Marai Photo Award Entry Rules & Terms and Conditions

Entry Rules: principles

  • Marai Photo Award is open to all Afghan photographers who live in Afghanistan or overseas.
  • Photographers must be of legal age according to Afghan laws or the laws of their country of citizenship on March 11, 2021.
  • Photographers will have to provide proof of their nationality by submitting a colour scanned copy of their Afghan national ID card (Tazkera) or passport or refugee card.
    • Photographers who do not hold an Afghan passport, but are naturalised citizens of Afghan origin and were born in Afghanistan can send a copy of their passport issued by the country where they reside.
    • Photographers who do not hold an Afghan passport and are naturalised citizens of Afghan origin but were not born in Afghanistan should send a copy of the passport of one of their Afghan parents who was born in Afghanistan, plus a copy of their own passport.
  • The theme "My Afghanistan" refers to images that show people of Afghanistan, their life and culture, social issues, environment and portraits.
  • Photos should relate to Afghans; they can be taken inside or outside Afghanistan.
  • Photographers can submit photos whether or not they have been published and whether or not they have been submitted to other awards.
  • Photographers can participate in either or both of the two categories of the Marai Photo Award: "Single Photo" and "Photo Story".
  • Each photographer can submit only three single pictures, and one photo story with 7 to 15 photos. Pictures submitted in the "Photo Story" category cannot be submitted in the "Single Photo" category.
  • Pictures submitted in the "Photo Story" category can be a long or a short-term photo project, but all the photos must have been taken between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2020. Pictures submitted to the "Single Photo" category must also have been taken between these dates.
  • Photographers can submit colour or black & white photos. Only single exposure and single frame photos will be accepted. Multiple exposures, stitched panoramas, either produced in-camera or with image editing software are not acceptable.
  • Image size of each photo on the long side should be between 2000-3000 pixels.
  • Photos must be uploaded in JPEG format with high quality compression.
  • The standard colour space for the judging process is sRGB.
  • Each photo in the "Photo Story" and "Single Photo" categories should have an accurate caption in English. Each caption should describe WHO is in the photo, WHAT is going on, WHERE (city and country name) and WHEN the photo was taken.
  • In the "Photo Story" category, a short statement about the story should be written in max. 1200 characters in English. The photo story should have a title.
  • Each photo in the "Single Photo" category should have a title.
  • Photographers can only edit the photos as commonly accepted in photojournalism to correct and adjust the colours, white balance, contrast and brightness. Cropping the photos is accepted, as long as editorial content is not twisted. No manipulation of the content of the photos, such as adding or removing people or objects is permitted.
  • Photographers must not stage, re-arrange or re-enact a scene during the shooting. The only exception is for a portrait series which can be set and staged.
  • Entries are restricted to photos taken by the photographer and for which he/she holds the copyright or for which he/she has received the permission by the copyright owner to participate in the Marai Photo Award and to accept these entry rules and terms and conditions.
  • Photographers must stand behind their photos; they are responsible for the resolution of any issues arising therefrom.

Entry Rules: timeframe and practical aspects

  • Entries are only accepted through the Marai Photo Award website from February 16, 2021 to March 16, 2021.
  • Photographers can log in to their page and add/remove all or part of their photo story and edit the statement and captions before the deadline.
  • If the creation dates of the photos are not accessible, the photographers will be asked to send the original JPEG file or the RAW file of the photo.
  • Finalists will be contacted by email after the first round of judging to ask for the original JPEG or RAW files of their photos to check the accuracy of the photos. If the photographer has not taken the photo in RAW format, then she/he must send the original JPEG file and two frames before and after the submitted photo without any post processing.
  • Finalists will be requested to access the URL in the award notification email, to start uploading their original JPEG or RAW files. Finalists may also be contacted by telephone or other means if it is necessary to confirm any of the information provided. Please note that failure to respond within 7 days after being notified may result in disqualification.
  • The organiser may elect to suspend or postpone receipt of any or all entries if in their judgement the Award cannot be run smoothly, securely, or without affecting the fairness of the judging due to circumstances beyond its control, including but not limited to network failure, computer viruses, or unauthorized access to its servers.
  • No response will be given to any inquiries, complaints, or objections regarding the jury decisions on choosing the winning photographs.
  • Entries that do not conform to these Entry Rules will be excluded from the competition.
  • One photographer in each category will be named by the jury as the Marai Photo Award winner, for the said category.
  • Winners of Marai Photo Award will be announced in April, 2021 on the official website of Marai Photo Award.
  • If the health situation and travel restrictions allow it, the winners will be invited to attend an award ceremony in Paris at a date to be confirmed when possible. The organisers will cover the costs for their flight tickets, accommodation and daily expenses during their stay.
  • Marai Photo Award winners will be presented with photo equipment along with a trophy and a certificate.
  • If a winner is found to be disqualified due to manipulation of the photos after a prize is awarded, the award will be revoked and the photographer requested to return the prize.
  • The organiser reserves the right to exclude any entry that does not meet the Entry Rules.

Terms and Conditions

  • Photographers retain the copyright in their photos. Their names will always be mentioned adjacent to their photos.
  • By entering the Marai Photo Award, photographers grant AFP a worldwide, non-exclusive, transferable, free of charge license to use (edit, reproduce, display, communicate to the public, perform, distribute as stand-alone or with the addition of graphical effects, sound effects, or music) their photos for an unlimited number of times. Such uses may take place in all media, whether in print, broadcast or online, including websites, distribution platforms, digital services, social media networks (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook among others), whether published by AFP or by third parties such as AFP's distributors and all media clients, for purposes in relation to the Marai Photo Award. They may also take place for all promotional and educational activities regarding the Award, the Marai Photo Award's website, exhibitions, books, posters and pamphlets promoting the Award. AFP and its distributors shall be authorized to archive the photos for further uses as mentioned above. The same rights shall be granted by winning photographers to the Marai Photo Award's sponsor(s).
  • Photographers warrant that they have the rights to enter the Award and to grant this license and that the use of the photos by AFP, its distributors and all media clients and, as for the winning photographers, by the Marai Photo Award's sponsor(s) pursuant to these terms and conditions, will not infringe any copyright, neighbouring right, moral right or any other intellectual property rights (such as trademarks) nor any other rights whatsoever (including but not limited to rights of publicity and privacy rights) of any third party.
  • Photographers shall defend AFP, its distributors and all media clients and, as for the winning photographers, the Marai Photo Award's sponsor(s), against any and all actions, demands, claims and suits and shall indemnify and hold AFP, its distributors and all media clients and, as for the winning photographers, the Marai Photo Award's sponsor(s) harmless from any and all liabilities, damages and costs (including reasonable attorney's fees) to the extent arising out of their participation to the Marai Photo Award and the use of the photos in a manner consistent with the above-mentioned license.