The Capture Awards 2025 - 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 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 2023 are not permitted to enter the competition.
5. Category winners of The Capture Awards 2024 are not eligible to enter The Capture Awards 2025.
ENTRY ELIGIBILITY
6. Still images must have been captured on or after 1 January 2023. (If EXIF data indicates an image was captured before 1 January 2023 the entry may be disqualified, unless the entrant can provide evidence that the EXIF data is incorrect.)
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 similar version of that image, taken by you, that has been a Winner 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 your 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.
GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)
12. An image created wholly or in part with the assistance of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), 3D, or other illustration processes may not be entered.
13. 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 or edited using generative artificial intelligence may not be entered. The competition organisers reserve the right to request original image files (this may include RAW files and images taken before or 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 verified.
AI NOISE REDUCTION AND SHARPENING
14. The use of AI noise reduction and sharpening technology is allowed, as long as the integrity of the original photographic image is maintained. Competition organisers reserve the right to request original image files (this may include RAW files and images taken before or after the entered image) to confirm the photographic authenticity of the image. Organisers reserve the right to disqualify any image if they feel it lacks authenticity due to over-manipulation.
DIGITAL MANIPULATION
15. Please check the relevant Category descriptions (14-19) below for information about post-production requirements and restrictions.
CATEGORIES
16. 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. As with all categories, the use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), stock images and clip art is not permitted.
17. 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 or model) 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. As with all categories, the use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), stock images and clip art is not permitted.
18. LANDSCAPE & ENVIRONMENT
Landscape may include images of the natural and 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 minor distractions (such as a twig or leaf in the corner of an image) are allowed. Medium to large distractions cannot be cloned out (such as a person, car, telegraph poles etc).
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.
As with all categories, the use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), stock images and clip art is not permitted.
19. PEOPLE & PORTRAIT
Image 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. As with all categories, the use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), stock images and clip art is not permitted.
20. 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 or model) 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 dust spots and minor distractions (such as a twig, leaf, or rubbish in the corner of an image) are allowed. Medium to large distractions cannot be cloned out (such as a person, car, telegraph poles etc).
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. As with all categories, the use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), stock images and clip art is not permitted.
21. 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. In-camera multiple exposures may be entered. All elements in the entry (including textures, backgrounds, skies, borders, etc) must have been photographed by you and must be 100% photographic in origin. You may use cloning to 'clean up' the background or duplicate pixels for artistic effect. As with all categories, the use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), stock images and clip art is not permitted.
IMAGE CAPTURE CONSIDERATIONS
22. All entries must be taken safely and in a manner that complies with local laws and regulations.
23. An entrant may be disqualified if it is found they have engaged in unethical practices in the capture and creation of their entry.
DRONE PHOTOGRAPHY
24. 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.
25. Due to the difficulty of assessing the legality of images of this type, aerial images of cetaceans captured by drone are not eligible to be entered in the competition.
WATERMARKS, BRANDING AND BORDERS
26. Images should not include watermarks or other branding. The competition organiser reserves the right to disqualify any entry with a watermark or other branding.
27. Images should not include artificially added borders, eg white space or black outlines. The competition organiser reserves the right to crop out borders prior to judging and display.