HOW IT WORKS

Who can enter Stills:

Stills is a photography platform for students enrolled in school in Aotearoa.
There are two sections, Junior and Senior.

JUNIOR SECTION - ‍for students in years 1 - 8.
Photo entries for this section are open ended - they can be anything you want!
Landscapes, animals, nature, your friends, your whānau, something that moves, something that stays still, or maybe something that grows... What captures your attention!?
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For this section there will be awarded 1st and 2nd (winning prizes from FUJIFILM), plus 3rd place and national finalists. There will also be some special awards (such as Superstar Storyteller, Exceptional Eye, and the Best Landscape Photograph... see full list here).
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If your photo is taken on film, we also have an award for Best Film Photograph.
The pool for this award will be all film photos, from both Junior and Senior sections combined.

SENIOR SECTION - for students in years 9 - 13.
Photographs for this section must be entered into categories.
For 2024 we have 5 categories - plus an award for the Best Film Photograph.

The awards for the Senior category are 1st and 2nd (winning prizes from FUJIFILM), plus 3rd place and national finalists in each category.

There will also be 1st place overall senior winner, selected from the 1st place senior category winners. ‍‍

‍Remember, Stills is about the creativity, composition and story of your photo, not about how many megapixels your camera has!

Entries for Stills 2024 are open now - and will close on 30 September.
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ENTRY PROCESS / RULES

∙ Stills is free to enter and open to any student years 1-13 nationwide.

∙ All entrants must be enrolled in an NZ school (including home school and correspondence school).

∙ Students can enter more than one image - each image is assessed as an individual entry.

∙ Juniors (years 1 - 8) must enter into the Junior Section. Seniors (years 9 - 13) must enter into the Senior Section.

∙ Entries must not contain any offensive or illegal content. Images must be original and taken by the entrant no earlier than 1 Jan 2024.
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∙ You cannot enter any images that are entered in, have been entered in, or will be entered into other photography competitions. This includes images previously entered into 'Stills'.

∙ Post-production editing is permitted on all photos, and any editing on Enhanced category entries must use an original photo taken by the entrant as a base.

∙ Images can be portrait or landscape and must adhere to upload guidelines of minimum 3MB and maximum 10MB.

∙If your photo is of a person or people, you need to make sure your photo is in keeping with NZ laws (link below to NZ Police). If your photo is taken of someone you know, make sure they are aware that you are submitting the photo into Stills (if it is of a young person, you should make sure their parent / guardian is aware).
This is also relevant if the picture is taken in a public place - and it’s always a good rule to have as a photographer to check someone is ok with having their picture taken before you take it!
NZ Police
∙ If your image is selected as a top contender, we may contact you to get a more high-resolution print file, specifications 300 DPI and 2500 pixels on short edge minimum size.
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∙ By submitting an entry form, Rockquest Promotions Ltd, and its various platforms including but not limited to Stills, and affiliated sponsors and partners have permission to use, reproduce, publish and exhibit image/s, your name and school for promotional and display purposes. Copyright of the original image belongs to the photographer.
∙ All entrants agree to abide by the Terms and Conditions when entering. These can be read below.

AWARDS

Here are the awards up for grabs!

SENIOR -
First Place overall
Winning: FUJIFILM X-T5 + lens kit‍
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AWARDED IN EACH SENIOR CATEGORY
(CONNECTION, PLACE, ALTERED, SPECIAL OBJECTS,  AND LIFE IN MOTION):
‍First Place - winning a FUJIFILM X-S20 + lens kit
Second Place - winning a FUJIFILM instax Evo + instax mini film 20pks
Third Place
National Finalists

Open - Additional Awards:
Best Film Photo‍
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Junior
‍First Place - winning a FUJIFILM X-S20 + lens kit
Second Place - FUJIFILM instax Evo +  instax mini film 20pks
National Finalists

Junior - Additional Awards:
Exceptional Eye Award ‍
Superstar Storyteller
Excellent Editor
Developing Talent
Magical Moment Award
Best Landscape Photograph
Nature's Marvel Award
Paw-some Photographer Award

TERMS & CONDITIONS

By entering Stills, you agree to abide by the following terms and conditions:
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ELIGIBILITY
‍1. All contestants must be enrolled in and attend a school for at least 15 hours a week. If you leave school (sign out) during the course of the competition, you become ineligible to continue. You can change schools during the competition. (School means secondary, area, intermediate, primary, official home school or correspondence school.
2. All contestants must be no older than 19 (nineteen) years of age on Sept 27 2024
(ie - you are not eligible if you turn 20yrs old before the competition close date).
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ENTRIES
‍3. Entries must not contain any illegal content.
4. Entries must not contain personally identifiable information about you or any other person(s).
5. Entries must not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks or any other intellectual property rights of any third parties.*
6. In regards to censorship - while not wanting to put constraints on the creative process of entrants we would like to point out that images that could offend may not have commercial potential and therefore may not suit this competition. Judges for this event are drawn from NZ’s creative industry. Entrants are urged to consider this point carefully.
7. In the entry process - there is section where a signature confirms you accept these terms and conditions (signed by a parent or guardian for students in years 1-8, or the entrant themselves in years 9-13).

By submitting an entry form, Rockquest Promotions Ltd, and its various platforms including but not limited to Stills, and affiliated sponsors and partners have permission to use, reproduce, publish and exhibit image/s, your name and school for promotional and display purposes. Copyright of the original image belongs to the photographer.

‍*For further information on rules around privacy and street photography, you can refer to the below resource. Remember, it is always best to err on the side of caution and ask permission from the subject to be in your photo.

NZ Police

FAQ

My photo could fit under multiple categories. Which one should I enter?

The Senior categories are intentionally broad, so you can be inspired by lots of different things! You can enter multiple images per category, so read over the descriptions carefully and think about what images you would like to submit.

If you get stuck, feel free to contact us!

What camera do I need to use?

You can use any camera you like! When you upload your photo, you will need to let us know what kind of camera you used, but there are no rules or restrictions. Experiment with different shooting styles and equipment, or keep it simple with a cellphone camera. We would also love to see unusual photos taken on film, GoPros or polaroid!

Do I have to edit my photo?

We encourage you (particularly Seniors) to give editing a try - small tweaks to colours, exposure levels, filters and crops can make a huge difference.
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You don’t need to, though - especially if submitting the image without editing is a deliberate creative decision.

Can I enter more than one photo?

You can enter as many photos are you like! They will be judged as individual entries.

Can I enter an old photo?

You can enter any original photo you’ve taken in 2024 - maybe at a sports tournament, Showquest or Smokefreerockquest event or on holiday!

Who are the judges?
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Stills is judged by a panel of professional photographers. Top images will receive written feed-forward from our judges to help them continue developing & upskilling. Keep an eye on our social media for the announcement of our 2024 judging panel!