Full Rules and Regulations

IPPVA Category Guidelines 2019.

Portrait
From a single subject to family groups. Young and old. Pets may be included in this category either on their own or with family members. The style may be classic, modern, documentary or environmental. This is a social category. Corporate Portraits would be under the Commercial Category. Likewise, Fine Art Portraits fall under Fine Art. Please bear in mind that Portrait images must be derived from commissioned portrait sessions and that images with the same subject and/or from the same scene/session cannot be entered into multiple categories.

Wedding
 

There are three distinct sub-categories.

·       Classic

·       Creative

·       Documentary

Classic Wedding Photography
 

Posed, traditional or classic photography – The classic style focuses on taking posed shots of the couple and the group at large and involves a lot of direction from the photographer. It may not necessarily capture the emotions of the day as whole, but will give some beautiful traditional shots.

This category shows reverence to the classic wedding images of the past that are the definition of timeless.

Creative Photography
 

Creative Photography closely follows market trends or even sets new ones.  Creative wedding photography is modern, contemporary, fresh and exciting. This style of image may have many of the classic elements, but also incorporates many modern and creative elements, often pushing the boundaries beyond the norm in wedding photography.

Posing or client interactions may be unusual and break convention. Compositions, cropping and styles of processing may also be key elements in an award-winning image of this type. The photographer must clearly convey their understanding of the elements of modern, creative photography and show that they have attempted to understand the genre.

These shots may be less about the mood of the day or the couple as characters, but instead the vision and artistic style of the photographer.

Documentary Photography
 

Also known as reportage or journalistic photography. The aim of this type of photographic style is to document the wedding day in an unobtrusive fashion, conveying a clear narrative.  The photographer must show that the image was completely undirected and had a 'hands off' approach when taken.

It imperative that the image tells a story. This is where there is a difference between documentary and candid. There are many moments that can be captured on the fly, i.e. ‘candidly’ but this does not necessarily make it a documentary image. The judges will be looking for a story/drama/life/emotion, looking to see that the photographer has composed the shot to include the elements needed to convey that story. A simple candid shot is not documentary, judges will be looking for more.

General Wedding Criteria
May be any image connected with a Wedding. It should contain, or clearly relate to, a bride or groom (or both!). For example, you may have a reportage image of a wedding guest, but it must be clearly demonstrated that there is a link to a wedding. Images may be of any wedding style (e.g. classical, contemporary/modern or reportage).

Images must have been taken at a real wedding (not training course or personally arranged shoots).

Fine Art
 

In this category we are heavily into the realm of creative and abstract photography in all mediums. Human Form is included. Anything that contributes artistically to the image is allowed including editing, manipulation, compositing, use of illustration and graphic elements. All elements in the images must be taken by the photographer. No stock imagery must be used as part of the composition. All elements must be photographed/produced by the entrant. Fine Art Landscape and Fine Art Urban landscapes should be entered in the Landscape Category.

OPEN
 

The Open category will be for anything the photographer would like to have judged which does not meet the criteria for other categories, including personal work. Additionally, if anyone is trying to branch out into other genres of photography, they can enter their work here. All judges, regardless of which categories they judge, will be required to judge this category. Examples images for this category include (but are not limited to):

·       Travel/documentary photography

·       Personal portrait work

·       Personal Landscapes

·       Photographs featuring photographer’s own family members

Commercial
 

Any image that is commissioned to illustrate a product, people, expertise or to promote brand awareness. This includes, but is not limited to:

•      Product Photography

•      Fashion Photography

•      Promotion of Brand or Corporate Identity

•      Corporate Portraits

•      An image used to convey an idea or concept

•      Please note that any exterior or interior images should be entered in Architectural

Architectural
 

An image of the interior or exterior of a building or structure, in whole or in part, as a detail or graphic, where the integrity, design and structure of the building are the primary focus of the image.

The image must be sympathetic to the architectural elements of the structure. While there is an obvious emphasis on the technical elements of the image, the judges will be looking for harmony between design of the building/structure and the composition of the image.

Landscape
 

Any image that portrays a landscape or urban landscape. Judges will be looking for a strong emphasis on originality and artistic merit. Images taken at common/popular Landscape locations will require something very unique in their approach in order to stand out. Fine Art Landscapes are also part of this category.

Press
 

Any image that captures an event or newsworthy item that would be of interest to the public or a specific group. An image that creates awareness of what is going on in the world, be it at local, international or global level.

The judges will be expecting a high level of journalistic merit to an image.

Images should be captioned just below the image, not over the image itself – a small border may be used to accomplish this.

Images must be commissioned, published works or speculative (i.e. with the intention to sell to publications).

Press images are distinct from Commercial images.

No composites allowed. All images must be producing using standard camera and lighting techniques.

About the Competition

Please pay close attention to the new categories and rules.