Made for Documentary Awards
celebrating outstanding documentary family photography
2024 ENTRIES NOW CLOSED.
Stay tuned for the judging broadcast and winners announcement in January 2024.
Made for Documentary Awards are devoted to recognising excellence in the world of documentary family photography, celebrating the next generation of outstanding image makers and encouraging photographers to continuously raise the bar in their craft.
Why enter
RECOGNITION
A chance to gain recognition for your exceptional work.
EDUCATION
Learn from the judging broadcast, gaining valuable insights into the art and craft of documentary family photography.
FEEDBACK
A chance to receive valuable feedback from experienced photographers.
INSPIRATION
Be inspired by the incredible work of your peers and discover new ways to express your creativity.
2024 Theme: (EXTRA)ORDINARY
Our theme this year is (EXTRA)ORDINARY. We encourage you to interpret this theme in any way you see fit, as long as it relates to documentary family photography. From candid moments of everyday life to environmental portraits, submit your best work infused with your unique style and vision.
“Joy comes to us in moments – ordinary moments” — Brené Brown
First Round Guest Judges
Our guest judges will review all submitted images, resulting in a list of finalists which will progress to the second and final round of judging. The guest judges will also select one image each as their Judge’s Choice.
Margaret Albaugh
Margaret Albaugh is a Chinese American photographer and visual creator. She is based out of Spokane, WA and is self taught. She is inspired by topics that scratch at controversy and is intrigued by the nuances of human nature and the internal workings of individuals. She frequently explores themes of inheritance, motherhood, identity, race, and gender and often marries her background in psychology with photography.
Her work has been exhibited or recognized by A Smith Gallery, Chico Portfolio Review, Portrait of Humanity, Click, and Documentary Family Awards. She has exhibited at Terrain Spokane, FMoPA Florida, CornelHenry Art Gallery, Chase Gallery, Salmon Arms Art Centre, International Center of Photography, PhotoPlace, and Lenscratch.
She has contributed to NYTimes, Washington Post, HuffPost, Politico, Rewire, The New Yorker, Business Insider, and Wall Street Journal.
She is a mother to cats and children and likes cakes and podcasts.
Find out more: www.margaretalbaugh.com
Chuck Anerino
Chuck Anerino is a documentary wedding photographer and photography teacher with deep roots in family storytelling. Formerly a high school teacher, Dean of Students, and Assistant Principal, Chuck made the leap to full-time wedding photography to pursue a passion for capturing life’s authentic moments. Believing that life is a true story worth telling, Chuck’s work aims to honor unfolding moments rather than to simply take photographs.
Chuck’s work has been featured by Leica and Rangefinder Magazine, Modern Luxury Weddings, and People Magazine, amongst others.
Based in Wilmington, Delaware, Chuck enjoys life as a dad to four energetic boys and a husband to a wife he describes as “way smarter than me”. When not behind the camera, you’ll likely find him enjoying baseball or in search for the perfect slice of pizza.
Find out more: www.anerinooriginals.com
Kristine Nyborg
Kristine Nyborg is a Canada based artist, photographer, journalist and educator. Nyborg’s work uses visual storytelling to highlight social issues around women and cultural identity. This work started while working as a photojournalist for publications in her native Norway, and has carried through into her most recent work, Learning To Speak Bear, an inside look at the challenges of motherhood. The book with the same title was published as a monograph on Yoffy Press in 2023.
Her clients range from international large circulation media to the single mom next door and she’s happiest when working on her long term projects or discussing projects with her students.
Find out more: www.kristinenyborg.com
“Photograph the world as it is. Nothing’s more interesting than reality.” — Mary Ellen Mark
Second Round Judges
Longlisted images will be reviewed by the panel of second round judges. They will select the First, Second, and Third Place Winners, as well as a number of Honorable Mentions. This process will be publicly broadcast.
We aim for our entire judging process to be as authentic as the images we award.
Alice Chapman
Alice has been a family photographer since 2011. The moment she realised documentary family photography was an established genre was the moment everything started to make sense. Alice is passionate about enabling families and children to be themselves in their family photos so she can champion their individuality. Alice has been listed five times as the top UK family documentary photographer by the Family Photojournalist Association, winning many awards. Alice is a This is Reportage Family multi-award winner and a Documentary Family Awards finalist. Her work has been featured in many international publications, platforms and exhibitions, including Portrait of Humanity, the Royal Photographic Society, Digital Photographer Magazine, Photo Vogue, Shutter Hub, Click Magazine, PhotoPlace Gallery and the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts. With 15 years’ people management experience, being a qualified coach and experienced mentor, Alice is passionate about helping photographers thrive.
Emma Collins
Antonina Mamzenko
Awards and prizes
FIRST PLACE WINNER
The second round judges will select one image as this year’s overall winner. The winning photographer will receive a £350 cash prize and a prominent feature on our website and social media platforms.
SECOND AND THIRD PLACE WINNERS
The second round judges will also select 2nd and 3rd place winners. The winning photographers will receive a £100 cash prize each and a prominent feature on our website and social media platforms.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
The second round judges will also select a number of honorable mentions who will be featured on our website and social media platforms.
JUDGE CHOICES
The judges will select one image each as their “Judge’s Choice”, accompanied by a dedicated text explaining their selection. These images will receive a prominent feature on our website and social media platforms.
Entry fees:
1 free entry | 3 images – £15 | 6 images – £25 | 12 images – £40
All entry fees will go towards the prize money for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place Winners, paying our valued judges for their time, as well as the running costs of the award.
Submission Guidelines
Please read Submission Guidelines and Image Specifications carefully prior to submission. If your entry does not comply, Made for Documentary reserves the right to remove it at any time before, during and after the award process and withdraw any prizes awarded.
The Made for Documentary Awards are open to any photographer, 18 years of age or older, from any country. Both professional and non-professional photographers are welcome to submit. All submitted photographs must have been made on or after 1st January 2023.
AI-generated imagery is not permitted.
All submissions must relate to the 2024 theme “(Extra)ordinary” in the context of the documentary family photography genre, although you are welcome to interpret the theme as you see fit within these parameters.
All submissions must be made using the online submission form. No email entries will be accepted. Please check your entries carefully as you will not be able to amend them once submitted.
Everyone can submit one image for free. To purchase additional entries, simply refresh the page and complete the submission form again. You can purchase as many additional entries as you wish until the deadline.
Deadline for entry: 11.59pm GMT on Friday 1st November 2024. No late submissions will be accepted.
IMAGE SPECIFICATIONS
- Images must be sized 2000px on the long edge, at 72dpi resolution.
- Maximum file size of each photo is 5Mb.
- All files must be .jpg format.
- Both colour and black & white images are accepted.
- No borders, watermarks, signatures, logos or any other kind of identifying marks are allowed anywhere on the submitted image(s).
- Image files must be renamed according to the following format: FIRSTNAME_LASTNAME_01.jpg, FIRSTNAME_LASTNAME_02.jpg, etc.
If your submitted images do not meet all of our image requirements they may be disqualified without notice, and your submission fee will not be refunded.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright and all other rights remain with the photographer. Any photograph used by Made for Documentary will be credited to the photographer. Use may include but not be limited to publication on the Made for Documentary website, social media channels and printed publications. All entrants understand that any image submitted to the competition may be used by Made for Documentary for marketing and promotional purposes of the current and subsequent award cycles, including but not limited to in any third party print and digital media, though there may not be monetary compensation. Before entering the Awards please ensure you have relevant permissions from the subjects depicted in the photographs.
Neither Made for Documentary LLP, nor their associates, affiliates, or partners assumes any responsibility for photos submitted in violation of competition rules, or for those which violate copyright regulations.
PRIVACY NOTICE
You agree that by submitting your entry using this entry form, Made for Documentary LLP may receive, store and process the information you include in your submission, in order for us to effectively manage the submission process.
QUESTIONS AND SUPPORT
If you have questions about the submission process, please email us on hello@madefordocumentary.com. Please note that our response time is 24 hours, and any last minute quieries might not be answered.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Are there any rules about the documentary approach in terms of how the photographs are shot and edited?
A: The intention of the Made for Documentary Awards is to celebrate outstanding family photography created with the documentary ethos in mind, meaning that submitted photographs are undirected captures of real life or, in the case of environmental portraits, directed captures that aim to represent the reality of the subject. The photographs should be edited and toned with this approach in mind, meaning that the content of the submitted image represents the reality of the moment.
Q: What criteria will be used to judge the images?
A: Each judge at each stage will consider images against the following criteria: image quality; how well the image represents the theme within the genre of documentary family photography; originality; and their own instincts as a photographer.
Q: Can I submit film photographs and how?
A: Yes! Please submit digital scans to the image specifications in our submission guidelines.
Q: What do you mean by “family”?
A: Family means different things to different people. Our definition is expansive, so you’re welcome to enter images that represent whatever “family” means to you within our overall theme of “(extra)ordinary”.
Q: What do you mean by “(extra)ordinary”?
“(Extra)ordinary” as a theme is open to interpretation. Inspiration can be taken from the meaning within. “Ordinary” can be defined as commonplace; with no distinctive features; not different, special, interesting or unexpected in any way. “Extraordinary” can be defined as very unusual, remarkable or special; going beyond the usual or the ordinary. We invite our submitting photographers to interpret “(extra)ordinary” in their own way. For us at the Made for Documentary Awards, “(Extra)ordinary” means valuing the ordinary and the extraordinary equally, and elevating the “ordinary” towards the “extraordinary” through the act of making the photograph; by representing it artfully and by simply giving voice to it.
Q: Can I submit more images / can I submit more than once?
A: Yes, you can submit as many times as you like. After submitting your initial free entry, refresh the page and choose the image pack you’d like to purchase. You can purchase as many additional entries as you wish up until the deadline.
Q: Can I resubmit images that I submitted last year?
A: You are welcome to resubmit images UNLESS your image won first, second or third place, won a Judge’s Choice award, or was placed as a Runner Up (we’ll be calling Runner Up images Honorable Mentions from now on, by the way). Don’t forget that images submitted this time around must have been made on or after 1st January 2023.
Q: Can I submit images of my own family?
A: Yes! You can submit personal work, client work, project work; anything that represents the everyday within the documentary family photography genre.
Q: Can I submit a series of images?
A: You can submit images from a series but each image will be judged as a stand alone single image.
Q: Do I really have to name my files properly?
Yes! Please double check the Image Specifications above before you submit, and see the note about disqualification.
Q: Can someone under 18 enter the Awards?
The Made for Documentary Awards are open to any photographer, 18 years of age or older, from any country. At this time, photographers under 18 are not eligible to enter.
Q: Is it the same as using #madefordocumentary to get featured?
A: No. On Instagram, you can use #madefordocumentary to get featured by our community moderators. This is not the same as entering Made for Documentary Awards. Made for Documentary Awards is a juried competition with cash prizes. To enter, you must fill in the submission form on our website and pay a submission fee (unless submitting only one image, which is free to submit; you still need to use the entry form on our website to do that).
Q: Do I have to be a professional documentary family photographer to enter?
A: Not at all! Whether it’s your full time job, a hobby, or something in-between, everyone is welcome to enter. As long as the images you submit answer our theme and are made in the ethos of documentary family photography, that’s all that matters.
Q: Do I have to be a member to enter?
Made for Documentary is not a membership organisation. Anyone can enter Made for Documentary Awards..