2016 PHOTO CHALLENGE!

Celebrating Women's Strength and Stories

PHOTOFORWARD PHOTOGRAPHY CHALLENGE AND EXHIBITION
January 3 to February 22, 2016

Join us in documenting and celebrating women's stories!

Women and girls play important roles around the world, but our lives and work are often overlooked or unappreciated.

Through this competition and exhibition PhotoForward is challenging our photographers to share the amazing stories of women and girls in their families and communities through individual photographs and/or photo sets (diptychs and triptychs).

Deadline Ended: February 29, 2016

Winners will be announced and the photographs will be exhibited at Sister Srey Cafe, Siem Reap in May 2016 (date to be announced in late February).

Check out our candidate's amazing submissions! Click here!

THEME: WOMEN'S LIVES AND WORK

The candidates' photographs should tell an interesting story using one or more of the following themes:

What does it mean to be "Strong"? What does strength look like for the women in your community?
Highlight the important contributions women make in your community
Demonstrate how women's lives are changing
Show how women are honoring cultural traditions in the face of modern influences

COMPOSITION: TELLING THE STORY USING OUR SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES

All submissions should be documentary style and "natural" (not posed). Photographers should think about which skills will help to tell their story:

Shot Type: distance from subject: long shot, medium shot, close up (detail)
Format: vertical or horizontal; color or black & white
Point of view: above (bird's eye), level, below (worm's eye), in front of, beside, behind, foreground, background
Techniques: Rule of thirds, leading lines, framing, action shots, silhouette, contrast, fill-flash, panning

AWARDS AND HONORS

All of the submissions will be reviewed by an international jury of professional photographers and media makers and the top 10 Single Photographs and 6 Photo Sets will be selected for the exhibition:

All Candidates: All photographers who submit images for the competition will receive an invitation to the exhibition(s), a PhotoForward T-Shirt, and at least one of their photographs will be included in a slideshow at the event(s)
Selected Photographers: Photographers who have one or more artwork(s) selected for the exhibition will be awarded a professional, full-sized print of their image(s), PhotoForward T-Shirt, and an certificate of accomplishment.
Special Awards: Awards will be given to photographs that excel in a selection of 5 categories (to be announced soon). These photographer will receive all the benefits listed above and will also receive a special award certificated, will be interviewed for a featured blog post on PhotoForward's website, a professional, full-sized print of their image(s).

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?

The competition is open to all graduates of PhotoForward workshops at our Partner Organizations in Laos, Cambodia, and the U.S.A.
Members of our Partner Organizations who have not attended a workshop but are interested in participating in the competition are welcome to submit artwork. However, they must schedule a coaching meeting with a member of the PhotoForward team.

SUMBISSION GUIDELINES

Single Photograph Challenge Guidelines:

Choose a subject (person or theme)
Take at least 40 photographs using the skills and techniques learned in our workshop
Schedule AT LEAST ONE MEETING with a photography coach (Allison, Heng or Sarout) by February 1, 2015
Choose up to 3 of your best photographs/photo sets and edit them
Fill out the submission form including TITLES and ARTIST STATEMENT (link)
Submit by the deadline February 22, 2016 to [email protected] or directly to Sarout An or Allison Milewski
See below for examples of great photographs

Photo Set: Challenge Guidelines

(Note: Only 6 photo sets will be selected for the exhibition)

Choose a person or theme and tell the story in two or three photos. For example: If your subject is your grandmother and her work, take a Medium Shot portrait of her and one or two photos that show an object that she works with or an image that shows her working (see examples below).
Take at least 40 photographs using the skills and techniques learned in our workshop
Schedule AT LEAST ONE MEETING with a photography coach (Allison, Heng or Sarout) by February 1, 2015
Choose 2 or 3 of your best photographs for each photo set and edit them
Each candidate can submit up to 2 photo sets
Fill out the submission form including TITLES and ARTIST STATEMENT (link)
Submit by the deadline February 8, 2016 to [email protected] or directly to Sarout An or Allison Milewski
Definitions :
- Diptychs are two photos that tell a story together.
- Triptychs are photos that tell a story together.

Partner Organizations Guidelines

PUBLIC RELATIONS
We look forward to celebrating our partner organizations at the event and will feature logos, PR materials, and general branding at the exhibition and in related materials. Please provide branding and PR materials to us by February 15, 2016: [email protected]

HOW TO SUPPORT YOUR CANDIDATES
As partners and collaborators, we appreciate your support for and encouragement of the photographers in your community. However, this challenge is an opportunity for the workshop participants to demonstrate their initiative, refine their storytelling and technical skills, and develop their creative "voice".

In support of this goal, we request that partners refrain from directing, editing, or overly influencing the artists' work or submitting a selection of work representing the community.