The Capture Awards 2024 - Terms And Conditions
ENTRANT ELIGIBILITY
1. The Capture Awards is open to citizens and residents of Australia and New Zealand. For the purposes of this competition a resident is described as someone who has lived in Australia or New Zealand for at least six months at the time of entering this competition.
2. In order to receive a prize, you must be able to must supply an Australian or New Zealand mailing address.
3. Employees of Yaffa Media Pty Ltd ('the organiser') or the sponsors are not permitted to enter the competition.
4. Freelance writers and photographers who have been paid to contribute to Capture since 1 January 2022 are not permitted to enter the competition.
5. The category winners of The Capture Awards 2023 are not eligible to enter The Capture Awards 2024.
ENTRY ELIGIBILITY
6. Still images must have been captured on or after 1 January 2022. (If EXIF data indicates an image was captured before 1 January 2022 it may be disqualified.)
7. All visual elements in the entry must have been photographed by you and must be 100% photographic in origin, including textures, backgrounds, skies, borders, etc. The use of stock images or clip art is not allowed.
8. You may enter multiple times in one or more categories.
9. An image, or a similar version of that image, that has been a Winner or Runner-Up in any of the following Yaffa Media photo competitions – Australasia's Top Emerging Photographers, Photographer of the Year, The Landscape Awards, Wilderness Photographer of the Year or The Mono Awards – will not be eligible to be a Winner or Runner-Up in The Capture Awards.
COPYRIGHT
10. You must be the creator of all visual elements in your entry. You must be the copyright holder of the entered work.
11. You retain complete copyright of your work. By entering, you provide The Capture Awards and Capture a limited-use authorisation to publish and distribute their photographs for the sole purpose of promoting The Capture Awards. Images will be credited with the name of the photographer if used by The Capture Awards or Capture.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
12. This is a photography competition and, as such, any entered images must have been entirely captured with a camera (digital, film or phone camera) by the entrant. Images created by artificial intelligence using image-creation programs (for example, MidJourney, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, etc) may not be entered. Images edited using Generative AI in programs such as Photoshop, Topaz Photo AI, etc, where pixels are added that did not exist in the original photo, may not be entered. The competition organisers reserve the right to request original image files (this may include images taken before and after the entered image) to verify the photographic integrity of a submitted entry. Failure to produce original image files may result in disqualification. Competition organisers reserve the right to disqualify an image if the photographic integrity of a submitted entry cannot be adequately verified.
DIGITAL MANIPULATION
13. Please check the relevant Category descriptions (14-19) below for information about post-production requirements and restrictions.
CATEGORIES
14. ADVERTISING & FASHION
Image may be part of a commissioned or self-commissioned (personal) advertising or fashion project. Submitted images should not include superimposed text, graphics or branding. (Branding that is part of the original photo, say on a product label, may be included.)
POST PRODUCTION: Image may be single-image or composite. In-camera multiple exposures may be entered. All elements in the image (including textures, backgrounds, skies, borders, etc) must have been photographed by the entrant. Third party retouchers/digital operators may be used.
15. DOCUMENTARY & STREET
Image must be a truthful representation of an observed 'real' event. An event must not be staged by the photographer (or someone associated with the photographer, for example an assistant) for the purposes of photography.
POST PRODUCTION: Image must be single capture. Composite images are not allowed. In-camera multiple exposures are not allowed. Adding or changing pixels through the use of cloning or other means is not permitted, other than to remove dust spots. Cropping is allowed. Black-and-white conversions, along with minor tone, noise, and sharpness changes are permitted, with the proviso that these changes do not alter the narrative of the image. Competition organisers reserve the right to request original image files or to disqualify an image if they feel it lacks authenticity due to over-manipulation.
16. LANDSCAPE & ENVIRONMENT
Landscape image of the natural or built environment.
POST PRODUCTION: Image must be single capture, not composite, with the following exceptions: stitched panoramas, focus stacks and HDR images. (In these cases only, multiple images may be captured at the precise location and camera perspective within a 12-hour time period, and merged to form a single image.) In-camera multiple exposures may be entered. Images may be processed in post-production to adjust standard photographic variables such as cropping, noise, sharpness, colour, tone and contrast, including dodging and burning and black-and-white conversions. Lens and perspective corrections and minor cloning to remove dust spots and distractions are allowed. Competition organisers reserve the right to request original image files or to disqualify an image if they feel it lacks authenticity due to over-manipulation.
17. PEOPLE & PORTRAIT
Images must include one or more people in the frame.
POST PRODUCTION: Image may be single-image or composite. In-camera multiple exposures may be entered. All elements in the image (including textures, backgrounds, skies, borders, etc) must have been photographed by the entrant.
18. WEDDING & EVENT
Image must be from an actual wedding, engagement, civil ceremony, or reception, or from a scheduled event not staged by the photographer (or someone associated with the photographer, for example an assistant) for the purposes of photography.
POST PRODUCTION: Image must be single capture. Composite images are not allowed, though in-camera multiple exposures may be entered. Images may be processed in post-production to adjust standard photographic variables such as cropping, noise, sharpness, colour, tone and contrast, including dodging and burning and black-and-white conversions. Lens and perspective corrections and minor cloning to remove distractions is allowed. Skin and hair retouching is also allowed. Competition organisers reserve the right to request original image files or to disqualify an image if they feel it lacks authenticity due to over-manipulation.
19. ART & CONCEPTUAL
Entries should explore creative and imaginative concepts, pushing the boundaries of traditional photography to convey unique artistic visions. Your image may be part of a commissioned or self-commissioned (personal) project.
POST PRODUCTION: Image may be single-image or composite. All elements in the entry must have been photographed by you and must be 100% photographic in origin, including textures, backgrounds, skies, borders, etc. You may use cloning (band-aid tool) to 'clean up' the background part of the image, as well as people's skin. You may use Photoshop 'Clone Stamp' tool or layers to copy parts of a photo that you have shot to create patterns. The use of stock images, stock video, or clip art is not permitted.
As with all categories, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) – including the use of image creation software (such as MidJourney, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, etc) and AI replacement tools (such as Photoshop's Generative Fill) – is not permitted.
POST PRODUCTION: Image may be single-image or composite. In-camera multiple exposures may be entered. All elements in the image (including textures, backgrounds, skies, borders, etc) must have been photographed by the entrant.
IMAGE CAPTURE CONSIDERATIONS
20. All entries must be taken safely and in a manner that complies with local laws and regulations.
21. An entrant may be disqualified at any stage if it is found they have engaged in unethical practices in the capture and creation of their entry.
DRONE PHOTOGRAPHY
22. The Capture Awards supports the safe and legal operation of remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), including drones. All entries captured with an RPA must comply with local rules and regulations. Any images suspected of being captured illegally will be disqualified (for example – flying overhead of people in a public place or near wildlife or in a national park without permission). In order 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. Competition organisers reserve the right to disqualify any image they suspect may have been captured illegally.
23. Images should not include watermarks or other branding. The competition organiser reserves the right to disqualify any entry with a watermark or other branding.
CLOSING DATE
24. Closing date for entries is 11.59pm (AEDT) Tuesday 17 September 2024.
JUDGING
25. Images will be de-identified for shortlisting and judging.
26. Entries will be shortlisted by the staff of Capture.
27. A panel of leading photographers will judge the shortlisted entries.
28. In the event of a tie for first or second place, the relevant images will be returned to the judges for an additional round of voting.
29. A category winner is not eligible to be Runner-up in the same category.
30. The judges' decisions are final, and no further correspondence will be entered into.
WINNERS' ANNOUNCEMENT AND RECOGNITION
31. Winners, runners-up, and top-ranked images will be revealed in the Summer 2024 edition of Capture magazine (available in December 2024). A simultaneous announcement will be made at www.capturemag.com.au.
32. Award recipients (Winners, Runners-up, Top 10, Highly Commended, and Commended) will be notified by email.
PRIZES
33. Prize money is in Australian dollars.
34. Product prizes are subject to availability, not transferable or exchangeable and cannot be taken as cash. If a prize is unavailable, the competition organiser reserves the right to substitute a prize with a prize of similar value and/or specification.
GENERAL
35. Entry fees are non-refundable.
36. The entrant indemnifies the organiser (Yaffa Media Pty Ltd) against any claim, legal or otherwise, that may arise out of publication of images.
37. By entering this competition the entrant confirms all of the above Terms and Conditions have been met. Any entry found to breach the above Terms and Conditions will be disqualified and all prize money and product prizes will be returned to the organiser.