A CELEBRATION
Our First Anniversary Photography Competition

OVER $500 IN CASH AND PRIZES AWARDED** (+ added prize money)

Hosted by Stein Ward Studio

PROSPECTUS
We just celebrated our first year as a photography competition gallery and Stein Ward Studio has invited everyone to join in helping us celebrate that milestone with a year-end juried event that recognizes photographers for their best work. It’s open to all photographers from all over the world, and two classes are offered: Color and Black and White (includes grayscale, monochrome and sepia). Winning entries will be awarded over $500 in cash prizes and free entries into future calls hosted by the gallery.
** Added prize money dependent upon number of entries.

THEME
The theme for this competition is OPEN, however, subject matter must be family friendly. No nudity or vulgarity is permitted. 

ENTRY FEES
$35 for up to 4 entries. 
Payment is non-refundable and does not guarantee acceptance. Entry fee does, however, guarantee that the entry will be judged.

AWARDS
OVER $500 IN CASH AND PRIZES AWARDED AS FOLLOWS:

BEST OF SHOW Color Photo - $100 cash prize + 1 free entry into a future call of choice hosted by Stein Ward Studio ($35 value). Not redeemable for cash or other prizes.

BEST OF SHOW Black and White Photo - $100 cash prize + 1 free entry into a future call hosted by the studio ($35 value). Not redeemable for cash or other prizes.

HONORABLE MENTIONS - Several selected works will receive Honorable Mentions with free entry into future calls hosted by the gallery. Other Honorable Mentions will have earned the titled without a free entry.  All free entries earned are a value of $35 and may be used in any future call of the winner’s choosing that is hosted by the studio. May not be redeemed for cash or other prizes.

** ADDED PRIZE MONEY- For every 100 entries into this call, the gallery will add an extra $50 in prize money to be split evenly between the two best of show class winners. 

Professionals and amateurs will be juried together, but classes will be separated by color or black and white. Black and white class may also include sepia, grayscale and monotone work. Artists may submit a grand total of 4 (four) works from their Café portfolio and all may be submitted in a single class, or or multiple works submitted across both classes. Any combination of submission is accepted. 

Several entries will be juried into the gallery. Prize money will only be sent via PayPal to the email address on file with CaFÉ. Honorable Mention winners must contact admin@steinwardstudio.com to notify the gallery of their intent to redeem their coupon code for their free entry into a future call. Future and current calls are posted at www.steinwardstudio.com. The gallery will notify all accepted artists. It is the responsibility of each artist to check the gallery to see if their work has earned a cash prize and to redeem their coupon code. Best of Show and other cash prize winners will be notified separately of their win to verify their email address for payment.

ORIGINAL WORK
All entries must be the work of the artist. No signatures, borders, digital frames or mats, names, logos, borders, or watermarks may appear on the work. Any work with these elements will be automatically rejected without question. Copies or works based on another artist's work will not be accepted. NO A.I. GENERATED WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED, WHETHER IN PART OR AS A WHOLE WORK. Minor editing such as Photoshop, Lightroom and similar software filters, cropping, saturation, dodging, burning, color corrections, levels, etc., are permitted. Excessive filters are accepted but not encouraged if they detract from the overall aesthetic of the photo.

IMPORTANT DATES
Entries may be made from October 18, 2023 - February 15, 2024.
Entries will be juried from February 16 - 17, 2024.
Notifications will be emailed on or before February 17, 2024.
Gallery selections will display the week of February 20, 2024.
Prize money will be sent upon the gallery’s receipt of final payout from WESTAF (CaFÉ). Winners will be notified prior to payout and generally are made around the middle of the month following the close of the call.

Notices of both accepted and unaccepted work will be emailed to the entrants. No other means of notification will be provided. If for any reason you do not hear from us by the notification date listed, please check the spam/junk filters in your email account. Notification emails are sent to the email on file with CaFÉ. All communications are via email. 

ART SALES
No works will be offered for sale through this event. 

SELECTION PROCESS
Accepted entries and winners will be selected by an anonymous committee of jurors to protect the integrity of the selection process. All decisions are final. "Selected" is defined as being chosen by the juror(s) for presentation in the online gallery and considered for a prize. Not all selected work will be prize winners, but all selected work will have the honor of appearing in the gallery. Entrants agree that by entering the event, the jury selection is a paid opinion of the quality of the work from the juror’s own perspective and in no way represents the opinions of anyone else. This event is designed to be fun and to celebrate the art of photography!

Application Requirements

IMAGE PREPARATION
All images must be in JPG format and a minimum of 1200 pixels or greater on the longest side and up to 5MB in file size, or follow the specifications listed with Cafe's portfolio criteria. ALL PIECES MUST HAVE A TITLE. Untitled work or work that uses "Untitled" as a title, will not be accepted.

Eligibility Criteria

ELIGIBILITY
Works that have previously been submitted, selected or that have won in past competitions by Stein Ward Studio are eligible to be entered into this call so long as they fit all other criteria set forth by the call.