Rules and Regulations

An unlimited number of entries will be accepted by NAPCP for consideration in the final gallery.

Entry Guidelines:

1. An unlimited amount of entries will be accepted by NAPCP for consideration in this competition, however, only 100 images will be included in the Final Round for public voting. All entrants may submit an unlimited amount of entries, provided that each entry is different than the other (see guidelines below). The NAPCP Unity Image Competition is open to both NAPCP Members and non-members.
2. Entries must be the complete and original photographic work of the entrant. This includes overall concept, posing, capture, exposure, and all post processing. Third party presets and actions may be used by entrant to enhance the quality of an image (color, contrast, skin tone, etc) as long as they do not add elements that did not exist in the original image. Purchased texture screens are allowed as long as entering the image in the competition doesn’t violate the copyright of the artist who created the texture. Images that are a result of a workshop, seminar, or under the guidance of an instructor are not eligible for competition. Any eligible image may be entered with the exception of images that have previously placed or merited in any previous NAPCP Image Competition.
3. If any entry submitted is a result of multiple images to create a final composite image, all images used must be the original work of the entrant. No purchased elements or stock images that are not of the entrant’s original creation (including skies, trees, buildings, or other objects) should be used by the entrant to create the final image (refer to #2 for additional details). All original image layers used for composite may be requested by NAPCP. Failure to submit all original images in a timely manner will result in immediate disqualification of the entrant’s submission. No refunds will be given.
4. All entries must be unique compared to your other submissions. No two entries should resemble each other (with the same subject or scene, with a similar pose, location, lighting).
5. Images must NOT include entrant’s name, logo, or signature.
6. Images that violate copyright, trademark, or other applicable laws will be disqualified.
7. Entrant must have a model release for any recognizable person in submitted entries and submit said release to NAPCP upon request.
8. Submissions should be saved in JPEG format for online submission online. Images must be 2000 pixels on the shortest side. Any size image that follows this parameter will qualify.
9. Initial Digital Submissions should be titled: CurrentYear_Title. For example: 2020_SimpleThings.  Initial judges WILL NOT see the artist names when judging images for the top 100.

1. A fee of $25 will apply for all entries submitted. If you would like to submit more than one image, you must fill out the form and pay for each image separately.
2. Submissions will be accepted any time from 8AM EST on August 17, 2020 through 11:59PM EST August 26, 2020. Late entries will not be accepted.
3. Initial judging will be completed August 27, 2020 through August 30, 2020.
4. Public voting will take place August 31, 2020 through September 4, 2020.
5. Winners will be announced in September 2020.

1. All initial scoring for the competition is done online in our secure NAPCP Scoring Dashboard. Entrant names are not visible to judges during this time, but will be revealed during public voting once the Top 100 Gallery is released. Images will be viewed at full size for scoring. Individual scores will not be published.
2. The top three scores will be awarded First, Second, and Third Place. Merit Recognition will be awarded to the top scoring 5% of Entrants in each category.
3. Photographer of the Year – This prestigious designation will be awarded based on a point system that is cumulative from both NAPCP Image Competitions. All scoring for Photographer of the Year is done by NAPCP and awarded at its sole discretion. Entrants are awarded points based on the following criteria.
   1. Weighted points for all placed images and merit images (First place is weighted more than second place, etc).
   2. Variety of wins in each competition and variety of categories in which winning images placed or received merit.
   3. NAPCP community involvement (includes Member Facebook Group, Blog Contributions, Survey Participation, etc).
   4. Consistent portfolio of work and professional online presence. This includes entrant’s professional website and updated NAPCP Member Directory Profile.

Images will be scored using the following 1-5 numeric score during the initial review process.
5     Outstanding, Exceptional, Best of Show
4     Excellent
3     Average
2     Below Average
1     Poor Quality
Individual scores will not be published.

Image Release and Use

Legal Disclaimer: Entrants agree that any entered photograph may be used by the National Association of Professional Child Photographers (NAPCP), in any of its publications, printed materials or electronic media, such as but not limited to, any of its websites or its affiliates’ web sites. Model releases must be available for all recognizable individuals in submitted photos. Do not submit these releases unless requested.

Winning entries may be used in connection with the Competition and by NAPCP for promotion in the future. Thus, winners grant a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, limited license to use, publish, reproduce, display, distribute, use for promotional purposes and cross-promotional purposes. Photographer retains all copyright for the images.

NAPCP reserves the right to disqualify any image for any reason and  also to terminate the Image Competition at any time, based on its sole discretion.