FAQ
If you have any questions or feedback about this competition please email prteam@wwt.org.uk
HOW DO I SUBMIT MY PHOTO?
You can submit your photos (one at a time) using the Enter Your Pictures section of the website. You should upload your image as a JPEG image file. Once your photo has passed our moderation checks, you will receive an email confirming your entry into the competition and your picture will appear on the website.
WHAT CAN MY PHOTO BE OF?
The theme of the competition is wetlands and wetland wildlife, so your pictures must encompass those themes. If you are entering the Wetland Wildlife, Wetland Landscapes or Wildlife & People categories, your picture must have been taken at one of WWT's nine regional wetland centres. Entries into the World Wetlands category can be taken anywhere in the world, and the judges will be looking for moving or emotive photographs of wetlands good or bad from all over the world. Look at each category page for more information.
WHAT ARE THE CATEGORIES IN THIS YEAR'S COMPETITION?
We have four categories in total, plus an Under 18's category that those aged 17 and below are entered into automatically - the Young Photographer of the Year. The categories are Wetland Wildlife, Wetland Landscapes, Wildlife & People and World Wetlands. In addition, the Portfolio Photographer of the Year Award is open to all those entering three or more photographs in a minimum of two or more seasonal heats.
WHO CAN ENTER THE COMPETITION?
The competition is open to everyone – amateur and professional, of any age.
I'M AGED UNDER 18 – WILL MY PICTURES BE JUDGED AGAINST ONES TAKEN BY ADULTS?
No, the four main categories cannot be won by under 18s. When entering one of the four main categories if you tick that you are Under 18 (you will be asked to tick your actual age) your entry will automatically be transferred to the Young Photographer of the Year category.
HOW MANY PHOTOS CAN I ENTER?
You can enter as many different photos as you like across the categories of your choice. However, an individual photo cannot be entered into more than one category or repeated in subsequent seasonal heats, and only one photo from a series is allowed per category.
CAN I SUBMIT A PHOTOGRAPH I TOOK A FEW YEARS AGO?
Your photo must have been taken within five years of the closing date of the competition, but must NOT have been entered into any previous WWT photography competition..
CAN I ENTER THE SAME IMAGE IN MORE THAN ONE CATEGORY?
No. A photo can only be entered once into one category.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER I SUBMIT MY PHOTO? DOES IT GO STRAIGHT ONTO YOUR WEBSITE?
Once you have submitted your photo it will need to be approved by one of our moderators before appearing on the website. Our moderators will ensure duplicates do not appear on the site and that entries adhere to our full rules.
You will receive an email with a direct link to your image once it has appeared on the website. We aim to approve photos within 24 hours of their submission, however images submitted over the weekend will not appear on the site until Monday or Tuesday of the following week.
MY PHOTO IS TAKING AGES TO UPLOAD TO YOUR SITE. HOW CAN I SPEED THINGS UP?
Our site can handle images of any size and will compress images as appropriate to view via our gallery. However larger images – say over 4MB – will take longer to upload.
If you have the relevant software it is advised that you compress or resize your photo to a more manageable size before uploading. For the purposes of displaying on the website and judging, an image that is 1000px in its largest dimension will be suitable.
CAN I VOTE FOR MY OWN PHOTO?
We would encourage entrants not to vote for their own submissions. Instead you can forward a link to your photo to friends and family to encourage them to vote for your photographs. Individuals can only vote for a photo once – multiple votes will not be counted. If we suspect irregular voting has taken place, the People's Choice vote may be overridden by our judging panel.
I ONLY HAVE MY PHOTOS IN ORIGINAL NEGATIVES, NOT AS DIGITAL ONES. CAN I ENTER THEM?
We can accept photos that have been scanned then uploaded to the website, although concessions won't be made for poor quality scans.
I DON'T HAVE AN INTERNET CONNECTION – CAN I STILL ENTER THE COMPETITION?
Those without internet access should contact WWT on 01453 891144. We may be able to accept entries brought to a WWT centre.
WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH THE IMAGES ENTERED AFTER THE COMPETITION HAS CLOSED?
Images that have been entered into the competition will remain on the competition website in gallery pages for an indeterminate length of time.
However, if you tick the box giving permission for your photos to be used by WWT for print, online and marketing purposes, we may choose to use your photos for activities including, but not limited to, marketing and promotions. You will retain copyright of your photo at all times and will be credited alongside your picture.
By entering any image into our competition you grant permission to WWT to reproduce your images in connection with the competition. This includes permission to display your photos at exhibitions relating to the competition and to print your photos in WWT's Waterlife magazine. See our rules page for more information.
IF I GIVE WWT PERMISSION TO USE MY PHOTOGRAPH, WILL YOU SELL IT OR ALLOW EXTERNAL COMPANIES/MEDIA TO USE IT WITHOUT MY PERMISSION?
Granting permission for us to use your photo means that you will be allowing WWT and its subsidiaries to use your photo for any means required. Any profits made from your photograph will go directly into supporting WWT's important conservation work.
External media will be allowed to publish images free of charge for the sole purpose of promoting the competition.
CAN I SUBMIT MANIPULATED IMAGES OR DO THEY HAVE TO BE THE ORIGINAL IMAGE?
We will accept images that have had minor alterations made to them, such as minor cleaning work or minimal cropping. Full details can be found on the Rules page, but as a general guide your image must be a faithful representation of what was captured at the time of the shot. Adding or removing animals, parts of animals, plants, distractions, people etc from/into the image is not allowed.
If we suspect an image fails to adhere to these guidelines, we will ask for the original file to be sent to us for judging.
CAN I ENTER SOMEONE ELSE'S PHOTOGRAPH?
No – you must be the sole author and owner of the copyright for all images entered. You cannot enter someone else's photograph either with or without their permission.
CAN I ENTER IMAGES THAT I HAVE PREVIOUSLY ENTERED INTO OTHER COMPETITIONS OR THAT HAVE PREVIOUSLY BEEN PUBLISHED?
Yes, you can enter photographs taken for a commission and which have been previously published, provided you have retained the full copyright for those images. You may also enter photos that have previously been entered into or won other competitions, except previous WWT photography competitions.
I DON'T LIVE IN THE UK. CAN I STILL ENTER THE COMPETITION?
Yes, we welcome entrants from outside of the UK. Although entries to our Wetland Wildlife, Wetland Landscapes, and Wildlife & People categories MUST have been taken at a WWT centre. The World Wetlands category can be entered with a photo taken anywhere in the world.
CAN I VOTE FOR MORE THAN ONE IMAGE?
Yes! You can vote for as many photos taken at as many centres and entered in as many categories as you like. But you can only vote for a photo once – multiple votes from one user will not be counted.
HOW WILL THE JUDGING WORK?
Regional judging will take place after each seasonal heat closes. The regional winners in each category from each of the four seasonal heats will go through to the national finals and our panel of expert judges. One national winner in the World Wetlands category will be chosen from a shortlist of the best photographs submitted into that category at the close of each regional heat to go on to the national finals. The Portfolio Photographer of the Year award will be judged nationally after all four seasonal heats of the competition close on 31 August 2012. A shortlist of three photographs taken from entries submitted by the same entrant in two or more of the four seasonal heats will go through to the national judging panel. People's Choice voting will close one month after each seasonal heat closes for entries.
I LIVE NEAR LONDON WETLAND CENTRE BUT TOOK SOME PHOTOS WHEN I VISITED WWT CAERLAVEROCK IN SCOTLAND. SHOULD I ENTER THOSE PHOTOGRAPHS AS LONDON OR CAERLAVEROCK?
If you are entering the Wetland Wildlife, Wetland Landscape and Wildlife & People categories, you should enter the name of the centre where the photo was taken – so in this case that would be Caerlaverock.
