SUNSTUDIOS Emerging Photography Awards 2021

The competition is free to enter until 11:59PM EST, 23 August 2021. Entries submitted after this deadline will not be accepted.

We define an Emerging Photographer or Videographer as someone with less than five years’ professional experience. Make sure you’ve read through our full terms and conditions here.

We are open to your interpretation of our two themes. As guidance, genres like portraiture, fashion, beauty and photojournalism may best fit “Faces”. Landscape, documentary, travel and architecture are good fits for “Places”. If in doubt, enter both and we can decide for you. Please note that entering one work into both categories is counted as two entries.

You can enter up to ten works in total.

Entries in both categories will be judged on creative concept, and skilled execution.

Video category entries should be submitted in FHD (1920x1080) without credits and run for no longer than 4 minutes in length in one of the following formats: MPEG, MPG, MOV, MP4, AVI. Please include credits in a separate word doc or the artist statement field to allow for anonymous judging. 

Photography files should be submitted as single images in both low res (72 dpi jpg minimum 2500 pix wide) and high-res TIFF files (unsharpened) with embedded ICC profile for exhibition printing.  

Name files as CATEGORY_ARTISTNAME_IMAGETITLE. 

Please include all passwords and shared access for share links.  

SEPA is a national competition for residents of Australia only.

All Entries are judged by a panel of the industry’s best (judges are selected at the sole discretion of the Promoter) to shortlist fourteen finalists in each category for stills (14 on the theme “Faces” and 14 on the theme “Places” - 28 in total. Seven video finalists for each category will be chosen as displayed finalists (14 in total).

All genres. Including animation, documentary, art, fashion.

SUNSTUDIOS will cover the cost of fine art printing, mounting photographs to gatorboard and installation for SEPA finalists.   

For the Sydney launch night and award announcement, video category finalists will be projected before moving to a screen within the gallery for the duration of the exhibition. 

Sydney exhibition is scheduled to open 30 September - 30 October.  

Melbourne Exhibition is scheduled to open 18 November - close of year. 

Yes, that’s fine.

Yes, provided you have collected any necessary permissions needed from contributing parties. Please see full terms and conditions for details. If Entries are or have been produced for, or used as part of, a commercial project or body of work, the Promoter requires written approval for exhibition and promotion from the client or any party who holds licensing rights.

Finalists will be notified by 2 September 2021 by email.

All Entrants retain any copyright they own in their Entries. By entering the Competition, Entrants grant the Promoter permission to: 

- Reproduce their Entries for display or archival purposes; 

- Use their Entry for PR or marketing purposes; 

- Capture their Entry in film footage or photos (to the extent they are exhibited) for subsequent use in any media; and 

- Use their Entry on the Promoter’s website, in catalogues, books or in advertising; 

But only for the purpose of conducting and promoting the Competition and future versions of this Competition. 

All finalists will be exhibited and imagery will be made available for public display online during People’s Choice voting.  

Contact us at submissions@sunstudiosaustralia.com.

Please find our full terms and conditions here.