The second Sony World Photography Awards is now open for entries.

The Sony World Photography Awards 2009 is a truly global competition which honours both professional and amateur photographers.

In addition to the 12 categories for professional photographers and the nine categories for amateurs, the Sony World Photography Awards are delighted to announce the partnership with The Prince’s Rainforests for the PRP Awards which complements this year’s theme of the environment.

Professional photographers will be submitting their portfolios in the hope of being selected for a fully-funded project to document the rainforest regions of the world. Amateur photographers will also be invited to submit their images for a global awareness campaign, using photography to educate and inform.

Also new to this year’s awards:

* An extended university programme which has grown from 10 universities in Europe in the inaugural year of the awards to 60 universities across six continents. The brief for this year’s student competition is to produce one image which highlights a single environmental issue specific to their country.

* The Festival @ The Sony World Photography Awards: a week-long festival of photography that takes place throughout the city of Cannes. Through talks, seminars, screenings, networking events, book signings and many other programmes and events, The World Photography Awards have created a programme for the photographic community to participate and network through. The Festival @ SWPA is also creating a new annual cultural event for the general public and all who enjoy contemporary art.

* A new category list for professional photographers spreading across the three photographic genres – photojournalism and documentary, commercial and fine art

* The introduction of the Sony Campaign Award for amateur photographers, which joins together a global obsession for football with the enthusiasm and passion of photography. Amateur photographers are invited to enter the Campaign Award with a single image that captures the beauty and spirit of football in unexpected places, with the winner having the chance of being one of the photographers used in Sony’s forthcoming digital imaging 2009 campaign work.

* A global touring exhibition – Discovering a World of Images – showcasing images by the 2008 winners and finalists which through the course of a year will visit Belgium; Cologne; Tokyo; Delhi; New York; Singapore; Rio de Janeiro; Moscow and Melbourne.

The Sony World Photography Awards welcome submissions from every corner of the world. Last year – the first year of the awards – over 70,000 entries were received from 178 countries. For both professional and amateur photographers, the categories cover a broad range of subjects from photojournalism to sport, architecture to fashion, offering an all-encompassing competition for the photographic world.

Now, in just their second year, the awards have grown to become much more than an awards programme. It is a mix of festival events, exhibitions, award schemes and student programmes throughout the year. In April 2009 the WPA will host Festival @ The Sony World Photography Awards, a week-long celebration of photography at the Palais des Festival in Cannes attended by some of the most influential names in the photography industry from around the world. The highlight of the week is the awards ceremony gala dinner when the winners in all the categories will be honoured and the Sony World Photography Awards Photographer of the Year will be announced.

Through its many initiatives, the Sony World Photography Awards aim to unite the international photographic community.

World Photographic Academy
The awards are judged by the World Photographic Academy which today comprises close to 100 of the world’s leading photographers including Elliott Erwitt, Mary-Ellen Mark, Susan Meiselas, Bruce Davidson and Tom Stoddart; gallery owners; picture agencies; international Guilds; picture editors; critics and publishers. Their role is to promote excellence in photography and set the standard for award selections.

Key dates
2008
22 September Professional and amateur categories open for submissions
9 October Global tour opens in Tokyo
31 October Student Focus participating universities announced
25 November WPA Judges announced
2 December Global tour opens in New York
31 December Closing date for professional and amateur categories
2009
24 February Amateur and professional awards shortlist announcement
3 March Student Focus winners’ announcement
17 March Amateur and professional winners’ announcement
14-19 April Festival @ The Sony World Photography Awards – exhibitions and events in Cannes
16 April Sony World Photography Awards gala evening and ceremony

Amateur Categories & Prizes

• Architecture
• Conceptual & Constructed
• Fashion
• Landscape
• Music
• Natural History
• Portraiture
• Sport
• Campaign Award

One grand prize winner will be selected from the 8 category winners by the 2009 Judging Committee  and be awarded The Sony World Photography Awards Amateur Photographer of the Year.

The overall winner and a guest will be flown to Cannes, receive two nights’ accommodation in a luxury hotel on the famous Croisette, receive VIP tickets to attend the evening gala awards ceremony on the 16th of April, 2009, and collect their prize of $5,000  and a Sony gift.  The winner will also receive week-long passes to attend the World Photography Festival screenings, workshops, exhibitions, talks and other events taking place throughout the city of Cannes from the 14th – 19th of April.

Professional Categories & Prizes

Photojournalism & Documentary:

• Current Affairs / Spot News
• Sport
• Contemporary issues
• Arts and entertainment

Commercial:

• Advertising
• Fashion
• Music

Fine Art:

• Portraiture
• Conceptual & Constructed
• Natural History
• Landscape
• Architecture

Winner of “L’iris d’Or” – Best overall photograph will receive:
Recipient of the title “Sony World Photography Awards Photographer of The Year” $25,000
Entry into the “World Photographic Academy”
Exhibition showcase of winning image and 25 picture portfolio at the 2010 Sony World Photography Awards.
Winning image will be exhibited on the Sony World Photography Awards’ website and promoted to creatives worldwide.
Flights to Cannes, and 2 nights accommodation in a hotel on the famous Croisette and receive VIP tickets to attend the evening gala awards ceremony, taking place on the 16th of April, 2009.

Winners of each individual category will receive:
Recipient of the title “Sony World Photography Awards category name Photographer of The Year”
Flights to Cannes, and 2 nights accommodation in a hotel on the famous Croisette and receive VIP tickets to attend the evening gala awards ceremony, taking place on the 16th of April, 2009.
Winning image will be exhibited on the Sony World Photography Awards’ website and promoted to creatives

Competition Link / Set Reminder

We’re looking for YOUR Summer Music Moment! Show us the crowds! Show us the artists! We’re looking for the moments, the music, the scene through your eyes.

Billboard and PDN have joined forces to produce the first annual SUMMER MUSIC MOMENT photography contest, the ultimate music photography contest for amateur shooters. The SUMMER MUSIC MOMENT photography contest is the premium source for music lovers and photographers alike.

Prizes will be awarded in the following categories:
- Performance
- Crowd
- Place
- Spontaneous Moment
There will also be one grand prize winner overall.

Amateur Prizes
Grand Prize: $1,000 cash, an iMac 24 inch 3ghz with photoshop, a point and shoot camera, published on Billboard.com and in a September 2008 issue of Billboard Magazine.
First Place in Each Category: A digital camera, published on Billboard.com and and in a September 2008 issue of Billboard Magazine.
Fan’s Favorite: (professional and amateur categories will be combined. There will be ONE winner) A digital camera, Billboard and PDN-branded items, published online.

Amateur Fees
Single Entry: $15 per image
Series: $20 per series

Professional Prizes
Grand Prize: A professional D-SLR Camera, image(s) published in a September 2008 issue of Billboard Magazine and a one-year subscription to Billboard. Winning images will be published in the December 2008 issue of Photo District News and online.
First Place in Each Category: A digital camera, image(s) published in a September 2008 issue of Billboard Magazine and a one-year subscription to Billboard. Winning images will be published in the December 2008 issue of Photo District News and online.
Fan’s Favorite: (professional and amateur categories will be combined. There will be ONE winner) A digital camera, Billboard and PDN-branded items, published online.

Professional Fees
Single Entry: $35 per image
Series: $50 per series
Students: $20

A professional photographer:
- Earns more than 50 percent of his or her income from photographic sales.
- Is a member of such professional photo organizations as the National Press Photographers Association.
- Publishes photographs in books, magazines, newspapers, or online regularly.

International entries can be submitted.

Photos must be shot between May 1st 2007 (last year) and the deadline.

Competition Link / Set Reminder