Eligibility

• Entrants must be citizens of a Commonwealth member country.
• Photos must have been taken in a Commonwealth member country.
• There is no age restriction for entry into the Competition.
• One photo submission per entrant.
• Entries will not be accepted from judges of the Competition or from individuals employed by the Secretariat.

Agreement

The ‘Rules of Entry’ as defined here for the Commonwealth Photography Awards 2016 (Rules) incorporate the Competition’s ‘Terms and Conditions’ (Terms). The Terms shall govern in event of conflict. By submitting an entry, you agree to be bound by the Rules and Terms of the Competition.

Competition deadline

The final closing date for entries into the Commonwealth Photography Competition is Monday 25 April 2016 at 12pm GMT.

Entering the Competition

Entries must be made via the Competition’s online form and must include:

• Entrant’s name
• Entrant’s nationality
• A photo caption
• The location of where the photo was taken
• A photo description explaining why/how the photo represents ‘An Inclusive Commonwealth’.

Entry acknowledgement

Your entry into the competition will be acknowledged by email.

If your submitted photo adheres to the Rules and Terms of the Competition it will be approved and displayed on the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Instagram account. Users will be encouraged to ‘like’ and comment on their favourite photos.

Approved photos will also be published on the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Judging process

Criteria for judging will be based on:

• Relation to the theme – how closely does the photography relate to the theme of ‘An Inclusive Commonwealth’?
• Composition – how has the shot been framed? What angle is it shot from? What is the subject of the image?
• Focus – is the subject of the photo immediately clear?
• Difficulty – how difficult was the shot to obtain?
• Originality of idea

Judges

• A panel consisting of staff from the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Secretary-General’s Office, Youth, Gender, Human Rights, and Communications Divisions will shortlist Competition entries.
• Two external professional photographers will select one regional finalist from each of the Commonwealth’s five regions, and the overall winner.

Richard Lewis
Richard is a London-based professional photographer with over 25 years’ experience working on some of the biggest news and sports stories in the UK and world. His work has been featured on the front pages of many of the UK’s national newspapers, as well in Times Magazine and other international publications.

Adam Gasson
Adam has been a professional photographer for over a decade, working in the UK, Europe and North America. Alongside his work for the Commonwealth Secretariat he also shoots for clients including Virgin Atlantic, The Guardian, Save the Children, RAC, Specsavers and others.

Awards

The winning photographs will form part of an exhibition at the Commonwealth Secretariat’s headquarters in London throughout 2016. These photographs will also feature in a new Commonwealth Calendar for 2017 and be published and promoted on the Commonwealth’s website and social media accounts. Each featured finalist will receive a copy of the calendar, in addition to a cash prize.

The decision of the judges is final. No correspondence will be entered into. All winners will be notified by email on/by 4 May 2016.

Commonwealth Photographer of the Year 2016
The photographer with the picture judged by a panel of judges to be the best overall will receive a cash prize of £1,000 (GBP).

Regional Awards
The best photographer from Africa, Asia, Caribbean and the Americas, Europe, and the Pacific will each receive a cash prize of £500 (GBP).

Highly Commended Award
The photographer with the entry which receives the most ‘likes’ on Instagram will receive £100 (GBP).

General enquiries

For all enquiries regarding the Commonwealth Photography Competition 2016, please contact [email protected]

Enter the Competition