National Pictures of the Year Rules and Submission Guidelines

Rules and submission guidelines for the 2023 National Pictures of the Year (NPOY). This page is very long but the requirements are simple. Everything is subject to change.

 

 

 

 

HIGHLIGHTS

• Removed category: Student Multimedia

• Removed category: Photo & Article.

• Win $1,000 for the Photojournalist of the Year and $500 for Student Photographer of the Year. Win $500 for Photo of the Year and $500 for First Place in each category.

• To enter the NPOY, you must have been an NPAC member in 2023 or purchase a membership by February 15, 2024. Students must purchase a student membership by April 26, 2024.

• Deadline for all entries, except for Student Photographer of the Year, is 11:59PM (Pacific Standard Time) February 15, 2024.

• There are no separate entry fees for Student Photographer of the Year, aside from membership.

• NPAC student membership must be obtained by April 15, 2024.

• The NPOY fee is $10 per entry to a maximum of $150 per member. A Professional member can have up to 20 entries plus one Photojournalist of the Year entry for a total of 21 entries at a maximum cost of $150.

• All photographs entered must have been made within the 2023 calendar year, with the exception of Picture Story (see below), Student Photographer of the Year (see below).

• Non-published work is eligible in all categories.

• Each student may submit only one entry package for Student Photographer of the Year.

• Winners will be announced at the NPAC 2023 NPOY Awards Ceremony to be held online at date to be determined.

• NEW: If you wish, you may include a text file with pronunciation instructions for your name.

 

PRIZES

• Photojournalist of the Year: $1,000

• Photograph of the Year: $500

• Student Photographer of the Year: $500

• First place in all other categories: $500

 

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NATIONAL PICTURES OF THE YEAR RULES

 

ELIGIBILITY and PROCESSING FEES

1. The National Pictures of the Year (NPOY) Contest is open to NPAC members only. Before entering the NPOY, you must have been an NPAC member in 2023 or purchase a membership before February 15, 2024. Memberships can be purchased at the NPAC online store.

2. For the main NPOY contest, there is a processing fee of $10 per photo entered. Entries in the Photojournalist of The Year and Picture Story categories are $10 per entry, not per picture. Although each member can submit 20 entries plus one Photojournalist of the Year entry, there is a maximum fee of $150 per member.

3. Entry in the Student Photographer of the Year: the student category is open to NPAC Student members registered at an accredited post-secondary institution as of January 1, 2024. (This means the contest is open to current students and not to those who graduated last year.) NPAC student membership must be obtained by April 15, 2024.

 

DEADLINES

1. Entries, except for Student Photographer of the Year, will be accepted between January 15, 2023, and February 15, 2024. All entries must be received by the NPOY committee no later than 11:59PM (Pacific Standard Time) February 15, 2024. This deadline is strictly enforced.

2. To allow students more time to produce images and video during the school year, the entry period for Student Photographer of the Year will be later than other categories. Entries for Student Photographer of the Year until 11:59PM (Pacific Standard Time) April 22, 2024. This deadline is strictly enforced.

 

ENTRIES

1. All entries, except for Student Photographer of the Year, must have been made between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023. The only exception to this rule applies to images from long-term projects which have been photographed over multiple years.

All Student Photographer of the Year entries must have been made between January 1, 2023, and April 15, 2024.

2. Any entries that have been manipulated beyond industry-accepted techniques such as cropping, colour correction and tone adjustments (e.g. levels, curves or burning/dodging) will be disqualified and any prizes will be revoked. Remember that we use journalism standards not general photography standards.

3. NEW: Photos captured in the employ of, or commissioned by, an organization including, but not limited to, governments, government agencies, corporations, or sports teams, where access is restricted to, or unique access is granted to, that photographer, may not be entered.

4. Video frame grabs are not eligible.

5. Each entrant may submit a maximum of 20 entries. A Picture Story entry is considered one entry. A portfolio submission for Photojournalist of The Year is separate and does not count towards the maximum number of entries.

6. The same image cannot be entered in two different categories, with the exception of any image from the Picture Story and Photojournalist of The Year categories. Single images from Picture Story and Photojournalist of The Year may also be entered in one additional category but each must be entered separately and each counts as a separate entry.

A Picture Story that is part of a Photojournalist Of The Year portfolio may also be entered into a Picture Story category but it must be entered separately and it will count as a separate entry.

7. Judges will not reclassify entries. Entrants must place their work in the appropriate category.

8. The judging panel reserves the right not to assign awards.

9. The decisions of the contest judges and NPOY committee are final.

10. Entrants acknowledge and agree that nominated and winning photo entries may be displayed in public and published in print and electronic formats for news coverage of the NPOY, for NPAC’s promotion of the NPOY and in NPAC’s annual Pictures of the Year book.

Entrants acknowledge and agree that nominated and winning multimedia entries may be linked or embedded on npac.ca and by third-party web sites for news coverage of the NPOY.

Non-nominated entries will be deleted from NPAC servers after the completion of the NPOY.

11. Nominees for each category will be announced prior to the awards ceremony.

 

CATEGORIES

PHOTOJOURNALIST OF THE YEAR   Category code: PY

Based on a portfolio of individual images that demonstrate diverse abilities and photojournalistic excellence. This portfolio may include one or more picture stories. The portfolio may have up to 18 images and each Picture Story will count as one image.

One winner will be selected.

 

PHOTOGRAPH OF THE YEAR

One image will be chosen from the winning pictures of all categories.

 

SPOT NEWS   Category code: SN

A single photograph of an unscheduled news event for which no advance planning was possible.

 

GENERAL NEWS   Category code: GN

A single photograph with serious content and strong human interest elements of a scheduled or organized news event (e.g. mourners at a funeral, protesters, press conferences or staged coverage opportunities).

 

FEATURE   Category code: FE

A single photograph of an unstaged situation that has a high human interest element and/or a fresh view of an everyday scene.

 

SOCIAL ISSUES   Category code: SI

A single photo with strong and serious content concerning a social or political issue that is relevant to the community at large. Examples include, but are not restricted to, socio-economic, health, environmental or current affair subjects.

 

SPORTS ACTION   Category code: SA

A single photograph that captures the competitive peak action or spirit during a sporting event.

 

SPORTS FEATURE   Category code: SF

A sports-related photograph other than game action that has strong human interest qualities.

 

PORTRAIT   Category code: PO

A photograph of a person or persons that reveals the essence of the subject’s character.

PERSONALITY

Now merged with Portrait.

 

PICTURE STORY NEWS   Category code: PSN

A series of photographs that tells a visual story or is centered around a single theme. Subject matter can be news or social issues and must have been produced primarily in Canada. There is a limit of 12 images per picture story entry.

 

PICTURE STORY FEATURE   Category code: PSF

A series of photographs that tells a visual story or is centered around a single theme. Subject matter can be feature or sports and must have been produced primarily in Canada. There is a limit of 12 images per picture story entry.

 

MULTIMEDIA   Category code: MM

Multimedia shot, edited and produced by one or more people and includes at least two of the following elements: still photography, audio, video.

 

STUDENT PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR   Category code: SY

Based on a portfolio of 10 images that demonstrates diverse abilities and photojournalistic excellence.

One winner will be selected.

 

PREPARING YOUR ENTRIES

1. All images must be:

• Resolution: 300 ppi
• Image Size: 3000 pixels on the long side
• File type: jpeg
• Be sure to append each file with: .jpg
• Jpeg compression: 10
• Colour Mode: Adobe RGB

2. Each entry MUST have a complete and clear caption that indicates the Who, What, Where and When of the photograph. If applicable, also include the Why of your photo. Do NOT put your name or media affiliation in the caption area or description area.

3. All images must have the photographer’s Credit fields completed in the file info. Also, in the Source field, please mention the name of your employer, the name of the media outlet which assigned you, or if you are independent (self-assigned work). Please mention if you are staff or freelance in the Title field.

In Photo Mechanic (above), do NOT put your name or media outlet in the caption box. But be sure to add a proper caption. Put your name and media outlet, if applicable, in the Credits area.

In Photoshop, do NOT put your name or media outlet in the Description box. But be sure to add a proper caption. Put your name and media outlet, if applicable, in the Credits area.

4. Each entry must use the following filename format:

CategoryCodeYourFirstMiddleLastInitialsEntryNumber

The entry number should be zero-padded: 01, 02, 03, . . . 09, 10, 11, 12 . . .

For example, if Peter J. Parker entered three images, two in Spot News and one in Feature, then his filenames would be SNPJP01.jpg, SNPJP02.jpg, FEPJP03.jpg.

 

CATEGORY CODES

PY – PHOTOJOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
SN – SPOT NEWS
GN – GENERAL NEWS
FE – FEATURE
SI – SOCIAL ISSUES
SA – SPORTS ACTION
SF – SPORTS FEATURE
PO – PORTRAIT
PE – PERSONALITY
PSN – PICTURE STORY NEWS
PSF – PICTURE STORY FEATURE
MM – MULTIMEDIA
SY – STUDENT PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

 

PREPARING PHOTOJOURNALIST OF THE YEAR ENTRIES   Category code: PY

1. Each portfolio can have up to 18 images produced in 2023 and it may include one or more picture stories that were completed in 2023. A picture story will count as one image in the up-to-18 allowable images.

2. Portfolios will be judged on impact as a unit. Each portfolio should demonstrate the diverse abilities and photojournalistic excellence of the entrant.

3. Entries must follow the same image preparation guidelines and adhere to the same filename format requirements as for entering an individual image and a picture story.

Name the images in your portfolio in the order you would like them to be viewed. Add letters to name each picture story image in the order they should be viewed. For example, Susan L. Brown’s Photojournalist of the Year entry includes 14 images and one picture story with 10 images. She wants her picture story to be viewed after the single images. Her filenames are:

PYSLB01.jpg (1st image to be viewed)
PYSLB02.jpg (2nd image to be viewed)
PYSLB03.jpg (3rd image to be viewed)
PYSLB04.jpg (4th image to be viewed)
. . .
PYSLB14.jpg (14th image to be viewed)
PYSLB15A.jpg (1st image in her picture story)
PYSLB15B.jpg (2nd image in her picture story)
. . .
PYSLB15J.jpg (10th image in her picture story)

An optional 50 to 100-word summary can accompany a picture story. This summary will be read to the judges prior to viewing the entry and can help them understand what they’re looking at. Summaries that exceed this word limit will be shortened for brevity. This summary can be a text file (.doc, .docx .txt, .rtf) or you can use Photoshop’s text tool to create a jpeg image with your summary.

Include your summary with your entry and use a similar filename as the picture story. For example, if Susan L. Brown’s Photojournalist of the Year entry included a picture story with filenames like PYSLB15A.jpg, PYSLB15B.jpg, PYSLB15C.jpg, etc., her summary would be named PYSLB15.jpg, PYSLB15.txt or PYSLB15.docx as the case may be.

4. Single photographs that are a part of a Photojournalist Of The Year portfolio may also be entered into one other category but each must be entered separately with the appropriate filename and each counts as a separate entry.

5. A picture story that is part of a Photojournalist Of The Year portfolio may also be entered into a picture story category but it must be entered separately with the appropriate filenames and it will count as a separate entry.

6. Each entrant may submit only one Photojournalist Of The Year portfolio.

 

PREPARING PICTURE STORY NEWS ENTRIES   Category code: PSN

1. Picture story entries must be submitted as single images and follow the specifications outlined above. The images should be coded in the order you would like them to be viewed by using letters: A=1st image, B=2nd image, C=3rd image, D=4th image, etc., up to a maximum of 12 images.

For example, Peter J. Parker’s Picture Story News entry would be coded as follows:

PSNPJP01A.jpg (1st image in his 1st Picture Story)
PSNPJP01B.jpg (2nd image in his 1st Picture Story)
PSNPJP01C.jpg (3rd image in his 1st Picture Story)
PSNPJP01D.jpg (4th image in his 1st Picture Story) etc. . . . up to a maximum of 12 images.

If Parker were to submit a second Picture Story News entry, his filenames would be:

PSNPJP02A.jpg (1st image in his 2nd Picture Story)
PSNPJP02B.jpg (2nd image in his 2nd Picture Story)
PSNPJP02C.jpg (3rd image in his 2nd Picture Story)
PSNPJP02D.jpg (4th image in his 2nd Picture Story) etc. . . . up to a maximum of 12 images.

An optional 50 to 100-word summary can accompany each picture story entry. This will be read to the judges prior to viewing the entry and can help them understand what they’re looking at. Summaries that exceed this word limit will be shortened for brevity. This summary can be a text file (.doc, .docx .txt, .rtf) or you can use Photoshop’s text tool to create a jpeg image with your summary.

Include your summary with your entry and use a similar filename as the picture story. For example, if Peter J. Parker entered the Picture Story News category and his entry had filenames like PSNPJP01A.jpg, PSNPJP01B.jpg, PSNPJP01C.jpg, etc., his summary would be PSNPJP01.jpg, PSNPJP01.txt or PSNPJP01.docx as the case may be.

2. Single photographs that are a part of a picture story may also be entered into one other category but each must be entered separately with the appropriate filename and each counts as a separate entry. Single entries from a picture story can only be entered in another category in the year they were made.

3. If a picture story was shot over a period of more than one calendar year, it should be entered in the year it is completed.

4. Photos from a previously entered picture story may be included in a new picture story entry this year provided that this year’s entry has at least 75% new images.

For example: you entered a picture story in last year’s NPOY and you continued to work on that story or a related story since then. This year’s picture story> entry must have at least 75% new images.

 

PREPARING PICTURE STORY FEATURE ENTRIES   Category code: PSF

This follows the same requirements as the Picture Story News category (above) but use the category code PSF.

 

PREPARING STUDENT PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR ENTRIES   Category code: SY

1. This annual award is open to NPAC Student members registered at an accredited post-secondary institution as of January 1, 2023. (This means the contest is open to current students and not to those who graduated last year.) NPAC student membership must be obtained by April 26, 2023.

2. Each portfolio entry must consist of 10 images produced between January 1, 2023, and April 15, 2023. Each portfolio will be judged as a whole and should demonstrate the diverse abilities and photojournalistic excellence of the entrant.

3. Picture stories may be included and each picture story will count as one of the 10 required images. There is a limit of 10 photos per picture story. For example, a student could enter nine single photos plus one 10-photo picture story and that would meet the requirement of having 10 images. Another student might enter, for example, seven single photos and three picture stories which would meet the requirement of having 10 images.

An optional 50 to 100-word summary can accompany each picture story and will be read by the judges prior to viewing. Summaries that exceed this word limit will be shortened for brevity. This summary can be a text file (.doc, .docx .txt, .rtf) or you can use Photoshop’s text tool to create a jpeg image with your summary.

Include your summary with your entry and use a similar filename as the picture story. For example, if student Mary W. Smith had a picture story in her Student Photographer of the Year entry, and those picture story images had filenames like SYMWS01A.jpg, SYMWS01B.jpg, SYMWS01C.jpg, etc., her summary would be named SYMWS01.jpg, SYMWS01.txt or SYMWS01.docx as the case may be.

4. Entries must follow the same image preparation guidelines and adhere to the same filename format requirements as for regular members entering the NPOY. Remember that every photo must have a proper caption.

For example, student Mary N. Jones might enter nine single images plus an eight-image picture story and her filenames would be:

SYMNJ01.jpg
SYMNJ02.jpg
. . .
SYMNJ09.jpg
SYMNJ10A.jpg (first photo in her picture story)
SYMNJ10B.jpg (second photo in her picture story)
. . .
SYMNJ10H.jpg (last photo in her picture story)

5. Each student may submit only one portfolio.

6. All student entries must be received no later than 11:59PM (Pacific Standard Time) April 26, 2023.

 

 

UPLOADING ENTRIES

1. Entries, except for Student Photographer of the Year and Student Multimedia, will be accepted between January 15, 2024, and 11:59PM (Pacific Standard Time) February 15, 2024.

Entries for Student Photographer of the Year and Student Multimedia will be accepted until 11:59PM (Pacific Standard Time) April 26, 2024.

2. Entry processing fees must be paid at the NPAC online store. The entry fee option will be available on the Store page only during the NPOY entry period.

If you have more than 15 entries, use “15” as the quantity on the Store web page so that your maximum fee is $150.

There is no entry fee for Student Photographer of the Year

3. There is an $10 fee for each photograph, picture story or multimedia piece entered in the following categories:

Spot News
General News
Feature
Social Issues
Sports Action
Sports Feature
Portrait
Personality
Picture Story News
Picture Story Feature
Multimedia

4. A Photojournalist Of The Year entry is considered a single entry at a cost of $10. A photographer may submit only one Photojournalist Of The Year entry.

5. Even though entry fees are capped at a maximum of $150 per member, each member can enter up to 20 entries plus one Photojournalist Of The Year entry. If you have more than 15 entries, use “15” as the quantity on the Store page.

6. After submitting the entry fee, you will be emailed a receipt with an Order Number and the upload addresses (one address for still images, another address for multimedia).

Be sure to use the Order Number and not the Transaction ID which is for your credit card process. The Order Number appears near the top of the “Order Received” page and again on the emailed receipt:

 

The Order Number is also shown on your order confirmation email along with the necessary upload information.

For Student Photographer of the Year, since there are no entry fees and no need to use the online store, upload instructions will be posted in the Student section of the NPAC Forums during the student entry period.

7. All still photograph entries, including any text summaries if applicable, must be placed in exactly one folder and named as:

YourLastName_OrderNumber

For Student Photographer of the Year entries only, since there is no entry fee, there is no order number. So a Student Photographer of the Year entry folder should be named with your two initials and surname:

FirstInitialSecondInitialLastName

If you don’t have a middle initial then use X, Y or Z. We’re trying to prevent the chance of two people having the same filenames.

Your one folder of images must be compressed into a self-contained .zip file. Do not put multimedia entries in this folder. Depending on your computer operating system, one way to do this is to right-click or crtl-click on the folder of entries and select “Compress”, “Create Archive” or “Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder”.

Upload this one zipped folder of still images at the address listed on your receipt. You will receive an automated email confirming that your entry was uploaded successfully.

 

Since we run into these same problems every year, let’s recap:

(1) Do NOT make up your own file naming scheme! Don’t do it.

Use the proper naming system for your files and your folder. We use our filenaming system to sort the images and so that the judges won’t know the identity of the photographers.

(2) In case you weren’t paying attention, don’t make up your own filenaming scheme!

(3) Captions are a must because you are a photojournalist! Read your captions to make sure they make sense.

(4) Don’t put your name or media outlet in your captions because the judges read the captions.

(5) Put all your images in one folder and zip that one folder. Don’t upload loose images! Upload just one zipped folder.

 

PREPARING AND UPLOADING MULTIMEDIA ENTRIES

1. All multimedia entries should be uploaded at the url on your store receipt that you will receive after submitting the processing fee. This information will also be posted in the Student section of the NPAC Forums during the student entry period.

2. Uploaded multimedia will be viewable only by judges and will not be made public. The public cannot download or embed the entries. Only nominated and winning multimedia entries will be published on npac.ca. Nominated and winning entries may also be linked or embedded by third-party sites for news coverage of the NPOY.

Non-nominated entries will be deleted from NPAC servers after completion of the NPOY.

3. When uploading your multimedia entries, give each video a filename in the same format as photo entries:

CategoryCodeYourFirstMiddleLastInitialsEntryNumber.mp4

If you don’t have a middle initial then use X, Y or Z. We’re trying to prevent the chance of two people having the same filenames.

The entry number should be zero padded: 01, 02, 03 . . . 09, 10, 11 . . .

For example, Peter J. Parker’s Multimedia filenames would look like:

MMPJP01.mp4 (his first Multimedia entry)
MMPJP02.mp4 (his second Multimedia entry)
etc.

4. Along with each multimedia entry, you MUST also upload, to the same address, a corresponding text file (.txt, .rtf, .doc, .docx) which includes:

• Your multimedia entry filename.
• Title of your video.
• A complete and clear
 caption that indicates Who, What, Where, When and Why.
• The name of the videographer and, if applicable, all other team members plus their titles (e.g. photographer, audio, editor, producer, reporter, etc.)
• The media affiliation of each person involved with your video. Freelancers may use “Independent” or “Freelance.” Students should list the name of their school.
• Any related story URLs.

This text file should have the same filename as your multimedia entry but with the appropriate extension. For example, if student Jane W. Smith entered two projects into the Student Multimedia category, her filenames would look like:

STJWS01.mp4 and STJWS01.txt
STJWS02.mp4 and STJWS02.txt

5. If your video contains any logos or credits that indicate who shot the
 video then these elements must be removed or covered up before uploading.

If a logo is seen throughout the video and cannot be easily snipped out then
 simply import your video into your video editor and place a small 
black jpeg image over the logo to cover it up.

Upload information for the main NPAC NPOY contest will be on the Order Confirmation email. Students will find the submission link below.

You must have a current NPAC Student membership and be logged in to view the submission page. Memberships can be purchased here if you have not done so already.

The submission link can be found here:

NPOY File Submission – Students

Do not wait until the final hours or minutes to submit.

If you encounter any technical issues, please contact the NPAC web administrator at webadmin@npac.ca.

Note: If you wish, you may include a text file in your submission with pronunciation instructions for your name.