The world is changing, and so are we. The prestigious Czech Press Photo contest is taking place in its new form for the third year in 2018. The contest is continuously improving through its visual identity, simple electronic photo registration, panel points assessment process and official results declaration, and we endeavour to encourage the creation of contemporary young talent. We want to demonstrate that besides key dramatic stories, positive events are also happening around the world.
The Mayor of Prague and Czech Minister of Culture have sponsored the CPP contest.
Photo section
SCompetitive display and exhibition of photographs. Czech Photo o.p.s. and the Capital City of Prague hereby invite Czech and Slovak photographers to compete in the 24th year of the Czech Press Photo contest.
Reportage or documentary on serious issues affecting the Czech Republic and the world at large crying for a solution.See the winning pictures from the last years:
2017,2016,2015,2014,2013,2012,2011.
Photography capturing film, theatre, music, nude, modern art, galleries, performance, architecture . See the winning pictures from the last years:
2017,2016,2015,2014,2013,2012,2011.
Front pages portraits, interviews, reportage and stylised portraits. See the winning pictures from the last years:
2017,2016,2015,2014,2013,2012,2011.
Nature and Wildlife, Science and the Environment (single / series)
Landscape, fauna, flora, ecology, science and technology – inventions and achievements of humankind, macro photography, micrographs, satellite pictures, space. See the winning pictures from the last years:
2017,2016,2015,2014,2013,2012,2011.
Lifestyle (single / series)
Stylised magazine photography capturing fashion, design, advertising, lifestyle. This category is the only one which permits post-production editing of submitted images. See the winning pictures from the last years:
2017,2016.
Proměny Prahy (series)
Works competing for the CPP Prague Grant 2018, the Mayor of Prague’s year-long creative scholarship. Find more information on the Prague Grant winners history.
Entering the competition
Photographs will be accepted in electronic form. Registration fees from competitors will be used to print exhibited photographs. Authors of selected photographs for exhibit will be informed and given the opportunity to be there for the printing.
Deadlines
Announcement: 25. 06. 2018
Contest opening for entries: 01. 09. 2018
Contest closing for entries: 30. 09. 2018
Video Jury: 11. 10. 2018
Photo Jury: 12. - 14. 10. 2018
Press conference: 17. 10. 2018 in Czech Photo Centre
Registrations and videos will only be accepted electronically; videos can be uploaded from 01. 09. 2018
Competition photos are submitted by publishers, agencies, freelancers and specialist schools. Entry fee: 800,- Kč/29 EUR. Juniors under 23 need not pay the entry fee
An expert panel selects nominations in each category
Once the panel’s work is complete, nominations are announced at a press conference
The final winners, as selected by our expert panel from the nominations, are announced during the celebratory launch of the exhibition.
AWARDS
Taxation of prizes won in the Czech Press Photo contest: Prizes of over 10 000 CZK are given as a sum in CZK before tax as determined by applicable Czech laws. For non-monetary prizes, this sum means the standard prize of the product, also before tax. Prizes of up to 10 000 CZK are tax-exempt.
2018 CZECH PRESS PHOTO OF THE YEAR
The “Photo of the Year” is the contest’s main prize. It is awarded to the picture the international jury selects as best in terms of its journalistic qualities (topicality, information value, expressiveness, readiness), aesthetic value and because it symbolises an important issue of the year. The prize winner receives a monetary award of CZK 120,000 and the Crystal Eye trophy.
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.
On recommendation of the international jury, the Mayor of Prague personally awards the Prague City Hall’s year-long creative scholarship for capturing the transformations of the Czech capital to the participant whose work presented during the contest and the project formulated in the entry application provide the best guarantee of a professional approach to the given project. The scholarship comprises a grant of CZK 120,000. The grant holder must submit to Prague City Hall two copies of a set of thirty best pictures for archival and exhibition purposes.
The Shooting/Junior Star award for the newcomer of the year in the area of photography is presented to young authors under 20 years of age across all categories. The award winner receives CZK 90,000 worth of Canon products according to his or her choice.
The award is presented within the Czech Press Photo contest to a news picture with exceptional journalistic qualities – topicality, readiness, and expressiveness. The award winner receives a coupon in the amount of CZK 80,000 for Nikon products according to his or her own choice.
UNHCR Award
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Award is presented to a photograph or a series of photographs from the Czech Republic or abroad that best capture the issues of refugees, i.e. people forced to leave their homes by the threat of persecution. The award winner receives CZK 25,000.
The professional laboratory’s award for the 2015 Czech Press Photo Prague Grant holder in the amount of CZK 25,000 is intended for the preparation of an independent exhibition collection in the Pictoart laboratories.
The Children’s Award is presented to the picture receiving most votes by members of the children’s jury assembled by the Czech Radio. The winner receives 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 2018 at the Old Town Hall in Prague. Olympus awards this prize.
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:
800,- Kč / 29 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 2018. The closing date for submitting entries to the 2018 contest is 30 September 2018, 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 2018 Czech Press Photo will be announced at a press conference held in the Czech Photo Centre on 17 October 2018.
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 on 21 November 2017 at the Award ceremony held at the Old Town Hall in Prague. X.
The awarded and other selected works will be exhibited at the 2018 Czech Press Photo exhibition in Prague. The exhibition will then travel around the Czech Republic and, under the auspices of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, around the world. XI.
Prizes not collected by 31. 12. 2018 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
Announcement: 25. 06. 2018
Contest opening for entries: 01. 09. 2018
Contest closing for entries: 30. 09. 2018
VIDEO Jury: 11. 10. 2018
Press conference: 17. 10. 2018
Only electronic entries and videos will be accepted; videos can be uploaded from 01. 09. 2018.
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. 2018. 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. 2018 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 2018 winners, i.e. until 17 October 2018. XVIII.
Entries may be submitted from 1 September 2018. The closing date for submitting entries to the 2018 contest is 30 September 2018, 12:00 midnight Central European Time. XIX.
The beginning for requesting a username and password to the contest’s website is 1 September 2018. The closing date for submitting entries to the 2018 contest is 30 September 2018, 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 held in the Cezch Photo Centre on 17 October 2018.
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 2018 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. 2018 shall be forfeited to the contest organiser.
