1. Australasia’s Top Emerging Photographers is open to emerging photographers only. For the purposes of this competition, an emerging photographer is defined as someone who has less than four years of full-time experience working as a professional photographer. Entrants with no professional experience also qualify to enter the competition under this definition.
2. Australasia’s Top Emerging Photographers is open to citizens or residents of Australia and New Zealand. In order to receive a prize, winners must supply an Australian or New Zealand mailing address. For the purposes of this competition, a resident is defined as a person who has lived in Australia or New Zealand for at least six months at the time of entering this competition.
3. Images must have been created on or after 1 June 2024. If EXIF data indicates an image was captured before 1 June 2024 it may be disqualified, unless the entrant can provide evidence that the EXIF data is incorrect.
4. Images entered in Australasia’s Top Emerging Photographers in previous years may not be entered into the 2027 competition.
5. An entrant may enter multiple times in one or more categories. The same image may appear in more than one entry. For example, an image entered in the Single Shot category may also appear in a Landscape portfolio.
6. An image, or similar version of that image, that has been a winner or runner-up in any of the following Yaffa Media photo competitions – The Landscape Awards, Photographer of the Year, The Mono Awards, The Capture Awards – will not be eligible to be a Winner or Runner-Up in Australasia’s Top Emerging Photographers.
7. Category winners of Australasia's Top Emerging Photographers 2026 are not eligible to enter Australasia's Top Emerging Photographers 2027.
8. All elements must have been photographed by the entrant and images submitted must be 100% photographic in origin. Images made using 3D or illustration processes are not allowed. The use of stock images or clip art is forbidden.
9. Employees of Yaffa Media Pty Ltd (the competition organiser) and the sponsors of Australasia’s Top Emerging Photographers are not permitted to enter the competition.
10. Freelance writers and photographers who have been paid to contribute to Capture since 1 January 2025 are not permitted to enter the competition.
COPYRIGHT
11. Entrants retain copyright of their images. The entrant provides Australasia’s Top Emerging Photographers and Capture a limited-use authorisation to display, publish and distribute their photographs for the sole purpose of promoting Australasia's Top Emerging Photographers. Images will be credited with the name of the photographer if used by Australasia's Top Emerging Photographers or Capture.
12. The entrant must be the creator and copyright owner of all elements in their submitted entry. The entrant is responsible for obtaining model releases if required.
13. All post-production and editing work (with the exception of film processing and scanning) must be the work of the entrant.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)
14. This is a photography competition, so every image you enter must be a real photograph, captured with a camera (digital, film or phone) by you.
15. NOT ALLOWED: Images created or edited with generative AI – any tool that generates new content, such as adding, removing, replacing or extending parts of your photo, or creating an image from a text prompt.
16. ALLOWED: AI noise reduction, AI sharpening, AI masking, AI upscaling, AI dust removal – as long as your image still faithfully represents the photograph you captured.
17. CHECKING: Competition organisers reserve the right to request your original files, including RAW files and frames taken before and after your image, to confirm its authenticity and compliance with the rules. If you can't supply them, or we can't verify the image, it may be disqualified.
PORTFOLIO CATEGORIES
18. In these categories – Animals, Black & White, Landscape, People, Sport/Action and Travel – submit a portfolio of three images. The entry will be judged as a portfolio, not as individual images. (When putting your entry together look for images that relate to each other visually, thematically or narratively.)
19. In the Documentary category, entrants must submit a portfolio of four images. The entry will be judged as a portfolio, not as individual images. (When putting your entry together look for images that relate to each other visually, thematically or narratively.)
SINGLE IMAGE CATEGORIES
20. In these categories – Single Shot and Art– entrants submit one image only.
CATEGORY DEFINITIONS AND IMAGE EDITING REQUIREMENTS
21. ANIMALS: Animals may be domestic, farm, zoo/captive, or wild. An animal (or animals) should be the main subject of the image. Photo editing: Images must be single capture with the following limited exceptions. Stitched panoramas, focus stacking, and HDR may be used only if all exposures are captured from the same location within an eight-hour period. With the exception of the previously mentioned techniques, adding or removing pixels is not permitted, other than to crop or remove dust spots and scratches. Adjustments may be made to noise, sharpness, colour, tone, and contrast, including dodging and burning, and black-and-white conversions. Digital lens corrections may also be made.
22. ART: The art category is open to a wide range of possible interpretations, themes and subjects. Photo editing: Images may be single capture or composite. There is a wider scope for image editing in the art category, including cloning and composites. All elements in the image must have been photographed by the entrant including textures, backgrounds, skies, borders, etc. Stock images and clip art may not be used.
23. DOCUMENTARY: Images must show actual events that have not been staged in any way by the photographer or any of their associates. Photo editing: Images must be single capture. Composite images are not eligible. Adding or changing pixels through the use of cloning or other means is not permitted, other than to remove dust spots. Minor tone, noise, and sharpness changes are permitted, with the proviso that these changes do not fundamentally alter the narrative of the event being captured. Composite techniques such as focus-stacking, multiple exposure, panoramic stitching, and HDR are prohibited.
24. LANDSCAPE: Landscape or seascape images of the natural or built environment should be the main subject of the image. Photo editing: Images must be single capture with the following limited exceptions. Stitched panoramas, focus stacking, and HDR may be used only if all exposures are captured from the same location within an eight-hour period. With the exception of the previously mentioned techniques, adding or removing pixels is not permitted, other than to crop or remove dust spots and scratches. Adjustments may be made to noise, sharpness, colour, tone, and contrast, including dodging and burning, and black-and-white conversions. Digital lens corrections may also be made.
25. PEOPLE: Images should include one or more people as the main subject of the image. Photo editing: Images may be single capture or composites. Portraits of animals should be entered in the ‘Animals’ category.
26. BLACK & WHITE: Images may be shot in black & white, or captured in colour and converted to black & white in post-production. Monochrome images composed of the values of one colour, such as sepia or cyanotype, are also permitted. Photo editing: Images may be single capture or composites.
27. TRAVEL: Images should try to convey a sense of a place or places, and may include images of landscape, people, food, clothing, architecture or other subject matter. Photo editing: Images must be single capture with the following limited exceptions. Stitched panoramas, focus stacking, and HDR may be used only if all exposures are captured from the same location within an eight-hour period. With the exception of the previously mentioned techniques, adding or removing pixels is not permitted, other than to crop or remove dust spots and scratches. Adjustments may be made to noise, sharpness, colour, tone, and contrast, including dodging and burning, and black-and-white conversions. Digital lens corrections may also be made.
28. SINGLE SHOT: This is an open-theme category. Photo editing: Images submitted may be single capture or composite.
29. SPORT/ACTION: Images of sporting events or other moments of dynamic action. Photo editing: Images must be single capture. Adding or removing pixels is not permitted, other than to crop or remove dust spots and scratches. Adjustments may be made to noise, sharpness, colour, tone, and contrast, including dodging and burning, and black-and-white conversions. Digital lens corrections may also be made.
30. Competition organisers reserve the right to request your original files, including RAW files and frames taken before and after your image, to confirm its authenticity and compliance with the terms and conditions. If you can't supply them, or we can't verify the image, it may be disqualified.
IMAGE REQUIREMENTS
31. Image format: Images should be in JPEG (.jpg) format. sRGB colour space is sufficient.
32. Image dimensions: Ideally images should be 2,500 pixels on the longest edge. If for some reason we need a larger image, we will email you a request.
33. Image file size: Each image should be no larger than 5MB.
34. Images must not include watermarks or added text. Text and logos photographed within a scene is allowed.
CLOSING DATE
35. Closing date for entries is Sunday 21 March 2027 at 11:59pm (AEDT).
JUDGING
36. All entries will be de-identified before judging, including removing EXIF data and applying new file names. Judges will not be told the names or any other identifying details of entrants.
37. Entries will be shortlisted by the staff of Capture.
38. A panel of leading photographers and/or industry experts will judge the shortlisted entries.
39. Each judge will independently rank their top 15 entries in each category from 1 to 15, with 1 being their highest-ranked entry. Each ranking position is assigned a weighted score. Additional points are awarded to entries that receive rankings from multiple judges. The scores from all judges are combined, and the entry with the highest overall score in each category will be the winner, followed by the runner-up and subsequent placings in order of score. In the event of a tie for first or second place, the tied entries will be returned to the judges for an additional round of voting.
40. A conflict of interest exists where a judge, or a member of staff involved in shortlisting, has a personal or professional relationship with an entrant. This includes a family member, partner, friend, current or former student, employee, employer, client or business associate. If a judge becomes aware, at any stage of judging, that they may have a conflict of interest with an entry, they must declare it to the competition organiser immediately. The judge will take no further part in assessing that category, and their scores for it, if any, will be removed. The category will be judged by the remaining judges. Where necessary, the competition organiser may appoint a replacement judge for that category.
41. The overall winner will be chosen from one of the portfolio categories (includes all categories except Single Shot and Art).
42. The judges' decision is final.
WINNERS' ANNOUNCEMENT
43. Winners and Runners-Up will be announced at www.capturemag.com.au in June 2027.
CERTIFICATES
44. Certificates will be emailed in June 2027 to entrants who receive Winner, Runner-Up, Top 10, Top 20, Top 30, Highly Commended and Commended Awards.
PRODUCT PRIZES
45. Product prizes are subject to availability and are not transferable or exchangeable, and cannot be taken as cash. If a prize is unavailable, the competition organiser reserves the right to substitute a prize of similar value.
46. Prize values are supplied by sponsors. Retail prices in stores and online may vary.
47. Prize winners will be notified by email using the details supplied at the time of entry, and should respond promptly to arrange delivery of their prize. If a winner does not respond within 42 days, the competition organiser will make at least two further attempts to contact them by email or other available means. If a prize remains unclaimed three months after the winners' announcement, it will be forfeited and may be retained for use in a future competition. Forfeiture of a prize does not affect the winner's award title or placing.
48. The competition organiser takes no responsibility for prizes damaged or lost in transit.
GENERAL
49. Entry fees are non-refundable.
50. It is the responsibility of the entrant to ensure images are captured safely, and in compliance with relevant laws and regulations.
51. When photographing in wilderness and natural areas habitat disturbance must be kept to a minimum. Entrants should minimise any impact their presence has on surrounding flora and fauna and ensure they comply with local conservation guidance and requirements. Live baiting is not allowed and the use of any other means of attracting wild animals is strongly discouraged. If an attractant is used to attract wildlife it must be declared in the entry information.
52. The entrant indemnifies Yaffa Media Pty Ltd (ABN 54 002 699 354) against any claim, legal or otherwise, that may arise out of publication of the images.
53. An entrant may be disqualified at any stage if it is found they have engaged in unethical practices in the capture and creation of their entry.
54. By entering this competition, the entrant guarantees to Yaffa Media Pty. Ltd. that all of the above Terms and Conditions have been met. Any entry found to breach the Terms and Conditions will be disqualified and all prize money and product prizes must be returned to Yaffa Media Pty Ltd.
Our terms and conditions have been approved by the Photowatchdog, and rated . Photowatchdog is the advocate for fair photo competitions in Australia.
. Photowatchdog is the advocate for fair photo competitions in Australia.
. Photowatchdog is the advocate for fair photo competitions in Australia.
