2024 Entries Now Open
The Inspired Dance Photography Competition is a platform designed to honour and showcase the captivating fusion of photography and the art of dance. Open to both amateur and professional photographers aged 18 and above, as well as minors with parental consent, this competition seeks to capture the essence and grace of dance through the lens of a camera.
Entrants are invited to submit their dance-inspired photographs, showcasing their artistic vision and skill in portraying the beauty, emotion, and dynamism inherent in the world of dance. The competition serves as a celebration of the intricate movements, expressions, and energy that dancers bring to life.
Our finalists will be showcased during the Inspired Dance Film Festival, 11 – 20 October, 2024. The winners of the competition will be unveiled on the final day of the exhibition with award announcements will be made public, recognising and applauding the outstanding photographers whose works stood out in capturing the spirit of dance.
Overall, the Inspired Dance Photography Competition offers a unique opportunity for photographers to showcase their talents, celebrate the artistry of dance, and potentially gain recognition for their exceptional work in the realm of visual storytelling.
ENTRY DATES
Early Bird Deadline – 17 March, 2024
Regular Deadline – 4 August, 2024
Late Deadline – 24 August, 2024
EXHIBITION DATES
In-person Exhibition – 11 to 20 October, 2024
AWARDS
Best Studio Dance Portrait
Best On-Location Dance Portrait
Best Live Performance Dance Portrait
Best Fine Art Dance Portrait
ENTRY FEES
Early Bird Deadline
$30 Regular / $20 Students
Regular Deadline
$40 Regular / $30 Students
Late Deadline
$50 Regular / $40 Student
PHOTOGRAPHER BENEFITS
• Finalist gallery exhibition with digital display of semi-finalists.
• Digital display on the Inspired Dance Website.
• Sales opportunities.
• Winners receive an award certificate and a $100 cash prize.
GENERAL RULES
1) Inspired Dance Photography Competition (IDPC) is open to amateur or professional photographers (Entrant) who are 18 years of age or older, or minors who have parental consent to enter.
2) Employees of IDPC, affiliate judges, mentors or sponsors and their immediate family members are not eligible to enter the competition.
3) Submissions are collected on FilmFreeway exclusively.
4) The fee for each image entered into the competition is Early Bird / $30, Regular / $40, Late / $50. Student and gold member discounts.
5) Digital images must be in JPG format and are recommended to be at least 3600 pixels on the long side and be saved at 300 dpi. If an image is close to that size, there is no need to upsize to 3600 pixels on the long side. Images may be colour profiled in sRGB, Adobe-1998, or not colour-managed. Images may be in colour or black and white.
6) The person submitting the Entry must be the creator of the Entry.
7) You may enter any number of entries in any of the categories as separate projects in FilmFreeway. Each project must contain original source image and the final image for judging purposes.
8) Each submission must be original material taken by the Entrant including textures or other material used for supplemental visual effects in images submitted to the Fine Art category and be created from 2022 onwards.
9) By entering the IDPC, the Entrant represents, acknowledges and warrants that they have full power and authority to enter the photograph and that the photograph does not infringe any copyright or violate any other intellectual property rights.
10) The Entrant agrees to indemnify the IDPC from any and all third-party claims arising from the use of the photograph. It is the entrant’s responsibility to ensure that they have permission to submit images inclusive of all elements and persons in the image. Eg. Branding, Choreography, Art direction, artists’ permission, or any other material that would require a license or connection to a third party.
11) Photographs that include sculptures, statues, paintings, and other works of art will be accepted as long as they do not constitute copyright infringement or fraud, provided that Entrants must be prepared to provide a release form at IDPC’s sole discretion.
12) The Entries will be judged in the initial round in accordance with the Judging Criteria, as defined below. The image must not, in the sole discretion of the IDPC, contain obscene, provocative, defamatory, racial, sexually explicit, or otherwise objectionable or inappropriate content. Photographs deemed inappropriate will be disqualified.
Entries must not contain material that promotes bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual or promotes discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age.
13) Entries submitted for the Performance category must be an image shot at a live performance using available light only. The performance may be on a theatre stage, dance studio or any other location used for a performance.
14) Entries submitted for the Studio Portraits category should be shot in an indoor environment using studio strobes, constant light or natural light. Entries with nude models, or implied nudity, even if shot in a portrait studio, must be submitted to the Fine Art category.
15) Entries submitted for the On-Location category should not be shot in an indoor venue or studio environment. Images must be shot in an outdoor location, using studio strobes, flashes, constant light or natural light.
16) Entries for the Fine Art category can be shot in the studio, on location, or at a performance. There is no limit to alterations to the image, dancer, or adding new elements and backgrounds and settings to the original image, other than altering the dancer’s body to give the appearance of better technical skills than what was captured in the original image.
17) Images submitted to the categories of Performance Portraits, On-Location Portraits, and Studio Portraits are allowed to have normal editing such as adjusting exposure/levels, colour, sharpness and minor background etching. Eg. Minor dust/dirt cloning, removal of stray hairs, minor skin complexion and studio backdrop fill.
18) The dancer’s body parts cannot be altered to give the dancer an appearance of better technique, or for any other reason that you would want to change his or her body. However, minor adjustments to external elements can be made. As an example, if a dancer’s ribbons on her pointe shoes are loose, it is appropriate to fix that in post-production.
19) Any images where new backgrounds, or any other major element, are composited into the image should be submitted to the Fine Art category.
20) Images can be entered that have been taken at any time prior to the Extended Entry Deadline of the Contest.
21) If the Host requires verification from the entrant by email and the Photographer does not contact the IDPC within 10 days to verify the integrity of the image, the image will be disqualified.
22) By submitting an Entry, you understand that if your Entry/’s is deemed to be a winner, it will be posted and distributed in various public media for Inspired Dance Media (IDM) publications and events.
23) IDPC will be responsible for printing and exhibition display costs. Sales opportunities will be available, with a 40% commission on all sales going to IDPC.
JUDGING:
Judging criteria will be in accordance with previously stated guidelines with the overall attention to the following areas:
– Creativity and Originality
– Photographic Technique & Image Quality
– Capture and Representation of Movement
Judges will be from the photographic and professional dance industry, with images scored to determine the image’s final result.
2023 Award Winners
Best Performance Dance Portrait
‘Unreachable Places’
Photographer: Claudia Toggweiler
Best Studio Dance Portrait
‘In Flight’
Photographer: Allison Armfield
Best On-Location Dance Portrait
‘Indigenous L.A. Woman’
Photographer: Alexander G. Seyum
Our Finalists
‘Visible’
Photographer: Nicolas Blachon
‘Alice by B.DANCE’
Photographer: Chao Sheng Ho
‘Brittany DeGrofft, 2011’
Photographer: Lois Greenfield
‘PeiJu Chien-Pott, 2016’
Photographer: Lois Greenfield