Current Judges

All awarded images go through two panels of esteemed judges.

Photo from the award-winning series "Regard" by Anna Grevenitis, United States.

Our Final Round Live-Stream Judges


The final round of Judging to select the top 10 winners + honorable mentions in each category, will be live-judged across multiple platforms by the following three finalist judges.

Carl-Philippe Juste

Photojournalist irisphotocollective.com   /   @ipcartspace   /   @cpj_is_here   /   @ipc1999 Under the threat of persecution, Haitian-born Carl–Philippe Juste, and his politically active family, were forced to flee their homeland in 1965. Settling in Miami’s Haitian community, Juste flourished academically and attended the University of Miami. He vigorously pursued photojournalism and, since 1991,...
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Jenna Shouldice

Photographer, Educator, DFA co-founder Website   /   @jennacshouldice   /   @jennaandtristan Jenna is a documentary photographer based out of Victoria BC, where she works with her husband and they raise their small family. Her documentary work focuses on women’s issues and more specifically, the labour process. Her birth work has been published...
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Kirsten Bethmann

Photographer, Educator, DFA co-founder Website   /   @kirstenlphotog   /   Facebook Kirsten is a photographer based in Denver Colorado however her work takes her around the world annually for photo commissions, speaking engagements and teaching opportunities. It was her 3 classes on Creative Live that ignited a global interest in her documentary...
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Our Panel of Preliminary Round Guest Judges


We are honoured to have the following lineup of guest judges reviewing every submission we receive. Their selections are sent to the final round judges for the live-stream portion of the awards.

Irmina Walczak

Photographer, Educator, Editor Website   /   Clan Magazine   /   @irminawalczak Irmina Walczak is a photographer, anthropologist and educator. She’s a mother of three worldschoolers and digital nomad; co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Clan Magazine. Graduated in Latin America Cultural Studies from Warsaw University, Poland and PhD in Social Sciences from the...
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Julia Chang-Lomonico

Photographer Website   /   Human Solstice   /   @juliachangphoto Julia Chang-Lomonico is a New Jersey based photographer and home educator. Her work primarily focuses on the human condition and its effect on the environment and interpersonal relationships within the family unit. For the past 10 years, she has photographed over 100...
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Zun Lee

Artist, Physician, Educator Website   /   @zunleephoto Zun Lee is a visual artist, physician and educator. Born and raised in Germany, he currently lives and works in Canada and the US. Through lens-based storytelling, archival and socially engaged practice, Lee investigates Black everyday life and family spaces as sites of intimacy,...
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Our Previous Guest Judges

We are honoured to have had the following guest judges curate submissions on our preliminary round panels and live-stream panels in previous award cycles.

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The Documentary Family Awards is an international competition in search of the insightful and meaningful ways that documentary photographers explore the interpretation of family.