Photographer of the Year

Emphasis is on originality, creativity, newsworthiness, technical skill and excellence. Submitted photographs can be of any subject and may have appeared in any section of a News Limited newspaper, magazine or digital platform.

Criteria

This award is for up to five photographs - either from a series or of separate subjects and different genres - that demonstrate the photographer’s ability to consistently deliver attention-grabbing pictures that led their publication’s coverage of any story or issue. Any digital digital alteration must be declared.

What to submit

Aside from the five photographs to be judged, your entry must include:
•    Your resume or career outline. This doesn’t need to be a full CV. It must include your contact details
•    Up to five photographs to illustrate your best work and range
•    A background statement describing each piece of work you submit.

Background statement

The background statement for this award does not need to be as comprehensive as it does for other categories. However, please describe as fully as possible:
•    The assignment you were on and its background
•    How the photograph came about
•    What you were trying to achieve with it
•    The conditions at the time
•    Any technical or practical difficulties you encountered
•    Anything else that may be relevant to the judges

Photographers are not judged on the writing skills demonstrated in their supporting statements.

It is preferable that you submit not only your photographs, but also the pages on which they were published so judges can view them in context.

Dates for eligible work

All submitted work must have been published in the 12 months from August 1, 2009, to July 31, 2010.  

Who can enter

The award is open to all editorial staff working on all News Limited national, metropolitan, regional and community publications, including websites and magazines, in Australia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

Permanent part-time staff are eligible, as are contractors. Casual employees, freelancers and contributors are not eligible. It is open either to individuals, or to teams that are jointly responsible for the entry.

You may nominate yourself or a colleague. If you are nominating someone else, you need to lodge the entry yourself and give your contact details.

How much work to enter

You may enter only five photographs to support your entry. Please do not enter more than five. The judges will assess only the first five. 

How many times can you enter?

Individuals may enter the same category only once a year.

There also has been a change in the criteria this year. If there is a strong news photo in your portfolio, it can be also be entered in the Photograph of the Year category.

How to Enter

Please read the preliminary instructions provided on the website. There are links there for guidelines for library PDF or page archive retrieval and size of photographic entries.

Entry via the website is preferred.

If you cannot do this, a CD-ROM of your entry is acceptable. Please include on the CD a document giving your name, publication or website, category and contact details. Include a CV or resume, as well as the examples of your work. Send this to: News Awards, c/o Corporate Affairs, Level 5, News Limited, 2 Holt Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010.

You may send your entry in the internal mail, where this service is provided – but email Sarah Cullens cullenss@newsltd.com.au so we know a CD entry has been lodged.

Entries from PNG, Fiji, WA Community Newspapers and some areas of News Digital Media will need to be via CD because they have no access to the entry coupon from the website. 

If you have any problems submitting your online entry, call Les Hoffman, on 02 6680 2080 or email hoffmanl@newsltd.com.au.

If you have any questions about the awards, call Lucinda Duckett on 02 9288 3125 or email duckettl@newsltd.com.au.

Closing date

Entries must be received by 5.00pm Tuesday, August 3.