Information for Photographers 18 and under

The Documentary Family Awards is looking for photographs that document any aspect of family life from the perspective of a young photographer.

And anyone can enter!  Regardless of age, level of experience or education, young photographers are invited to submit up to 12 images for free as an opportunity to share their unique perspective on the theme of family life.

How To Enter

Upload using Jotform

1. No login or account required
2. Use this drag & drop upload form https://form.jotform.com/docfamawards/dfa-young-photographers-submission
3. That’s it!

Upload using Picter

1. Create your free personal Picter account at https://app.picter.com/signup
2. Sign this release form with your teacher/parent/guardian documentaryfamilyawards.com/call-for-entries/image-waiver-release-form/
3. Upload and submit your free submission to the “Single images – Young Photographers” category using Picter at https://app.picter.com/contests/91a20c1a-ff93-4b1f-b3cd-a0e7e8806d5a/start
4. That’s it!

Submissions from photographers 18 and under are only accepted through the Picter platform and Jotform. Photographs sent by email, social media direct messages or any other service will not be considered.

Why is the Documentary Family Awards such a unique photo contest?

As the leading international competition of its genre, the DFA is one of the only photo competitions in the world to stream online its final round of judging in its entirety believing strongly in the educational value of a transparent judging process.

All finalist images are included in this 2-3 day event, where a number of submissions are discussed in depth by leading photographers and editors in the industry.

Why You Should Enter

• FREE ENTRY when you submit to the “Young Photographers” category
• Access to live stream judging providing hours of educational discussions directly related to the documentary family photography genre
• Best Overall Award winners receive $500 (1st place), $350 (2nd place) and $250 (3rd place)
• 1st Place Award winners in each category receive $250 USD and free entries into the next award cycle
• Judges Choice Awards receive free entries into the next award cycle
• Permanent online gallery published featuring all award winners, honorable mentions and finalist images
• Customized Press-release for digital or print media sent to every award winner
• Individual award profile created for all winners on the DFA website featuring their work
• Feature Interviews and Photographer Spotlights regularly published in the DFA photo digest newsletter as well as featured across the DFA’s social media channels
• Video On Demand access to the final round of judging of the March 2021 Call For Entries
• Your awarded photograph(s) published in the 2021 year-end magazine
• Eyes on your work and the opportunity for critique from top photographers, educators and editors in the industry

Meet The Judges!

Final Round Live-Stream Judges

Preliminary Round Guest Judges

The Documentary Family Awards 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.

Can I enter other categories?

Yes, you can! Please keep in mind that the “Young Photographers” category is the only 100% free option. You will be charged our normal submission fees to submit to additional categories.

1. Night Time
2. Teenagers
3. Joy
4. Faith & Religion
5. Pandemic
6. Nothing Is Better Than Real Life
7. Birth
8. Cell Phone Only
9. Environmental Portrait
10. Photo Series
11. Young Photographers (free to enter, open only to emerging photographers 18 and under)

Posters & Graphic Downloads

These resources can be used as part of Facebook, Instagram, Newsletter or blog posts that are directly related to the Documentary Family Awards.

To download click on an image. After the full-size image loads click and drag the image to your desktop or control + click (Mac) / right-click (PC) and save the image.

The following photos can be used for announcements about the Documentary Family Award only.

Full credit must be given to the photographer as captioned. If you wish to use any of the following images for any other purpose or are unsure if you have the rights to do so, please email us at support@documentaryfamilyawards.com.

To download click on an image. After the full-size image loads click and drag the image to your desktop or control + click (Mac) / right-click (PC) and save the image.