FOCUS Awards 2018

The annual Focus Awards is now one of the most popular and most valuable amateur landscape photography competitions in Australia. In 2017 it attracted 1,850 entries and a total prize pool valued at over $35,000.

There are two competitions run in parallel; The Amateur Awards and the Open Competition.

The Amateur Awards are open to amateur photographers resident in Australia or New Zealand who are Members of the Focus Facebook or Flickr Groups.

The Open Competition is open to any photographer, including professionals, who are resident in Australia or New Zealand.

Professional photographers are not permitted to enter the Amateur Awards.

Images in both competitions may have been taken anywhere in the world.

The Focus Awards are designed to encourage photographers at all stages of development to improve their skills and confidence. As such, every entry into the Focus Awards receives a judges’ feedback comment. This sets the Focus Awards apart from most other leading photography competitions.

The Amateur Awards

In 2018 there will again be six categories in the Amateur Awards :

• Landscape
• Urban Landscape
• Seascape
• Black and White
• Sunrise / Sunset
• Creative

Each entry will cost just $12 (unchanged) and there is no limit to the number of entries an individual can submit.

In fact, to encourage Members to submit multiple images, Focus will offer one free entry for every four paid entries. So, enter four images and you receive a fifth entry free – which is effectively a 20 per cent discount on 5, 10, 15 images, and so on.

Each image can only be submitted ONCE into any of the Amateur Awards categories.

However, amateur photographers may also choose to enter the same, or different images into the Open Competition, at an additional cost of $20 per image (see below).

Images entered directly into the Open competition should also belong to the generic landscape / seascape and related categories of the Focus Awards. In other words, un-related genres such as sports, wildlife or portrait images are not allowed.

Photographer of The Year

Photographers entering each of the six Amateur Awards categories will also be eligible for the Photographer of The Year Award, which is decided by calculating their highest average score across all six Amateur Awards categories.

In 2018 there will be valuable prizes for the Photographer Of The Year and for the second and third-place winners. This provides an additional incentive for Focus Members to enter multiple images across all six categories of the Amateur Awards.

The Open Competition

The Open Competition comprises just one category for Image of The Year.

Each entry into the Open Competition will cost $20.

Key dates

The Focus Awards will open on 1^st September 2018 and close on 30^th September 2018.

Images must be from original exposures taken during the period 1^st September 2017 to 30^th September 2018.

Winners will be announced at the Focus Awards Night Dinner taking place on Saturday 10^th November 2018, at the Dee Why RSL, Sydney.

Judging

Each entry will be scored by three separate judges. Judging will be blind (no names, watermarks or other indicators are allowed that might reveal who is the author of the entry).

Each entry will be judged in its category and the judges’ scores will be averaged to produce a final score. Entries into the Amateur Awards and the Open Competition will be judged in exactly the same way.

Prizes

Prizes are sourced from Long-Term Partners and Sponsors who support the Focus Group in a variety of ways throughout the year.

In 2017 the Focus Awards attracted a prize pool valued at over $35,000, making it one of the most valuable amateur photographic competitions in Australia.

More details on the 2018 prize pool will be published at a later date.

Why you should enter the Focus Awards

Here are just a few reasons why entering the 2018 Focus Awards could be good for you and your photography :

• Amazing prizes for the best images in each of the six Amateur Awards categories, the Photographer of the Year and the Open competition for Image of the Year.
• Every entry receives judges’ feedback and a score, designed to encourage photographers to assess their own work and improve their skills going forward.
• Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards are assigned to images in each category which receive the requisite scores. Many Members share these Certificates on their websites or via social media, to celebrate their achievements.

• A gallery of the Top 50 images in each category will be available on the Focus website
• At just $12 per entry, plus a five-for-the-price-of four discount, the cost of entering the 2018 Focus Amateur Awards is significantly lower than most other major photography competitions.
• Entering the Focus Awards, and if possible coming to the Focus Awards Night Dinner, is your way to contribute and be a part of the Focus community.