COMPETITION RULES

CATEGORY RULES SNAPSHOT

All categories may be entered multiple times. There is no limit on the number of entries in each category and on the number of entries per entrant.
Composites and heavy image manipulation are ONLY permitted in Creative categories.
Landscape: This category may include images of the natural or built/urban environment and is intended to reward technical and creative excellence in photographing and presenting an authentic representation of a scene, without the use of creative compositing techniques. Entries in this category must be true to the original content of an image. The addition of any new content, such as borders or textures, or removal of any unwanted content, including supporting and collateral elements, is not permitted. Minor post-production adjustments to colour balance, brightness, exposure and contrast are permitted, so long as they do not affect the authenticity of the image. Cropping of the image is permitted. The removal of minor dust spots, sensor spots, scratches and incidental blemishes is permitted. Polyptychs (diptychs, triptychs, etc.) are not permitted.
Wildlife: This category includes images of wildlife or wilderness, captured both on land/ underwater and may include images of both flora and fauna. The images submitted in the Wildlife category must not feature farm animals, family pets, domestic animals, zoo animals, captive wild animals and/or cultivated plants. Images containing man-made objects or depicting the interaction of wildlife with humans are not permitted. Only minimal post-production allowed such as removing spots, scratches, dodging and burning, colour balance, contrast and brightness. Polyptychs (diptychs, triptychs, etc.) are not permitted.
People: Images may be posed or candid and may include one or more people. Only minimal post-processing is allowed such as removing spots, scratches, dodging and burning, colour balance, contrast and brightness. Polyptychs (diptychs, triptychs, etc.) are not permitted.
Creative: This is an open-themed category. There are no restrictions on the use of post-production, though all elements of the image must be photographic in origin. Images may be single-capture or composite. All images used to create the composite including textures must be the work of the entrant. Polyptychs (diptychs, triptychs, etc.) are permitted. This category is intended to reward technical and creative excellence in photographing and presenting images that allow for minor/or major post-production, including composite techniques.
Mono (Black and White): Includes images photographed in black-and-white, as well as digital black-and-white conversions and ‘toned’ images (such as sepia, selenium, etc). Images with more than one tone, spot-colour images and colour images are not eligible. Images may be processed in post-production, but post-processing should be minimal (removing spots, scratches, dodging and burning, colour balance, contrast and brightness). This is an open theme category and Landscapes, Wildlife, People and Travel images may be submitted. Polyptychs (diptychs, triptychs, etc.) are not permitted.
Aerial: Aerial images are considered those taken from aircrafts, helicopters, drones and hot air balloons. All entries captured with a drone must comply with rules and regulations. Any images suspected of being captured illegally will be disqualified if they do not comply with the regulations. To be eligible for a prize, entrants must be able to provide verifiable EXIF data including drone type, position (latitude and longitude) and altitude information. Only minimal post-production is allowed in this category. Images that have been heavily manipulated digitally should be submitted in the Creative or Landscape Portfolio. Polyptychs (diptychs, triptychs, etc.) are not permitted.
All Categories: Competition organisers reserve the right to disqualify an image or portfolio if they feel it lacks authenticity due to over-manipulation. Note however that heavy manipulation and composites are allowed in the Creative Categories.
You are not permitted to submit images that have been awarded any prize in a major photographic competition in Australia or internationally prior to 01 May 2022.
Online entry: Submissions must be in digital format, but the original entry does not need to have been taken on a digital camera. High-quality scans of transparencies or negatives are also acceptable. For all categories, digital files must be submitted as
- JPG file format saved at a high-quality setting of at least 8 in Photoshop, sRGB
- The maximum file size for uploaded images 2300 pixels on the longest side
- Must not exceed 4MB in size
- Please ensure that your images are free of frames, signatures or watermarks.
- Please ensure that your images and all elements were captured after 01 DEC, 2018.

AWARDS

The 360º Photo Awards 2022 consist of the following awards:

Bronze Award – Entries scoring 70-79 points
Silver Award – Entries scoring 80-89 points
Gold Award – Entries scoring 90-95 points
Platinum Award – Entries scoring 96-100 points
The top three finalists in each category will receive a Certificate of Achievement
All images scoring a Gold or Platinum Award will receive a Certificate of Achievement
The 360º Photo Awards Australian Photographer of the Year Winner will be the highest scoring image out of the 6 categories and will receive an EIZO ColorEdge CS2731 monitor and an EPSON SureColor P906 printer. This prize is sponsored by EIZO and EPSON and open to Australian Residents / Photographers only.
The 360º Photo Awards International Photographer of the Year Winner will be the highest scoring image out of the 6 categories and will receive a US$2000 IP Travel Photography tour voucher and the full suite of 9 eBooks by Ignacio Palacios. This prize is open to both Australian and International Photographers.
Each category winner will receive a prize as indicated on the Prizes page.

READ THE RULES AND CHECK YOUR ELIGIBILITY

If you are planning to submit an image into the 360º Photo Awards competition, please read the Rules. The Rules contain vital information on eligibility and it’s your responsibility to ensure that your images are eligible. Please note that any entry to the 360ºPhoto Awards will immediately be subject to these Rules. If entering, the entrant (“you”) must read and abide by these Rules as they create a legally binding contract between you and the Competition organiser, IP Travel Photography Pty Ltd.

HOW TO SELECT YOUR IMAGES

Photographers don’t always choose their best images when entering photography competitions. In the eBook, 10 Tips to Win Photography Competitions by the Competition organiser IP Travel Photography / Ignacio Palacios), you will find lots of useful information to help you with selecting your images. This eBook will also guide you on what the judges may look for and it is free of charge to all entrants of the competition.

Submissions must be in digital format, but the original entry does not need to have been taken on a digital camera.

- JPG file format saved at a high-quality setting of at least 8 in Photoshop, sRGB
- The maximum file size for uploaded images 2300 pixels on the longest side
- Must not exceed 4MB in size
- Please ensure that your images are free of frames, signatures or watermarks.
- Please ensure that your images and all elements were captured after 01 DEC, 2018.

ENTER ONLINE

You will need to register with us and then login in and upload your images. Ensure that you have entered the correct category and provided caption details if required.

ENTRY FEES

PAY 4 entries and receive a 5th entry free is valid until 31 May 2022
EARLY BIRD: A non-refundable entry fee of US$15 is valid for each entry submitted from 01-30 June 2022
LATE ENTRIES: A non-refundable entry fee of US$20 is valid for each entry submitted during the period 1 July – 31 October 2022

ENTRY DEADLINE

Entries must be received by 31 October 2022 11.59 pm (AEDT). No late entries after this date will be accepted.

JUDGES 2022

A panel of expert photographers (“the Jury”) will be appointed to select and award all entries. The Jury will consider the images according to composition, visual and/or emotional impact and narrative, innovation and creativity, with further considerations to include excellence in craft, diversity of content and skills, and conceptual development of an idea or theme.

Each of the six categories will be judged by judges who are experts in that particular genre. Judging will be blind. The top ten finalists in each category will be then re-scored to produce the final category results and winners. No names or other indicators will be shown to the Jury that could indicate who is the author of the entry. Members of the judging panel may be replaced due to illness, during the judging process.

During the judging process, and only with our express agreement, the Jury reserves the right to:

(i) move entries from one category to another where applicable and appropriate;
(ii) not award any entry within a category;

Landscape: Paul Hoelen
Wildlife: Richard I’Anson
People: Richard I’Anson
Creative: Jackie Ranken
Mono: Jackie Ranken
Aerial: Paul Hoelen

WINNER’S ANNOUNCEMENT

Winners, runners-up and finalists will be announced in December 2022 and published on the Competition Website (Winner’s Gallery).

IT IS THE INDIVIDUAL ENTRANT’S RESPONSIBILITY TO READ ALL THE RULES BEFORE SUBMITTING ANY IMAGES.

The Rules

Any breach of the Rules by you will void your entry unless that breach is waived by us. Any entry found not to comply with the Rules below may be disqualified. No refunds will be made in the event of disqualification and any prizes will be forfeited. If a breach has occurred, but is discovered after an award, then we may withdraw the relevant entry from any of the exhibitions and we will require the return or reimbursement of any prize already received. Any decision by the organiser of the competition (IP Travel Photography Pty Ltd / Ignacio Palacios) relating to the 360º Photo Awards competition is final and binding. No negotiation will be considered, and we will not enter into subsequent correspondence regarding such decisions.

About: 360º Photo Awards is owned and managed by IP Travel Photography Pty Ltd. Any contact with us regarding the competition should be via the email address: [email protected] or [email protected]. We cannot be held responsible for emails that do not arrive due to your email security settings or restrictions placed by your Internet service provider. You must ensure that your settings accept emails from [email protected] and [email protected]. 360 Photo Awards is a trade mark owned by Ignacio Palacios, IP Travel Photography Pty Ltd.
Entrants: Entry is open to any photographer, amateur and professional, aged 18 years and over, from any country in the world. Entrants must upload their entries as digital files via the competition website: www.360photoawards.com following the online instructions provided. Entrants will receive a receipt of entry email once the entry process is completed.
Closing date & entry address: Entries are open from 1^st May 2022 and close on 31 October 2022, 11.59 pm Pacific Daylight Time (GMT-7/California)
Entry fees: A non-refundable entry fee of US$15 per entry is required from 1 May – 30th June 2022 (EARLY BIRD Period). A non-refundable entry fee of US$20 per entry is required for the period 01 July – 31 October 2022. The organiser reserves the right to extend or shorten the EARLY BIRD Period at any time. There is no limit on the number of entries in each category and on the number of entries per entrant.
Payment of entry fees: Entry fees must be paid in US$ and are payable by credit card or PayPal. Please follow the prompts when finalising your entry. You can add entries at any time until the competition closes but once your entries have been confirmed they won’t be able to be edited or changed. The organiser does not account or have any liability for any participants’ bank fees and charges that may be levied in currency conversion and currency transaction by the participating bank or institution.
Awards & categories: Landscape, Wildlife, People, Creative, Mono, Aerial, 360º Photo Awards – Photographer of the Year 2022 Australian, 360º Photo Awards – Photographer of the Year 2022 International.
Image capture dates: All entries in all categories, including all elements used within your entry in the Creative category, must have been captured after 01 Dec, 2018.
Digital manipulation: You may use digital manipulation to optimise an image including cropping, however you are not permitted to add or remove key elements of the composition, unless you are entering the Creative category. Digital adjustments including tone and contrast, brightness, colour balance, burning, dodging, cropping, sharpening, noise reduction, minor cleaning work (e.g. removal of sensor dust or scratches on transparencies/scans, removal of chromatic aberration), HDR, stitched panoramas, focus stacking are permitted providing that they comply with the Competition’s principles of authenticity – a true representation of nature – so that they do not deceive the viewer or misrepresent the reality of nature, or what was originally captured by the camera. Manipulations which could realistically be achieved in a darkroom will be accepted, however, the judges have the discretion to reject any image which has been, in their opinion, over-manipulated, removing the integrity of the original image (unless you are entering the Creative category). The following digital adjustments are only allowed in the Creative category: adding, moving or removing objects such as skies, animals or parts of animals, plants, people etc; the removal of dirt, highlights, backscatter, bubbles, debris and similar; composites, painting the foreground / painting out the background. Aerial images that have been digitally manipulated this way can only be submitted in the Creative category. Re-photographing existing photographs or images for any purpose other than creating a supporting element or background will be grounds for disqualification, unless the existing image is the work of the entrant.
Composite Images: Composite images, from more than one original image are only applicable in the Creative category. Composites includes images shot at different exposures/dynamic ranges and combined. Images stitched to form a panoramic image will be accepted. Multiple exposure ‘in camera’ is permitted. Entrants who are shortlisted as finalists will be required to provide the original image file (RAW or JPG as shot). All elements within an image presented for judging must be photographic in origin and any post-production must be the work of the entrant. Composite images in the Creative category are permitted provided all images or any part of an image and all post-production used to produce the composite image is the sole work of the applicant. All elements of the final image must be photographed/the original work of or by the entrant. Similarly, any imported element into an image must be photographic in origin and the original work of the photographer. The use of third-party imagery such as stock images including skies, and textures are prohibited.
Plagiarism: If the organiser suspects that an entry has been plagiarised, either knowingly or subconsciously, the entry will be disqualified. Plagiarism is where another photograph, is copied, and all or a significant number of the key elements (e.g. subject, location, pose, crop, post-production) are the same or very similar. Being inspired by a style, pose or subject from which you create your own entry is not considered plagiarism.
Image copyright: The entrant must be the sole author and owner of the copyright of all images entered. It is the legal responsibility of the entrant, and not the organiser, to ensure that they comply with these ownerships and copyright requirements and own the rights to reproduction of their images. Entries that do not fulfil these criteria will be deemed ineligible and disqualified. Where this is discovered after the prize has been awarded, the prize must be returned or refunded by the entrant. Entrants agree to fully indemnify IP Travel Photography Pty Ltd and its sponsors in respect of all royalties, fees and any other monies owing to any person by reason of the entrant breaching any of the foregoing.
Reproduction rights & your Copyright: The copyright will, at all times, be retained by the photographer in each entry. Where an image or images are reproduced the photographer will be credited. The organisers and sponsors reserve the right to free reproduction and exhibition of entered images in all media, but only in connection with these awards. A selection of the winning and other best images may be chosen for reproduction in a portfolio book or exhibition. For compilation and retrospective books, the organiser will seek the permission and agreement from photographers before inclusion of any image entered.
PLEASE NOTE: We will not directly encourage members of the public to post winner gallery images on their personal social media accounts. However, you acknowledge that neither are we not realistically able to prevent this from happening. You waive any right you may have (if any) to bring a claim against the Competition or the organiser as a result of a failure to prevent members of the public taking or sharing your photographs on social media accounts.
You are not permitted to submit images that have been awarded any prize in a major photographic competition in Australia or internationally prior to 01 May 2022. A major competition is considered one with over 5000 entries.
Online entry: Submissions must be in digital format, but the original entry does not need to have been taken on a digital camera. High-quality scans of transparencies or negatives are also acceptable. For all categories, digital files must be submitted as
- JPG file format saved at a high-quality setting of at least 8 in Photoshop, sRGB
- The maximum file size for uploaded images 2300 pixels on the longest side
- Must not exceed 4MB in size
- Please ensure that your images are free of frames, signatures or watermarks.
- Please ensure that your images and all elements were captured after 01 DEC, 2018.
Shortlisted entries and final judging: If you are shortlisted for the final judging round (top ten entries in each category), you may then be required to submit higher-resolution files of your shortlisted images along with the RAW/original files. RAW files (e.g. .CR2, .NEF, .ORF, .PEF etc), or original untouched JPEGs and original transparencies or negatives, will be required for authentication. DNG files are only permitted if this is the native RAW format of the camera. Any entry that cannot be authenticated or is not of an acceptable quality will be disqualified. We reserve the right to ask you to supply a range of ‘before’ and ‘after’ original files for any image that requires further authentication.
Judging: All judges will be appointed by the organiser. The finalists and category winners will be determined by the judges and the organiser in accordance with the competition rules. Their decision is final on all matters relating to the competition, and organisers will not enter into any correspondence regarding the judging or organisation of the competition. If you are successful, you will be notified in strict confidence. It is a condition of entry, any award and any prize that you do not disclose the details of any shortlisted or winning entries to any third parties. The Organiser’s decisions are final. Right of rejection and/or right of refusal are at the discretion of the event Organisers and can happen at any time. The judging will take place during the months of November and December and the winners will be announced in December.
Prizes: The list of prizes is available on the website. They are non-transferable and there are no alternative prizes available for category winners. The organiser, IP Travel Photography Pty Ltd, in its sole discretion but acting reasonably, reserves the right, at our convenience to substitute, the whole or part of the prizes to a comparable alternative due to unforeseen circumstances and any changes will be posted on the competition website. Prizes are not transferable, and no cash equivalent will be offered. The prizes are the responsibility of the competition sponsors and IP Travel Photography cannot be held liable for the failure of the competition sponsors to provide a prize in the event of their liquidation, bankruptcy, insolvency or change of ownership.
Travel prizes: Any travel that may be offered as prizes in this competition may have some restriction on dates of travel due to fixed departure dates, availability of flights or accommodation. Prize winners are responsible for their own travel costs to and from their country of residence to in order to take their winning trip. The winners will be expected to pay any additional expenses associated with their trip, such as travel insurance, additional car hire fees and insurances, fuel for car hire, spending money, meals, local taxes, park entry fees and local travel etc., and any changes in the itinerary additional to those made by the organisers or which are not already included in the prize package. Full details can be obtained from the organisers. The prize trips are not transferrable, and no cash alternative will be offered. Discount vouchers for a photography workshop or photography tour can only be applied to one trip.
Quality of entries: If the quality of entries falls below the required standard, the judges or organisers reserve the right not to award a prize/prizes in the relevant category.
Winners: A full list of finalists and winner entries will be published on www.360photoawards.com in December 2022. All prize winners must agree to their success being publicised by the organisers and/or sponsors.
Winners’ publicity: All prize winners will agree to take part in publicity about the awards after the results are announced. If your entry is selected by the judging panel, you may participate in related publicity and agree to the use of your name and likeness for the purposes of advertising, promotion and publicity of the Competition and/or potential exhibitions without additional compensation.
Data Protection: You agree and acknowledge that IP Travel Photography Pty Ltd is permitted to receive your registration data. We will collect personal data about you at the time of registration, and as otherwise provided in order to administer the Competition, future competition news, potential future exhibitions and/or all associated activities.
Legal: The Organiser reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify and/or remove any entry that does not comply with the competition rules and ethical requirements stated below. IP Travel Photography, in our sole discretion but acting reasonably, reserve the right without prior notice to cancel the Competition and terminate the contracts and licences created by these Rules subject to the refund of entry fees.

You warrant and represent, in respect of each entry submitted by you, that:

You are the sole owner and author of each entry and fully accept and are bound by these Rules.
Caption information supplied must be complete, true and accurate. You must not include your name in the metadata (e.g. the copyright or creator field), caption or on the image itself. EXIF details should be kept intact.
You abide by the rules and ensure that your entries comply with the rules.
Each entry presented for judging is photographic in origin. Generally, this means using a camera or similar device to make the original capture, but further image manipulation and editing using image editing software is permitted in the Creative category. Images which are graphic design or paintings in origin are not acceptable.
Image editing is your own work and not that of a third party.
To maintain the highest standards in all matters relating to the Competition and not to do or say anything that does or might damage our reputation or that of the Competition, the Official Sponsor(s) and that you will be liable to us, and the Official Sponsor(s) in respect of any damages or losses incurred by those organisations as a result of a breach of the Rules by you.
Your entry does not contain any infringing, threatening, false, misleading, abusive, harassing, libellous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, scandalous, inflammatory or pornographic.
Each entry does not contain any material that could constitute or encourage conduct, which would be considered a criminal offence, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any law.
Each entry does not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, contract rights, or any other intellectual property rights of any third person or entity, or violate any person’s rights of privacy or publicity
You confirm that each person depicted in each entry has not refused you permission to be portrayed as shown. Any costumes, props or other materials used must be rented or borrowed with the permission of the owner, and all other relevant permissions must have been obtained.
Any images you submit have been taken with the consent of:
1. anyone who is identifiable in that image; or
2. the consent of their parent/guardian if they are under the age of 16,
and that those individuals have been advised of the following:
1. that the image may be submitted to a photography competition; and
2. that their photograph may be used in accordance with these Rules.
The images submitted in the Wildlife category don’t feature farm animals, family pets, and/or cultivated plants.
You must not do anything to injure or distress an animal or to damage its habitat in an attempt to secure an image. This includes flying (or flying a drone) too low or noisily over an animal. If the jury suspect that an image has been achieved through the use of cruel or unethical practices including the use of live bait, the entry may be disqualified and the Competition reserves the right to report the entrant to the relevant authorities.
Live baiting is not permitted, neither is any means of baiting that may put an animal in danger or adversely affect its behaviour, either directly or through irresponsible habituation.
You are responsible for ensuring full compliance with any applicable national or international legislation (including legislation related to drones) and for securing any relevant permits (which, in the case of human portraits, will include the subject’s permission) and which must be made available to us if we request it.
If we suspect that an entry has been achieved through cruel or unethical practices, including the use of live or irresponsible bait or in any way in breach of these Rules, the entry will be disqualified and we reserve the right to report you to the applicable authorities.Furthermore, you warrant and represent, in respect of each entry submitted by you that it does not include:
Trademarks owned by third parties.
Copyrighted materials owned by third parties.
Names, likenesses, or other characteristics identifying celebrities or other public figures, living or dead.
Content, which you have purchased or secured the rights to use, such as stock images.The organiser assumes no responsibility for incorrect or incomplete information whether caused by website users or equipment or software used in the competition. The organiser, IP Travel Photography Pty Ltd does not assume any responsibility for technical failures of any kind, such as loss of connection or other malfunctions with regard to the competition like server errors, software failure, computer failures, email account issues, virus, bugs etc.

Competition rights: All rights to the 360º Photo Awards and the contents of this website (not to entrants’ images) are copyrighted and owned by the organisers. 360º Photo Awards is a registered trademark ™ and cannot be used without written permission from the organiser, IP Travel Photography Pty Ltd.
IP Travel Photography and 360º Photo Awards newsletters: By entering the awards and agreeing to the Terms and Conditions, you are opting-in to receive e-newsletters from the competition and IP Travel Photography, so that we can update you on the awards, the finalists and the results plus news items relating to the awards, its sponsors or entrants. You will have the right to unsubscribe from the e-newsletter mailing list.
The rules: Whilst the information given in these rules is correct, IP Travel Photography reserves the right to change any of them without prior notice without refund. The revised rules will be posted in this section of the website, and it is the entrants’ sole responsibility to review this section and to abide by the rules of the awards. By completing online entry, entrants will confirm that they have read and agreed to be bound by the rules of the competition. Any breach of these rules by an entrant will void their entry. If a breach has occurred, but is discovered after the award of a prize, then the organisers may disqualify that entry and request the return of that prize. Barring exceptional circumstances beyond the control of IP Travel Photography, every effort will be made to complete each annual award.
Entire Agreement: The rules and any other webpages or documents incorporated into them constitute the entire agreement between you and IP Travel Photography Pty Ltd and supersedes and extinguishes all previous agreements, promises, assurances, warranties, representations and understandings, whether written or oral, relating to its subject matter, including but not limited to any advertising or promotional materials. You agree that you shall have no remedies in respect of any statement, representation, assurance or warranty (whether made innocently or negligently) that is not set out in these rules.
Governing Law and Jurisdiction: The rules and the relationship between 360º Photo Awards and its entrants shall be governed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of Australia and the state of New South Wales. Any dispute may be decided by the Australian courts. All terms and conditions subject to change without notice.

COMPETITION RULES

CATEGORIES

CATEGORY RULES SNAPSHOT

AWARDS

READ THE RULES AND CHECK YOUR ELIGIBILITY

HOW TO SELECT YOUR IMAGES

ENTER ONLINE

ENTRY FEES

ENTRY DEADLINE

JUDGES 2022

WINNER’S ANNOUNCEMENT

The Rules

Join Our Newsletter

CONTACT

SOCIAL MEDIA

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JUDGES

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