BELFAST PHOTO FESTIVAL AIMS TO PROTECT THE IMAGE RIGHTS OF PHOTOGRAPHERS AND THE PEOPLE AND PLACES WITHIN THEIR WORK

These terms and conditions constitute an agreement between you ("the entrant") and Belfast Photo Festival ("the Festival", "we" or "our"), delivering the Exploring Antrim and Newtownabbey public photography competition in partnership with Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council ("ANBC") and with the support of PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).

READ THIS AGREEMENT IN ITS ENTIRETY BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR PHOTOGRAPH(S). BY ENTERING THE COMPETITION YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE, DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY.

ABOUT THE COMPETITION

Exploring Antrim and Newtownabbey is a year-round photography project unfolding across the four seasons, combining commissioned photography with a public photography competition. The competition invites residents, workers and visitors to capture and share their own images of the borough's landscapes, heritage and natural and built environment.

Selected entries will be exhibited, with credit and caption, at Antrim Castle Gardens and Mossley Mill, and featured across Belfast Photo Festival and Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council's social media channels. There is no cash prize.  the award is exhibition, publication and public credit for your work with your consent. 

KEY TERMS

Entry is FREE. There is no submission fee. The competition runs until midnight, Sunday 4th April 2027

Entrants may submit up to 5 photographs per entry, per seasonal window, and are welcome to enter again with a different season with new or repeat images on a new form via this page. 

Selected entrants will be notified by e-mail with further information. Selection decisions are final.

The final method of display of each photograph is at the discretion of Belfast Photo Festival, in agreement with Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council.

WHO CAN ENTER

Entry is open to anyone who lives in, works in, or is visiting Antrim and Newtownabbey. professional and amateur photographers alike, of all ages and abilities.

Entrants must be resident in, working in, or visiting the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council area at the time the photograph was taken.  

Entrants under the age of 18 at the date of entry require the consent of a parent or guardian, who must provide their name and contact details as part of the submission.

WHAT CAN I SUBMIT

Photographs should capture Antrim and Newtownabbey's natural and built heritage,  its landscapes, buildings, coastline, parks, wildlife, streets and hidden corners — and must have been taken within the borough's boundaries as per this map. 

Each photograph must be your own original work, although basic image manipulation, filters and editing is allowed, generative AI tools and prompts are not acceptable and the organisers reserve the right to request original images from participants. 

Up to 5 images may be submitted per entry, per season. Accepted file formats are JPG or PNG only. Maximum file size: 20MB per image. Desktop or mobile phone software maybe needed to reduce file sizes.  Each entry must include a short caption for every photograph submitted in the form of a text entry.

The photograph(s) submitted at entry stage are used for judging purposes. If your photograph is selected for exhibition, you may be asked to provide a higher-resolution version of the image suitable for high-quality outdoor print production, along with any further caption, credit or biographical information requested. Selected entrants must provide this file within the timeframe specified by Belfast Photo Festival. Belfast Photo Festival cannot guarantee exhibition of a selected photograph if a suitable high-resolution file cannot be provided.

HOW TO ENTER

Entries are made via the online entry form. All required fields must be completed, including your name, email address, age confirmation (and parent/guardian details if you are under 18), a caption for each photograph, and confirmation that you own the copyright in the image(s) and have permission from any people or private property featured. There is no charge to enter.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

Belfast Photo Festival is not responsible for any problems with, or technical malfunction of, any computer, online system, server, internet service provider, software, or combination of these, that may prevent an entry from being submitted, uploaded or received in full, whether due to technical error, human error or otherwise. Entrants are encouraged to keep a copy of their submitted photograph(s) and to allow sufficient time before the closing deadline to complete their entry.

THIRD PARTY RELEASES

If a photograph contains any material or elements not owned by the entrant, and/or is subject to the rights of third parties, and/or includes any identifiable people, the entrant is responsible for obtaining any releases or consents necessary to permit the photograph's publication, exhibition and use as described in these terms.

By entering, you confirm that you created the photograph(s) submitted, that you are the copyright holder, and that our use of your work for exhibition, promotion and archive purposes (as described below) will not infringe any third party's copyright or other rights.

JUDGING

Entries are reviewed and shortlisted by a panel including qualified photography professionals from Belfast Photo Festival.  Entries are assessed against relevance to the competition's heritage theme, technical quality and creativity. The decision of the judging panel is final.

IMAGE RELEASE, PUBLICITY AND FUNDER ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

At no point does Belfast Photo Festival require entrants to sign over copyright in their work as entrants retain copyright at all times.

By entering, you grant Belfast Photo Festival and Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (together with their affiliated funders, including PEACEPLUS/SEUPB, the "Authorised Parties") a licence to use your submitted photograph(s), your name and any accompanying caption or biographical text, for the purposes of the competition, exhibition, and related promotional, publicity, news, archival and educational use. This could be in print, online, on social media and in any other medium,  before, during and after the competition period, without payment or further approval, subject to a name credit.

EXHIBITION AND USE

Selected photographs will be exhibited at Antrim Castle Gardens and Mossley Mill Civic Square, and shared across Belfast Photo Festival and Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council's marketing and social media channels, with appropriate credit to the photographer.

All exhibition materials, publications and promotional use will acknowledge Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council and PEACEPLUS/SEUPB as required by the funding agreement.

CONDITIONS

Entrants agree to be bound by these terms and conditions:

1. The decision of the judging panel is final.

2. Belfast Photo Festival and Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council may use selected photographs, the entrant's name, caption and any accompanying text in publicity or promotional materials relating to the competition, without compensation, as described above.

3. Entries will be void if the Festival determines the entry not to be original, or if it is illegible, incomplete, altered, or obtained through fraud.

4. The Festival reserves the right to decline a photograph for exhibition if it does not meet the print or presentation quality required, or if it does not meet the entry criteria (e.g. location, subject matter, file specification).

5. The Festival and ANBC reserve the right to amend or extend the competition deadline at their sole discretion. Any change will be published on the competition website.

6. Belfast Photo Festival reserves the right to decline or withdraw an entry from exhibition if it is, in any way, perceived to bring the Festival, ANBC or the competition into disrepute.

7. If, at any time,  including after an entry has been selected, exhibited or published,  Belfast Photo Festival determines that a photograph does not meet these terms and conditions (including, but not limited to, concerns about the photograph's originality, authorship, the location in which it was taken, or the use of generative AI tools in its creation), the Festival reserves the right to withdraw that entry from the competition, exhibition or publication at any stage, without liability to the entrant.

DATA PROTECTION AND PRIVACY

Belfast Photo Festival processes entrants' personal data (name, email address, and  where applicable,  parent/guardian details) for the purposes of administering the competition, in accordance with UK GDPR.

Entry data consent (required to enter) is collected separately from mailing list/marketing consent (optional, opt-in).

For Belfast Photo Festival's privacy policy, see: https://belfastphotofestival.com/privacy-policy

ABOUT BELFAST PHOTO FESTIVAL

Belfast Photo Festival is a registered charity in Northern Ireland (Charity Registration No: NIC102819, Company No: NI629769), delivering Exploring Antrim and Newtownabbey in partnership with Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council and with the support of PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).

ANY QUESTIONS?

Please contact: info@belfastphotofestival.com