Koy Awards 2023 – Regulation – Koylab Entries

Dates

Entry deadlines: from 16.01.2023 to 30.03.2023

Criteria

Koy Awards are open to all types of photography professionals registered worldwide, without discrimination of gender, race, religion, nationality or ethnicity. The competition is available to Koy Lab customers as well as not customers.

Introduction

This competition is entirely web-based; registration, presentation and evaluation by the judges will be done online. All entries will be offline until the end of the competition. They will only be visible online after the closing of the jury session. All winners will be announced online on the website for this purpose and at the awards ceremony on the 22nd of May 2023.

Categories

There are 8 categories in this competition

Advertising / Commercial / Fashion and Beauty

This category is intended for images of commercial content, used for sale, marketing, promotion of products, services or people.

Images relevant for advertising campaigns shall not contain text or graphic elements that are not part of the original exhibition.

Images containing text will be disqualified immediately.

Aerial, architecture, automotive, food, products, still life, self-promotion, music covers and corporate photography are all included in this category.

Composite image, unstructured or digitally manipulated (Photoshop or similar) are permitted in this category.

Fashion seeks to promote a lifestyle and stimulate interest or appeal to purchase a product/business/service by the observer.

Fashion: Includes clothing as well as other items or accessories such as makeup or styling.

Beauty: Portrait glamour style, artistic or commercial, emphasizing the beauty of someone or something.

Images relevant to advertising campaigns shall not contain text or graphic elements that are not part of the original exhibition.

Images containing text that is not part of the original exhibition will be disqualified immediately.

A large portion of the images used to create the final image must have been taken by the photographer and NOT just stock or fully digitally created. Images that have been widely created/generated through computer algorithms are NOT allowed. If the Competition President or a judge has doubts about the authorship of the constituent images, Koy Lab reserves the right to examine the original files used to create the final image.

Pets

This category includes animals not found in their natural habitat, domestic animals such as pets, farm animals or zoo animals.

Animal portraits can be done in the studio or on site.

It is allowed to carry out minor retouching, to crop, rotate, brighten and darken the image locally, reduce noise, sharpen, adjust colour/black and white, use grain and minor cleaning such as removing sensor dust and chromatic aberration. Entrants are permitted to use focus stacking and HDR for extended tonal range.

Composite images are allowed as long as the digital postproduction is not a signiﬁcant part of
conveying the natural appearance of the animal(s). Photographic works where the image
manipulation or post production becomes a significant part of the final image must be entered into Illustration & Fine Art or category 1.

Judges will consider and decide on the relevance of highly manipulated images.

The original captured image (RAW or jpg) must be available if requested by Koy Lab. Otherwise, Koy Lab reserves the right to disqualify the submission.

Note: Animals photographed in their natural habitat must be submitted in the Nature category separately.

Illustration and Fine Art

Illustrations of an idea or concept. Creativity, originality and storytelling within the compounds, are important characteristics of this category.

They can be composite or multiple exposures.

Strongly digitally post-processed photos will be allowed in this category.

Landscape / Nature

In this category are allowed natural and artificial landscapes, urban landscapes, city and sunset.

Landscape photography is not a passive process; it is the control of natural light by the photographer, composition and is, above all, a creative process, an opportunity for the photographer to express themselves in the form of an individually worked image, using the creative elements of photography.

Nature is for photography that is dedicated to showing natural elements such as plants, flowers, trees and close-ups of natural scenes and textures.

Aerial photography, macro photography and astrophotography are included in this category.

Image content cannot be altered.

Entrants are permitted to crop, rotate, perspective adjust, brighten and darken the image locally, reduce noise, sharpen, adjust colour/black and white, remove chromatic aberration and sensor dust.

It is also allowed to create panoramic images (photo stitching), use focus stacking, and multi-exposures in the camera, which are taken simultaneously in the same place (as a continuous sequence, seconds or minutes apart) or use of HDR for extended tonal range.

Entrants are not permitted to add, remove or move picture elements through, for example, cloning, patch tool, healing brush tools, motion-adapted filling (content aware), liquify, composite images or the like.

Minimal removal of litter and other loose disruptive elements in the image is allowed.

The original captured image (RAW or jpg) must be available if requested by Koy Lab. Otherwise, Koy Lab reserves the right to disqualify the submission.

People / Portrait

This category is for photography where people are the main subject. They can be represented solo or in a group, showing the whole variety of the fantastic everyday life of the human being.

Portrait

Adults, young people, children, families, self-portraits: artistic images that specifically capture the unique personalities and characteristics of a person or group of people, as well as personality, artistic and technical skills of the image creator.

Culture

Images that tell a story about people and their customs, traditions and culture.

Lifestyle

The art of daily life. Images that show real life events, important milestones and lifestyles.

Entrants are permitted to execute minor skin retouching, crop, rotate, perspective-adjust, brighten and darken the image locally, reduce noise, sharpen, adjust colour/black and white, use grain and minor cleaning such as removing sensor dust and chromatic aberration.

Composite images are allowed, provided that digital post-production is not a significant part of conveying the subject’s personality(ies).

Photographic works where image manipulation or post-production are very significant, will have to be submitted in the category of Illustration & Fine Art or else in Advertising / Commercial / Fashion and Beauty.

Judges will consider and decide on the relevance of highly manipulated images.
Participants are allowed to make multiple exposure images taken simultaneously in the same place (such as a continuous sequence, seconds or minutes apart) or make use of HDR to extend the pitch range.

Images that have been widely created/generated/altered through computer algorithms are NOT allowed.

The original captured image (RAW or jpg) must be available if requested by Koy Lab. Otherwise, Koy Lab reserves the right to disqualify the submission.

Newborn / Maternity

In this category newborns must be up to 6 weeks old

May include other children or partner but the focus of the image must be the pregnant lady or the newborn

Composite images are allowed, provided that digital post-production is not a significant part of conveying the subject’s personality(ies).

Judges will consider and decide on the relevance of highly manipulated images.

Participants are allowed to make multiple exposure images taken simultaneously in the same place (such as a continuous sequence, seconds or minutes apart) or make use of HDR to extend the pitch range.

Images that have been widely created/generated/altered through computer algorithms are NOT allowed.

The original captured image (RAW or jpg) must be available if requested by Koy Lab. Otherwise, Koy Lab reserves the right to disqualify the submission.

Reportage / Photojournalism

Images or a series of images that illustrate a real event, life, areas of human interest, a public or private occasion or news that has high impact and/or lasting emotional value, without the interference of the photographer.

Themes included are: General news, contemporary themes, political, social, environmental, traditional and cultural events, wars and conflicts, reporting, photographic essays, etc.

This category is for images usually intended to accompany the text, illustrate a story, article, or idea within the context of a publication, and may cover a wide range of subjects.

NOTE: Wedding images: images with content of people in activities related to marriage or engagement ceremony, celebrations will have to be submitted in the category for this purpose, Wedding.

Image content cannot be altered.

Entrants are permitted to crop, rotate, brighten and darken the image locally, reduce noise, sharpen, adjust colour/black-and-white, apply grain and minor cleaning jobs like removing sensor dust or chromatic aberration.

Participants are not permitted to combine several photos into one (panorama, multi-exposure, etc), or add, delete or move elements by, for instance, cloning, healing, patching, content aware fill, liquify or similar tools.

The original captured image (RAW or jpg) must be available if requested by Koy Lab. Otherwise, Koy Lab reserves the right to disqualify the submission.

Wedding

The images should be of a royal wedding, whether on the day of the event or very close to the day of the ceremony. The wedding report should reflect the atmosphere of the event, the
personality/personalities of the subject(s) as well as a personal style, illustrating the artistic and technical skill of the image creator.

Entrants are permitted to carry out minor skin retouching, crop, rotate, brighten and darken the image locally, reduce noise, sharpen, adjust colour/black and white, use grain and minor cleaning such as removing sensor dust and chromatic aberration and use of HDR for extended tonal range.

Composite images are allowed as long as the digital postproduction is not a signiﬁcant part of displaying the essence or the personality of the subject(s). Photographic works where the image manipulation or post production becomes a significant part of the final image must be entered into Illustration & Fine Art.

The original captured image (RAW or jpg) must be available if requested by Koy Lab. Otherwise, Koy Lab reserves the right to disqualify the submission.

Images

Images that have been widely created/generated using digital technology/3D modeling/editing/CGI software will not be considered.

All submitted images must be anonymous. Images with content for advertising campaigns should not contain text or graphic elements that are not part of the original exhibition. Images containing text will be disqualified immediately.

It is the responsibility of the participants to submit the images in the categories designated for this purpose. All images will only be judged in the categories they were submitted to. An image can only be submitted in one category. You can submit up to 10 images in the same category

Awards / Prizes

The following awards will be given:

Overall winner: 1000€ in Koy Lab credit + partners offer

Per category:

1st Prize: 300€ in Koy Lab credit + partners offer
2nd Prize: 200€ in Koy Lab credit + partners offer
3rd Prize: 100€ in Koy Lab credit + partners offer

10% discount voucher on a Koylab order for each participant.

All awarded participants will be published on the website for this purpose.

All participants will receive the official results by email.

The awards will be presented online on the 22nd of May 2023.

Finalists:
How will the score work?

The classification will be made by summing the votes of the first, second and third most voted images submitted by each photographer in each one of the categories.

All finalists will receive a certicate.

The 3 finalists will be: Koy_Gold, Koy_Silver and Koy_Bronze winners

Winners catergories

Photographers who achieve the highest score in each category will be presented as Koy_Gold, respectively.

Second and third places will be named as Koy_Silver and Koy_Bronze, respectively.

Overall Winner

Out of the categories presented in this regulation, the jury will select the overall winner

This one will receive a specific award.

Award Presentation

All awards will be announced at the award ceremony.

The awards ceremony will take place on May 22nd, 2023.

Winners who cannot attend the awards ceremony, must ask for it to be delivered by mail, with shipping costs to be charged to the photographer.

Winners’ and participants’ certificates will be sent to all participants via email.

How to enroll / participate

All images will be accepted in digital format only.

Specifications of digital files for image submission:

- - Format: One JPG file must be uploaded.
  - Size: 20x30cm / 30x20cm / 30x30cm
  - Resolution: 200dpi
  - Colour profile: sRGB
  - File Naming: No specifications
- Competitors can submit more than one image in different categories.
- It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the file information is correct (name, format, resolution, etc.)
- Images that are not considered admissible for the category in which they were submitted may be disqualified, according to judge’s criteria.

Deadlines

Koy Konnecting competition opens on the 1st of February 2023.
Deadline for image submission: 30th of March 2023.
Submitted images evaluation starts right after the end of the competition period.
Results will be announced on the 22nd of May 2023.

Prices (entry fee)

I – Competition entry: 5€ per Image

All photographers can register in all categories.

Jury Composition

The jury will be composed by Koy Lab ambassadors and special gests.

All jury members will classify all categories and will also select the Overall Winner.

Jury Criteria

The Jury will evaluate the images of impact, vision, technical excellence and composition.

Rights and Responsibilities

The copyright of submitted images remains with the image holder.

However, Koy Lab will have the right to use the submitted images, without payment, compensation or prior notice, for the purpose of advertising or exhibition at trade shows, posts / promotional videos.
It is the sole responsibility of the competitor to obtain the appropriate licenses and authorisations from the model or copyright holder, where and when necessary, before submitting their work.

Koy Lab is not responsible for the lack of such authorisation by a participating photographer.

Koy Lab will not be held responsible for the misuse of images by third parties.

Koy Lab and the official partners of the event may ask the winners for permission to use the winning images for promotional purposes indefinitely, mentioning in all publications the name of the author and the event in which he was awarded.

By submitting the images for this competition, competitors accept all the rules described in this document.

The organisers of the event will interpret the correct application of these rules and will arbitrate any situation not expressly covered by them.

The personal information of the participants will be for internal organisational use only, in compliance with data protection laws.

Legal terms and conditions

For a valid participation, participants should sign the following statement:

“I have read, understood and accept the rules for registration and I will respect them as a whole.
I declare that I have provided true information and am aware that if I fail to comply with the rules or facilitate false information, I may be disqualified.”

Payment instructions

Directly in the competition platform via: Credit card