This year, Czech Press Photo is celebrating its first quarter-century. Meanwhile, 2019 also marks what is now the fourth year of a new face for this prestigious photo competition. This competition is constantly improving its visual face with such perks as electronic photo submission, a voting system for its jury, and programs to support the efforts of today’s young talents. Alongside major dramatic current events, it also strives to show that positive things are happening in the world.
The Mayor of Prague and Czech Minister of Culture have sponsored the CPP contest.
Photo section
The competition’s photo revue and exhibition. Czech Photo o.p.s. and the City of Prague invite photographers from throughout the Czech and Slovak Republics to participate in the 25th year of the Czech Press Photo news photo competition.
Contest categories
We urge you to read the rules carefully – and to respect the rules for when photos are taken and take due care to caption them correctly. Also note that unlike in previous years, single photos and series compete in each category together, not separately as before.
Spot News (single/series)
These are news photos of unexpected events for which the photographer could not prepare in advance. Only photos from the competition’s latest year – i.e. those taken from October 1st, 2018 through September 30th, 2019 – may be submitted. See the winning pictures from the last years:
2018,2017,2016,2015,2014,2013,2012,2011.
Reportage (single/series)
Reportage photos describe and display reality on the basis of specific facts acquired through direct participation in, or observation of, a given event. Here the photographer has had the opportunity to prepare for the event in advance. Only photos from the competition’s latest year – i.e. those taken from October 1st, 2018 through September 30th, 2019 – may be submitted.
Daily life (single / series)
Photographs that record activities from daily life. Within this category, you may submit series that reach beyond the bounds of a single year – photos taken on September 30th, 2017 and later may be submitted, as long as at least one photo in the series falls within the period from October 1st, 2018 to September, 2019, and the series’ photos were not submitted for previous competition years. See the winning pictures from the last years:
2018,2017,2016,2015,2014,2013,2012,2011.
Art and Culture (single / series)
Reportage or a documentary from the realm of art. Human interaction in the cultural environment. Submit photos where art is the subject, rather than artistic photos. Within this category, you may submit series that reach beyond the bounds of a single year – photos taken on September 30th, 2017 and later may be submitted, as long as at least one photo in the series falls within the period from October 1st, 2018 to September, 2019, and the series’ photos were not submitted for previous competition years. See the winning pictures from the last years:
2018,2017,2016,2015,2014,2013,2012,2011.
Sports (single / series)
CPP sports photos depict sports at every level from amateurs to the very top. Action. Adrenaline. Pro and amateur sports. Only photos from the competition’s latest year – i.e. those taken from October 1st, 2018 through September 30th, 2019 – may be submitted. See the winning pictures from the last years:
2018,2017,2016,2015,2014,2013,2012,2011.
Portrait (single / series)
Portraits for title pages and interviews; reportage portraits and stylized portraits. Only photos from the competition’s latest year – i.e. those taken from October 1st, 2018 through September 30th, 2019 – may be submitted. See the winning pictures from the last years:
2018,2017,2016,2015,2014,2013,2012,2011.
Humans and the environment (single/series)
This category reflects humans’ impact on the environment. A separate competition, Czech Nature Photo, is held each year for wildlife photographs. Within this category, you may submit series that reach beyond the bounds of a single year – photos taken on September 30th, 2017 and later may be submitted, as long as at least one photo in the series falls within the period from October 1st, 2018 to September, 2019, and the series’ photos were not submitted for previous competition years. See the winning pictures from the last years:
2018,2017,2016,2015,2014,2013,2012,2011.
People in the news (single / series)
These photographs depict a single personality from political or public life. Only photos from the competition’s latest year – i.e. those taken from October 1st, 2018 through September 30th, 2019 – may be submitted. See the winning pictures from the last years
2016,2015,2014,2013,2012,2011.
Prague’s Changes (series)
Works competing for the CPP Prague Grant 2019, the Mayor of Prague’s year-long creative scholarship. After signing up for the grant, you must send the competition an explanatory text and a set of readied photographs that represent the concept for the whole set. Find more information on the Prague Grant winners history.
Signing up for the Competition
Photos will be accepted in electronic form. The entry fees sent by the competitors will be used to pay for printing the competition’s exhibition photographs. The jury has the right to request photographers’ data in RAW format and in high resolution for final printing. The authors of the photographs that are selected for the exhibition will be informed and will be given the opportunity to monitor their photos’ printing.
Deadlines
Contest opening for entries: 01. 09. 2019
Contest closing for entries: 30. 09. 2019
Video Jury: 13. 10. 2018
Photo Jury: 10. - 12. 10. 2019
Submissions and videos will only be accepted in electronic form. Videos may be uploaded starting on September 1st, 2019.
Photographers must provide proof of their status as a professional in any one of the following forms:
A press card
member of an association such as APF (The Czech Association of Professional Photographers), Klub sportovních novinářů (The Czech Sports Photographers’ Club), etc.
Employer – media house or agency,
Letter of recommendation from a cooperating editorial board
A precise description of the medium for which the photo was taken
A scan showing where the photo was published
>For students: confirmation of studies at a school of photography or other relevant school
Entry fee: 1,000 CZK / 39 EUR. Junior competitors (23 and under) pay no entry fee.
When photos do not meet the mentioned criteria, the organizer or jury has the right to exclude these photos.
An expert panel selects nominations in each category
Once the panel’s work is complete, nominations are announced at a press conference
The final announcement of the winners that the jury selects from among the nominations will take place at the Czech Press Photo exhibition’s gala opening on November 22nd, 2019.
How to Caption News Photos
Photos’ authors bear full responsibility for the correctness of caption information.
Verify all factual information concerning photos’ contents. Be as precise, detailed, and matter-of-fact as possible in your description of the things that might interest the reader. If you are not able to verify a piece of information, do not include it. Creativity and poetics have no place in these captions.
Each caption should provide new information that is not obvious from the photo; it should contextualize the image. Do not describe or repeat what the reader sees on the photograph. Avoid words such as “shows,” “displays,” etc.
Always identify the main characters and the location of the photo’s events. If the people in a photo are unknown to you, describe them generally (e.g. “protestors against XY on Václavské náměstí”) Take care to ensure proper nouns and place names have no errors, typos, etc.
Photographs depict a specific moment. Write the caption in the present tense.
The impression from the caption should match the impression from the photo. Do not try to be humorous.
Always state the exact date the photo was taken.
Be brief. Write in full sentences. Stick to the facts; do not use evaluating adjectives (beautiful, fantastic, awful, terrifying, etc.).
AWARDS
Czech taxation of Czech Press Photo prizes: Prizes with a value of above 10,000 CZK are stated as an amount in CZK before taxation. This taxation is governed by the relevant national laws. For non-monetary prizes, this amount is stated as the usual price of the goods, once again before taxation. Prizes of less than 10,000 CZK are tax-free.
2019 CZECH PRESS PHOTO OF THE YEAR
The Photo of the Year title is the competition’s grand prize. It will be granted to the photograph that the international jury rates the highest from the standpoint of its news qualities (its currency and expressiveness, and the readiness it shows), and it will be a photograph with superb aesthetics that symbolizes an important topic for the year. The prize’s recipient will receive a 120,000 CZK cash prize, a certificate, and a trophy sculpture.
In each of the contest categories, the international jury determines the nominations for the best work in the category and, subsequently, the winner of the category. All winners in the individual categories receive CZK 20,000 and a certificate.
See the winning pictures from the last years: past years.
2019 CZECH PRESS PHOTO PRAGUE GRANT
An annual creative grant of the Prague Municipal Authority for a person photographing the evolution of Prague. It is granted by the Mayor of Prague at the jury’s recommendation to the competitor who, through their work shown in the competition and their project sample formulated in the competition’s registration form, offers the strongest guarantee of a professional approach to the given project. This grant amounts to 120,000 CZK. After their year of work under the grant, its recipient is obligated to turn in to the Prague Municipal Authority a set of the thirty best photos, in duplicate, for archival and exhibition purposes. Registrations for the Prague Grant must be submitted together with an explanatory text (with a maximum length of 1,800 characters including spaces) and a set of readied photographs that represent the concept for the photo ensemble that the author wishes to systematically produce.
A prize for the new talent of the year in photography, for young photographers aged 23 and under across all categories. Canon gives a prize in the amount of 50,000 CZK to this award’s winner.
The Prize of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees is awarded to the photograph or series of photographs from the Czech Republic or abroad that most fittingly depicts issues surrounding refugees, i.e. people who have had to leave their homeland out of fear of persecution. This award’s winner receives 25,000 CZK.
This prize from a professional photo lab in the amount of 25,000 CZK is intended for funding the preparing and adapting of a separate exhibition collection of the Prague Czech Press Photo 2019 Grant winner in the PICTOART labs.
This will be awarded to the picture that receives the most votes from a children’s jury assembled by Czech Radio. The winner will receive a crystal trophy.
Committee of Good Will – Olga Havel Foundation “My Life with a Handicap” AWARD
The award is presented to the author of a photograph or series of photographs from the Czech Republic capturing specific moments in life of people with sensory, motor or mental handicap. The award winner receives CZK 20,000.
Will be awarded for the winning picture resulting from the poll by visitors to the premiere exhibition Czech Press Photo 2019 at the Old Town Hall in Prague. Olympus awards this prize.
This prize from The Association of Professional Photographers of the Czech Republic and ERA a.s. will be granted to the series of photographs that most interestingly maps the 101st year since the founding of Czechoslovakia, no matter whether this is from the social, cultural, or environmental standpoint. The photographs must have been taken in the period from October 29th, 2018 to September 30th, 2019, within the Czech Republic or with an obvious link to the Czech Republic. This award’s winner is awarded 20,000 CZK.
RULES
Czech and Slovak photographers permanently resident in the Czech or Slovak Republics can participate in the contest with work produced for publication in the media during the period:
1 October 2017 to 30 September 2018 for the Spot News category (single pictures and series) and single pictures in other categories;
1 January 2017 to 30 September 2018 for series (with the exception of the Spot News category), where at least one photograph in the series must not be older than 1 October 2017.
The entrants shall electronically pay the entry fee:
1,000 CZK / 39 EUR
Juniors under 23 need not pay the entry fee
I.
A maximum of ten individual works (where one photographic series is considered one work) may be entered in the contest. A photographic series may contain a maximum of 9 thematically-related pictures. II.
The photographer(s) must be the author(s) of the pictures submitted in his/her/their name. III.
The photographer(s), or the agents or representatives entering on their behalf, must be the copyright holder(s) or have been authorised by the copyright holder(s) to submit the pictures. IV.
A picture may only be submitted once, either as a single picture or as part of a series of pictures. Works submitted more than once will not be accepted with the exception of ones that apply for the Prague Grant. V.
In the interest of awarding the pictures, the jury may decide by a majority of votes to transfer a work to another category or award a picture from a series separately. VI.
Works submitted in the content’s previous year shall not be accepted to the contest. VII.
Pictures must meet the following specifications:
File format:
JPG (High quality)
TIFF (LZW or ZIP compression) - max. file size 20 MB
The files must be in the RGB area and must contain an embedded ICC profile.
Preferred for colour photographs: AdobeRGB, ProPhoto, sRGB
Preferred for black and white photographs: Dot Gain 20%, Gamma 2.2
Pictures without a profile will be rendered and printed as if they had the sRGB profile embedded
Images should be at least 3,000 pixels in length.
VIII.
All photographs must be given a precise title and detailed description in Czech (with diacritics)/Slovak and in English answering the questions “who, what, when, where” in accordance with publication practices in the media. Later adjustments will not be possible.
IX.
Only single exposure pictures will be accepted. X.
The content of a picture must not be altered by adding, rearranging, reversing, distorting or removing people and/or objects from within the frame. XI.
Adjustments of colour or conversion to grayscale that do not alter the content of the frame are permitted. XII.
Only entries uploaded and submitted via the contest’s website will be accepted. XIII.
The beginning for requesting a username and password to the contest’s website is 1 September 2019. The closing date for submitting entries to the 2019 contest is 30 September 2019, 12:00 midnight Central European Time. XIV. Copyright holders retain all personal copyrights to their works. Copyright holders grant Czech Photo, o.p.s., the organiser of the Czech Press Photo contest, an unlimited and non-exclusive licence to use the award-winning and other selected photographs (the exhibition collection) in the form of high-resolution pictures in all manners of use in relation to the support and promotion of the contest and its organiser, Czech Photo, o.p.s., including (but not limited to) in the press, through exhibition, dissemination to the public via television broadcast and computer or another similar network, by making the works accessible in a public archive, etc., all the above without quantitative limits and applicable to the whole world during the whole term of the copyright protection. The authorisation under the preceding sentence may also be partially granted by the organiser to a third person engaged in the competition. The licence is provided without consideration. The organiser may modify the works in a reasonable manner and combine them with other copyrighted and non-copyrighted works, especially for the purposes of further use of the works (e.g. for graphical processing in pre-press preparation, etc.) within the scope indicated above. XV.
For all pictures except awarded and exhibited pictures, the copyright holders grant Czech Photo, o.p.s., the Czech Press Photo organiser, a non-exclusive licence to use low-resolution pictures in a non-public archive for educational and research activities, without consideration XVI.
The contestants will provide the organiser with their full personal details (name, surname, professional resumé) together with the contestant’s picture (photograph); simultaneously, the contestants give their consent to the use of these details for the purposes of organising Czech Press Photo exhibitions (including promotion of the contest and exhibitions and connecting Czech Press Photo with its partners) and further to subsequent use for the purposes of future Czech Press Photo exhibitions in the Czech Republic and abroad. XVII.
The copyright holders represent and warrant that they are the sole authors of the entered works and that by submitting the pictures and their subsequent use, no rights or justified interests of third parties will be affected in any way, and that no third party may exercise any rights on the grounds of use of the pictures by the organiser and/or Czech Photo, o.p.s., or any entity using the pictures on the basis of a sublicence. XVIII.
The conditions set out in the Contest Rules are binding and Czech Photo o.p.s. reserves the right to reject or exclude any entry at its own discretion. There is no legal claim to participation in the contest.
Jury, announcement of the result, and exhibition
I.
The works will be evaluated in terms of their journalistic value (information value, readiness, topicality) as well as their aesthetic value. II.
After its appointment, the jury acts independently of the organisation’s management; sponsors and partners shall not influence the jury’s deliberations. III.
Proceedings and deliberations of the jury are confidential. IV.
All submitted works are evaluated anonymously. V.
The jury must award the Photo of the Year prize. VI.
Juries in the individual categories are not required to award prizes. VII.
Results – the pictures nominated for the 2019 Czech Press Photo will be announced at a press conference.
VIII.
After the announcement of the results, the nominated authors and authors of the pictures selected for exhibition may be required to supply the pictures in the maximum available quality. IX.
The final announcement of the winners will take place at an award ceremony. X.
The award-winning works and other works will be put on display at the Czech Press Photo 2019 exhibition in Prague. This exhibition will then travel nationwide and, in the care of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, worldwide. XI.
Prizes not collected by 31. 12. 2019 shall be forfeited to the contest organiser.
Video section
Contest categories
SPOT NEWS AND REPORTAGE
Web news video under 3 minutes. The work must contain a video (movie) comprising standard multimedia elements such as sound, text and graphics; it may also contain animation, photographs, etc. The works are evaluated especially in terms of their content, press impact and storytelling value together with a skilled use of visual and other elements.
Feature
Documentary video project for the web, not longer than 15 minutes. The work must contain a video comprising standard multimedia elements such as sound, text, and graphics, and may also comprise animation, photographs, commented slide show, staged narration expressing the authors experiences and feelings, etc. The work is evaluated especially in terms of creative telling of a strong and emotional story with long-term effects on the viewers.
Investigation
A separate category for investigative reportage and documentaries not longer than 20 minutes. The work must contain a video comprising standard multimedia elements such as sound, text, and graphics; it may also contain animation, photographs, etc. The work is evaluated especially in terms of the authenticity of the story in which the journalist reveals unexpected or hidden connections in the conduct of people and institutions.
Deadlines
Contest opening for entries: 01. 09. 2019
Contest closing for entries: 30. 09. 2019
VIDEO Jury: 14. 10. 2019
Only electronic entries and videos will be accepted; videos can be uploaded from 01. 09. 2019.
Videos are entered into the contest by editorial staff, agencies, freelancers and vocational schools. Not subject to entry fee.
The expert jury nominates works in each of the categories.
After the jury’s deliberations are complete, the nominations are announced at a press conference.
The final announcement of the winners selected by an expert jury from among the nominations is carried out at the ceremonial opening of the exhibition.
Rules
I.
Only electronic entries and videos will be accepted; beginning from 01. 09. 2019. II.
Authors with permanent residence in the Czech Republic or Slovakia may enter the contest with works created for publishing purposes during the following periods: 01. 10. 2016 to 30. 09. 2019 III.
Contestants in the video section are not subject to the electronic entry fee. IV.
One entry to the competition may include a maximum of four works. V.
Works may be submitted whether or not they have been published. VI.
The author of the work must be the person indicated in the entry application. VII.
The author(s) of the work, or representatives entering on their behalf, must be the copyright holder(s) or have been authorised by the copyright holder(s) to submit the work. VIII.
By submitting an application for entry to the contest, authors of the works or representatives entering the competition on their behalf confirm that each member of the production team agrees with the contest rules. IX.
A work may only be submitted once. Works submitted more than once will not be accepted. X.
In the interest of awarding the works, the jury may decide to transfer a work to another category. XI.
Works submitted in the content’s previous year shall not be accepted to the contest. XII. All works must have a name and accurate captions in Czech/Slovak and preferably in English as well. XIII.
All works must contain an audio track in Czech/Slovak/English or subtitles in Czech/Slovak/English. XIV.
Only entries uploaded and submitted via the contest’s website will be accepted. XV.
The entered works must be available online on YouTube or Vimeo and be accessible from the entry application; the contestants must include the URLs in the application. XVI.
Selected authors may be asked to supply their works in a quality better than the one in which they were originally submitted.
XVII.
The entered videos must remain accessible through the indicated URLs until the official announcement of Czech Press Photo 2019 winners XVIII.
Entries may be submitted from 1 September 2019. The closing date for submitting entries to the 2018 contest is 30 September 2019, 12:00 midnight Central European Time. XIX.
The beginning for requesting a username and password to the contest’s website is 1 September 2019. The closing date for submitting entries to the 2018 contest is 30 September 2019, 12:00 midnight Central European Time. XX. Copyright holders retain all personal copyrights to their works. Copyright holders grant Czech Photo, o.p.s., the organiser of the Czech Press Photo contest, an unlimited and non-exclusive licence to use the award-winning and other selected videos in all manners of use in relation to the support and promotion of the contest and its organiser, Czech Photo, o.p.s., including (but not limited to) through exhibition, dissemination to the public via television broadcast and computer or another similar network, by making the works accessible in a public archive, etc., all the above without quantitative limits and applicable to the whole world during the whole term of the copyright protection. The authorisation under the preceding sentence may also be partially granted by the organiser to a third person engaged in the competition. The licence is provided without consideration. The organiser may modify the works in a reasonable manner and combine them with other copyrighted and non-copyrighted works, especially for the purposes of further use of the works within the scope indicated above. XXI. For all works except awarded and exhibited works, the copyright holders grant Czech Photo, o.p.s., the Czech Press Photo organiser, a non-exclusive licence to use low-resolution videos in a non-public archive for educational and research activities, without consideration. XXII. The contestants will provide the organiser with their full personal details (name, surname, professional resumé) together with the contestant’s picture (photograph); simultaneously, the contestants give their consent to the use of these details for the purposes of organising Czech Press Photo exhibitions (including promotion of the contest and exhibitions and connecting Czech Press Photo with its partners) and further to subsequent use for the purposes of future Czech Press Photo exhibitions in the Czech Republic and abroad. XXIII. The copyright holders represent and warrant that they are the sole authors of the entered works and that by submitting the videos and their subsequent use, no rights or justified interests of third parties will be affected in any way, and that no third party may exercise any rights on the grounds of use of the videos by the organiser and/or Czech Photo, o.p.s., or any entity using the pictures on the basis of a sublicence. XXIV. The conditions set out in the Contest Rules are binding and Czech Photo o.p.s. reserves the right to reject or exclude any entry at its own discretion. There is no legal claim to participation in the contest.
Jury, announcement of the result, and exhibition
I.
The works will be evaluated in terms of their journalistic value (information value, readiness, topicality) as well as their aesthetic value. II.
After its appointment, the jury acts independently of the organisation’s management; sponsors and partners shall not influence the jury’s deliberations in any way or manner. III.
Proceedings and deliberations of the jury are confidential. IV.
All submitted works are evaluated anonymously. V.
Juries in the individual categories are not required to award prizes. VI.
Results – the pictures nominated for the 2018 Czech Press Photo will be announced at a press conference.
VII.
After the announcement of the results, the nominated authors and authors of the pictures selected for exhibition may be required to supply the pictures in the maximum available quality. VIII.
The final announcement of the winners will take place at the Award ceremony in Prague. IX.
The awarded and other selected works will be shown at the 2019 Czech Press Photo exhibition. The exhibition will then travel around the Czech Republic and, under the auspices of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, around the world. X.
Prizes not collected by 31. 12. 2019 shall be forfeited to the contest organiser.
