Entry fee
Early Registration
Each entrant must submit a non-refundable entry fee of $15 at the time of registration. This fee covers the cost of admission and prizes. Early registration ends 21 days before the start of the competition.
Registration
Each entrant must submit a non-refundable entry fee of $20 at the time of registration. This fee covers the cost of admission and prizes. Standard registration ends 7 days before the end of the competition.
Rules
1 Scoring
1.1 Two types of scoring will apply for this competition.
1.1.1 "Score" refers to the judges' evaluation of the images on the 6x10 scale.
1.1.1.1 The judges will evaluate each image using the 6x10 scale and will award a weighted score to each image. The mean of all the judges scores will result in a final composite score for the image.
1.1.1.2 Click here for full information on judging criteria.
1.1.2 "Points" refers to the number of completed categories submitted by each contestant.
1.1.2.1 Images submitted under a single category will receive one point.
1.1.2.2 Combining themes in creative ways within a single image increases the image's point total additively, receiving two points for a second theme and three for a third, etc.
1.1.2.3 Example: A photo submitted under 3 categories would receive 6 points.
2 Eligibility
2.1 The 48 Hour Photography Competition is open to all amateur photographers.
2.1.1 Any photographer who derives more than 30% of his or her total income from photography is considered a professional for the purposes of eligibility.
2.1.2 Any photographer who derives more than $15,000 of income annually from photography is considered a professional for the purposes of eligibility.
2.1.3 Any photographer who has, at any time in the past, derived more than 50% of his or her total income from photography is considered a professional for the purposes of eligibility.
2.2 Contest personnel reserve the right to reject contestants based on information that may come to light during the competition or judging process.
2.3 No age limits are imposed upon contestants, but all contestants must submit photos of their own creation.
2.3.1 Parents and guardians of underage contestants must refrain from active guidance and assistance with concepts and technical considerations.
3 Timeframe
3.1 All photos must be shot and submitted within the 48 hour contest window.
3.1.1 Contestants must log in between April 14, 2012, 12:00 AM EST and, May 13, 2012, 11:59PM EST to receive his or her themes.
3.1.2 Upon receiving the themes, each contestant will be given EXACTLY 48 hours to complete the competition.
3.1.2.1 This 48 period cannot be restarted, suspended, or otherwise altered by contest personnel.
3.1.2.2 If registered as a group, all group members' "sliding windows" will begin at the same time. It is the group leader's responsibility to make sure that all members of the group receive their themes in a timely fashion.
3.1.2.3 Sliding windows initiated after May 12, 2012, 12:00AM EST will end May 13, 2012, 11:59PM EST. Contestants are encouraged to log in before this cutoff to ensure a full 48 hours for participation.
3.2 Each contestant is responsible for ensuring that the date and time on his or her camera is set correctly before the beginning of the competition.
3.3 By logging in to receive his or her themes and beginning his or her "sliding window" clock, each contestant is committing himself or herself to shooting all of his or her photos and submitting them before the end of that window.
4 Themes
4.1 Themes will not be made available to the contestants before the start of the competition, each contestant must log into the web site to receive the theme lists.
4.2 Each theme may only be used once.
4.3 No contestant may divulge the list of themes to anyone before the competition ends, doing so will result in immediate disqualification. The integrity of the competition depends on each contestant having the same amount of time.
5 Submission Technical Specifications
5.1 Photos must be submitted to the web site in JPG format with original metadata (data recorded by the camera at the time of capture) intact.
5.2 This data will be used to validate the images' authenticity.
5.2.1 Images will be checked to ensure the origination date is within the contestant's window on upload.
5.2.2 Because the date cannot be confirmed, copy negatives are not permitted.
5.3 Images should not bear watermarks, date stamps, or other identifying marks.
5.4 The identity of the photographer will not be displayed for the judges during scoring.
5.5 Editing is limited to actions that can be performed in a chemical darkroom.
5.5.1 For complete information on acceptable practices, click here.
5.6 Images not meeting the technical specifications will be disqualified.
5.6.1 Disqualified images automatically receive a score of zero (0). This score will be reflected in the contestant's composite average score.
5.6.2 Disqualified images will not be displayed on the competition web site.
5.6.3 A contestants who submits an image which is disqualified will be notified by email and given 48 hours to offer an appeal in writing to defend the image if they feel they have been incorrectly disqualified. The planning committee will review all appeals and their decision after review is final.
6 Submission Guidelines
6.1 Because we welcome photographers of all ages, all images must be family appropriate to be accepted.
6.2 Refrain from any subject matter that is violent or suggestive.
6.3 Refrain from any subject matter that discriminatory, racist, or bigoted.
6.3.1 This includes images that attack a group based on race, ethnicity, national origin, creed, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.
6.4 Contestants are asked to refrain from issues of a highly political nature.
6.4.1 The 48 Hour Photography Competition is intended to be a forum for personal improvement in the art and science of photography, not a platform for political debate or demonstration. To be powerful, art must reflect the beliefs, passions, philosophies, experiences, and emotions of the artist. While we recognise the importance of art in the arena of political discourse, we feel that introducing politics into this competition can overshadow the purpose of said competition.
6.4.2 Submissions to this competition must refrain from promotion or defamation of any political group, candidate, or philosophy.
6.4.3 Contestants are not restricted from engaging in social commentary.
6.4.4 Example: A photo of a homeless man huddled under an overpass would be considered social commentary. A photo of the same homeless man huddled under a poster for <candidate for political office> would be considered political.
6.5 Application of the themes should be creative, but not contrived; any image receiving a score of 5 or less in the "Execution of the Theme" judging criterion will not count toward a contestant's point total, but the image will still count toward his or her composite average score.
6.5.1 Photographs that incorporate other artwork, wither photographic or traditional, must incorporate that artwork into a larger photographic scene. Photographs of non-photographic artwork alone do not meet the requirements to be considered an original photograph for the purposes of this competition.
6.5.2 Images that merely contain the written text of the theme will be rejected.
6.5.3 Choose theme submissions carefully, images submitted under multiple themes receive only one "execution of the theme" score, and one or more poorly chosen themes can result in a low overall execution score.
6.6 Images not meeting the guidelines will be disqualified.
6.6.1 Disqualified images automatically receive a score of zero(0). This score will be reflected in the contestant's composite average score.
6.6.2 Disqualified images will not be displayed on the competition web site.
6.6.3 A contestants who submits an image which is disqualified will be notified by email and given 48 hours to offer an appeal in writing to defend the image if they feel they have been incorrectly disqualified. The planning committee will review all appeals and their decision after review is final.
7 Awards
7.1 "Cash" prizes.
7.1.1 The number of awards depends on the total number of entrants and the number of submitted images.
7.1.2 Prizes of no less than $50 will be awarded for each of the three prize divisions. "Best in Show," "Highest Point Total," and "Highest Composite Average."
7.1.2.1 Contestants must submit at least two qualifying images to win a "Highest Composite Average" award.
7.1.3 All entry fees collected, less expenses, will be placed into the prize pool.
7.1.3.1 Sample Prizes: For a prize pool of $400 (roughly 30 contestants): $100 Award for Best in Show, $50 award for Second in Show, $25 Award for Third in show, $100 award for Highest Point Total, $100 award for Highest Composite Average and the remainder applied to randomly assigned "door prizes."
7.1.3.2 Sample Prizes: For a prize pool of $1000 (roughly 60 contestants): $250 Award for Best in Show, $100 award for Second in Show, $50 Award for Third in show, $250 award for Highest Point Total, $250 award for Highest Composite Average and the remainder applied to randomly assigned "door prizes."
7.1.4 Contestants may win no more than one top tier prize.
7.1.4.1 Prized will be awarded in the following priority: Best In Show, Highest Composite Average, Highest Point Total.
7.1.4.2 In the event of a win in two prize divisions, the cash prize will be passed to the next eligible contestant. Only the cash prize will be transferred, certificates and rankings will still reflect a first place win.
7.1.5 Monetary prizes will be awarded in the form of Visa® Gift Cards.
7.1.6 All amounts are represented in United States Dollars.
7.2 Other specialty prizes awarded by sponsors will be outlined on the prizes page.
7.3 All ties broken by average score of all of the entrant's submitted photos.
8 Limited Release
8.1 By submitting photos contestants give Chamberlain Studios permission to post the pictures on 48photo.com and to use his or her images in advertising for and promotion of future competitions.
9 Conduct
9.1 Any attempt to circumvent the restrictions placed on submissions by the uploading software, or to affect the outcome of the judging through action or fraud will result in the immediate disqualification of the participant.
9.2 Likewise, unruly conduct will result in disqualification from the event.
9.3 All contestants must conduct themselves in accordance with local, state, and federal laws, as well as in accordance with private rules set forth on private property, and all contest regulations.
9.3.1 As a note, photos taken on Federal Property can constitute Felony Federal Trespassing, this includes all active and most inactive railroad tracks, certain bridges, government buildings and offices, military installations, public airports, and public shipyards.
9.3.2 When in doubt, request permission before shooting for an example release click here.
9.3.3 Contestants are responsible for securing model releases when necessary.
9.4 In the event of the disqualification of a participant, all entry fees shall be forfeit along with any claim to benefits of participation, including, but not limited to, access to the web site, inclusion of submitted photos in judging or display, t-shirts, and prizes.
9.5 Disqualified contestants will be notified by email and given 48 hours to offer an appeal in writing if they feel they have been disqualified unjustly. The planning committee will review all appeals and their decision after review is final.
9.6 Disqualification of a participant may be overturned by a unanimous vote of the planning committee.
10 Any issues that arise that are not expressly stated herein shall be submitted to the planning committee for a decision.
11 Chamberlain Studios, its representatives and assigns; competition sponsors, their representatives and assigns; contest personnel and their representatives and assigns cannot be held liable for the actions of contestants or content of submitted photos.
