IAFOR Documentary Photography Award 2018

IAFOR Documentary Photography Award 2018 now is over!

CALL FOR ENTRIES: The IAFOR Documentary Photography Award, organised by the International Academic Forum (IAFOR), with the aim to promote and assist in the professional development of emerging documentary photographers and photojournalists, recently has opened the call for entries for 2018.

The IAFOR Documentary Photography Award is supported by the International Academic Forum (IAFOR) and builds off of the strength of the IAFOR Documentary Film Award. This documentary award has a rich history of exposing truths, telling stories, raising awareness and creating discussion.

This documentary award aims to promote and assist in the professional development of emerging documentary photographers and photojournalists.

This year’s competition theme is “Fearful Futures”.

"We live in a period characterized by rises in regionalism, nationalism and authoritarianism; a time of great global uncertainty and anxiety, as well as inequality and iniquity which both reflects and drives political divide, and undermines international systems of cooperation. Clashes of identities, beliefs and ideologies contribute to a feeling that humanity is spiraling out of control; that our relationships with each other, as well as with the earth and environment, have never been worse."

"As humans, we are not conditioned by fear alone, but instead by a remarkable ingenuity, and a capacity for hope, self-reflection, activism and action. This agency to improve our own lives, and those of others, is the theme of this year’s IAFOR Documentary Photography Award, inviting us to consider the ways in which we contextualize and process the past, reimagining ourselves, our relationships, and our environments; driving positive change and reclaiming the future as a time we look towards with hope, and even optimism."

Submission requirements:

• Each applicant may submit 10 to 20 images related to the award theme, either in the form of a photo-essay or as a collection of single images.

• The majority of images should have been made during 2017-2018. However, at the discretion of the judges, images made earlier than 2017 will be allowed if they form part of a photo-essay continued during 2017-2018.

• IOt’s accepted high-quality scanned images of non-digital photographs. It is not accepted hard copies (prints) of photographs.

• Along with your images, please submit a project description about the photo-essay / portfolio of images entered into the award and how it relates to the project theme of “Fearful Futures”. Your project description should be no more than 1 x A4 page in length (approximately 500 words).

• Please also submit a short biography of the photographer (approximately 100–300 words).

Story Proposal

• Please submit a story proposal for an assignment that you would undertake if you were to win the award. Your story proposal should be no more than 1 x A4 page in length (approximately 500 words). Your story proposal should demonstrate that you have researched the subject and should include a breakdown of your budget. Please include references and links to information regarding the subject. The story proposal is an important aspect of your submission, and will be carefully considered by the judges.

Important: The story proposal can be a continuation of the submitted photo-essay / portfolio of images entered into the award. Though the submitted images/portfolio must be related to the award theme, with 2018’s theme being “Fearful Futures”, it is not necessary for the submitted story proposal to be related to the award theme.

Size and Quality of Images

• Images must include your full name and image number in the file info. For example, 01_firstname_surname.jpg
• Images must be uploaded in jpg / jpeg format (medium to high quality).
• Images should be saved at 300 dpi.
• Images should be saved at 3000 pixels on the longest edge.
• Images should be no more than 10mb per image.
• An embedded ICC profile is needed. Adobe RGB or sRGB is recommended for colour images. Gamma 2.2 is recommended for black and white. No CMYK.
• Both black and white and colour photographs are accepted.

The content of an image must not be altered or retouched beyond the accepted standards allowed by the industry. The jury will ultimately decide whether an image conforms to these standards. Minor adjustments are acceptable in the following areas: levels, curves, dodging, burning, minimal sharpening, contrast, colour correction.

Images with added borders, personal logos, embedded watermarks or other effects (such as HDR or selective colouring) will not be accepted. Images must not show the name of a photographer or the name of the agency or publication that the photographer belongs to. This information can be included in the metadata of the image but must not be visible on the image itself.

Images submitted must be the entrant’s original work and shall not infringe on any copyrights or any other rights of any third parties.

This year’s award will be judged by a panel of leading professionals in the field of documentary photography and photojournalism.

Winners will be announced during a IAFOR’s MediAsia conference in Tokyo, Japan.

There is no entry fees to participate!

Who can participate? ⇣

Applicants must be younger than 31 years old on September 12, 2018 OR enrolled in part-time or full-time education on September 12, 2018 (proof may be required).

Tags ⇣