FREE to enter International Photography & Film Competitions with great prizes across several genres

FREE to enter International Photography & Film Competitions with great prizes across several genres. Photographers of all ages, backgrounds, and experience are eligible to enter the Xposure International Competitions. We have also introduced a new category for film-makers from 2018. The panel of judges are looking to award an Overall Winner from the photography categories and additionally a winner and runner-up from each category including short-films.

Travel Photography
Macro Photography
Photo Manipulation
Street Photography
Best of the Emirates
Architectural Photography
Photojournalism
Junior Category*
Short Film Category

• 1 Winner
• 1 Runner-up
• 5 Shortlisted photographers

Prizes & Benefits
Overall Winner  – $3,000 (USD) / digital imaging equipment / Flights and accommodation to the awards ceremony in Sharjah UAE / Included in the Xposure festival exhibition  / Publication in the Xposure Year Book

Category Winners – $1,500 (USD) / digital imaging equipment / Flights and accommodation to the awards ceremony in Sharjah UAE / Included in the Xposure festival exhibition  / Publication in the Xposure Year Book

Category Runner-up – $750 (USD) / Included in the Xposure festival exhibition  / Publication in the Xposure Year Book

Shortlisted – Online Exhibition  / displayed during the Xposure Festival

* Junior Category for under 18 – UAE Residents
A restricted “Junior” category for residents of the United Arab Emirates who are under 18. (Alternate prizes apply – see below) In addition to the main prizes of best overall entry, all winning and shortlisted photographers of each category will be included in the publication of the Xposure Year Book and featured in a gallery at Xposure.  In each category, there shall be awarded:

• Junior Category under 18 ‘Winner’ – Photo equipment and included in the Xposure festival exhibition  / Publication in the Xposure Year Book
• Junior Category under 18  ‘Runner-up’ – Included in the Xposure festival exhibition.

Competition Entries
Online entries will be accepted from June 1st, 2018 to August 30th, 2018. The latest time for submitting an entry will be 23:00 GST – Gulf Standard Time (Standard Time) is (UTC +4) 

JUDGING & AWARDS

PHOTOGRAPHY JUDGING

The panel of judges is looking to award the overall winner of the annual international competition and the overall best picture from all season 2018 International categories. The competition closes for entries on 7th September 2018 at 23:00 GST. The winners will be announced on 30th September 2018.

In addition to the main prizes, all winning and shortlisted photographers will be included in the publication of the Xposure Year Book and featured in a gallery at Xposure 2018. In each category, judges will award:

One winner
One runner-up
Five shortlisted photographers

Qualification
All submitted images will be screened by the Moderators to ensure that no offensive or culturally sensitive material is presented to the Jury. Submissions will either be approved or rejected at this stage. Any offensive submissions will be removed from the competition without notice.

Judging Procedure
Round One – Entries will be judged from artistic merit and overall impact
Round Two – Entries will be judged from the composition, technical quality and effectiveness of expressing the category theme

Round One Process
The VIP jury (the “Judges”) will independently review each entry and apply a credit rating on the basis of Overall Impact and Artistic Merit. The collective credit ratings from this process form the round one score.

Short List Round One
The 25 highest ranked images in each category will go forward to round two. In the case that two or more images are in ranking position 25 all those images with the equal 25th point score will go ahead into round two.

Round Two Process
In Round Two the judges will apply a credit rating on the basis of Photographic / Technical Quality, Image Composition and Effectiveness in expressing the category theme.

The Judges individually consider the three aspects (criteria) for each image and allocate credits on each element. The collective scores will determine the ranking. Should one or more images be placed equally in ranking 1, 2 or 3, there shall be a final “Tie-Break” round of judging.

Tie-Break Process
If a tie-break is required, the judges will consider the respective images once again based on the criteria of Originality. The Judges will apply a credit rating of 1 to 6 in the Tie Break process. Decisions of the Judges are final and binding.

SHORT FILM JUDGING

From 2018 the International Competitions include short film. These will be judged and scored following the criteria set out below. Short Films include video clips and can be any running length from 1min to 18 min.

One winner
One runner-up
Five shortlisted filmmakers

Qualification
All submitted films and video clips will be based on a URL submission to your video clip or film hosted on Vimeo, YouTube or any other suitable platform. Any offensive submissions will be removed from the competition without notice.

Judging Procedure
Round One Process
The VIP jury (the “Judges”) will independently review each entry and apply a credit rating on the basis of Merit. The collective credit ratings from this process form the round one score.

Short List Round One
The 25 highest ranked video clips / short films will go forward to round two. In the case that two or more entries are in ranking position 25 all those in the equal 25th place score will go ahead into round two.

Round Two Process
In Round Two the judges will apply a 1 – 8 credit rating on the basis of seven criteria.

• Concept.
• Theme
• Style/Tone
• Characters & Dialogue
• Structure / Plot & Pacing
• Presentation
• Commercial Potential

The Judges individually consider the criteria for each video clip / short film and allocate credits on each element. The collective scores will determine the ranking. Should one or more entries be placed equally in ranking 1, 2 or 3, there shall be a final “Tie-Break” round of judging.

Tie-Break Process
If a tie-break is required, the judges will consider the respective entries once again based on the criteria of Originality. The Judges will apply a credit rating of 1 to 6 in the Tie Break process. Decisions of the Judges are final and binding.