to the Trinidad and Tobago Photographic Society to use the images in print or electronic form (along with a name credit) in connection with the work of the society, the Contest and for the purposes of promoting this contest and future contests organized by the Trinidad and Tobago Photographic Society.

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