Objective   

The objective of Augusta Photo Festival's 7th Biennial Photo Competition is to provide photographers of all skill levels an opportunity to showcase their photography talents and skills in a friendly and competitive environment.

Dates   

The Competitions now and closes on Friday, July 31, 2020. All entries must be electronically uploaded to the Augusta Photo Festival (APF) competition website via Smarter Entry by midnight on July 31, 2020. No others will be accepted.

Who May Enter   

The Photo Competition is open to all photographers: amateurs, enthusiasts, and professionals.  (Members of the APF Board of Directors, the APF Photo Competition judging committee, and sponsors are not permitted to enter the photo contest.)

Competitions   

In order to encourage maximum participation in the Overall Competition and to ensure a fair and competitive opportunity for everyone, photographers are organized into three different smaller competitions, shown below.

Youth Competition: Photographers that are 17 years of age or younger as of July 31, 2020.. This competition is to encourage our youth to express themselves and share their views in the field of photography.

Enthusiast Competition: No age requirement. This competition is for beginner through enthusiast photographers. It provides an opportunity to showcase photography talents and skills in a friendly and competitive environment and is designed to encourage the advancement of creative and technical photography skills. 

Advanced Competition: No age requirement. This competition is for advanced photographers - those that possess an advanced level of creative and/or technical photography skills. However, anyone may enter photographs in this group. It is designed to showcase advanced talents and skills in a friendly and competitive environment without discouraging the beginner/enthusiast photography competitors.

Photographers (adults only) that have been placed (1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, or Best of Show) in any category in any of the past APF Photo Competition (2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 or 2018) are considered to be Advanced and  may not participate in the Enthusiast Competition. Professional photographers may not participate in the Enthusiast Group. Professional photographers are to participate in the Advanced Competition.

All photographers (professional or amateur, of any age) are allowed and encouraged to participate in the Advanced group if they wish to compete at this level.

Categories and Prizes   

There is a total of 15 different categories in the Photo Competition this year - four categories in the Youth, five categories in the Enthusiast, and six categories in the Advanced. You may enter photographs in all competitions and categories, provided you meet the requirements of each competition. However, you may not enter the same photograph more than once in any of the different competitions and categories. Contestants are responsible for determining the category for their submissions based on the descriptions below. 

Prizes are awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places in each of the competition groups and categories. In addition, a $500 “Best of Show” award will be presented to the best overall photograph from all groups and categories

Youth Categories 

1.      Nature – Land, Water, Sky (landscapes, waterscapes, celestial, scenic, etc.)
2.      Nature – Flora & Fauna (plants, insects, reptiles, animals, etc.)
3.      People (people, weddings, family, portraits, travels, sports, street photography including people, etc.)
4.      Inanimate Objects (cityscapes, buildings, bridges, industrial, interiors, objects, etc.)

Prizes. 1^st $50, 2^nd $25, 3^rd $15

Enthusiast Categories 

1.      Nature-Land, Water, Sky (landscapes, waterscapes, celestial, scenic, etc.)
2.      Nature-Flora & Fauna (plants, insects, reptiles, animals, etc.)
3.      People (people, weddings, family, portraits, travels, sports, street photography including people, etc.)
4.      Architecture (cityscapes, buildings, bridges, industrial, interiors, etc.)
5.      Inanimate Objects (planes, trains, automobiles, boats, food, clothing, etc.)

Prizes. 1^st $100, 2^nd $75, 3^rd $50

Advanced Categories 

1.      Nature-Land, Water, Sky (landscapes, waterscapes, celestial, scenic, etc.)
2.      Nature-Flora & Fauna (plants, insects, reptiles, animals, etc.)
3.      People (people, weddings, family, portraits, travels, sports, street photography including people, etc.)
4.      Architecture (cityscapes, buildings, bridges, industrial, interiors, etc.)
5.      Inanimate Objects (planes, trains, automobiles, boats, food, clothing, etc.)
6.      Fine Art (abstract, artfully manipulated images, composites, concept, design elements, etc.)

Prizes 1^st $200, 2^nd $150, 3^rd $100

Prizes  

Entry Fees   

After awarding competition prizes, entry fees are used to support the Augusta Photo Festival classes and workshops. Discounts cannot be combined between groups.

Youth Competition

First six images, $2.50 per photo; seven or more images, $2.00 per photo

Enthusiast Competition

First eight images, $10.00 per photo; nine or more images, $8.00 per photo

Advanced Competition

First ten images, $15.00 per photo; eleven or more images, $10.00 per photo