This is the fourth quarterly photo contest offered by the Wedding Photojournalist Association for 2009.

The contest is exclusively for images created by WPJA photographers. Members can log in for complete contest details and benefits of entering the competition.

CATEGORIES – Q4 ’09 WPJA CONTEST
01. Bride Getting Ready
“Bride Getting Ready” entries spontaneously capture the prepping, grooming, arranging, outfitting, and nail-biting before the ceremony.

02. Groom Getting Ready
“Groom Getting Ready” entries spontaneously capture the prepping, grooming, arranging, outfitting, and nail-biting before the ceremony.

03. Ceremony
“Ceremony” shots catch guests and participants throughout pre-ceremony, vow-exchange, and receiving line activity.

04. Reception Ambiance
These images should demonstrate the photographer’s ability to capture the feeling, majesty, and ambiance of the reception, as they highlight the most appealing aspects of the setting (reception halls, tents, patios, beachfronts, woods, etc.), where the reception took place.

05. Emotion
“Emotion” entries unobtrusively freeze intriguing expressions ranging from joy to tears.

06. Cake Cutting
These images should demonstrate the photographer’s ability to anticipate a moment and/or look beyond the ordinary ‘Cake Cutting’ images that many would come to expect from a wedding.

07. Dancing
Photos submitted into “Dancing” will display the varied emotions that take place on a wedding reception dance floor. Anything from the reception dance floor that illustrates the mood of a particular moment (from the first dance to the end of the party).

08. Off-Camera Flash / Strobe
Photographs in the “Off-Camera Flash/Strobe” category depict images which are crafted using off-camera flash or strobe techniques. In these entries, the photographer is controlling the lighting, sometimes overpowering the existing ambient light.

09. Musicians & DJ’s
“Musicians & DJs” submissions can include images of musicians in action, playing strings, winds, keyboards, guitars, etc. at the ceremony or cocktail hour; as well as shots of bands/DJs doing their ‘thing’!

10. Reflections
Looking for images which display creative and unique usage of reflective surfaces in the events surrounding a wedding. (i.e. mirrors, glass, water, metals, etc.)

11. Bouquet / Garter (Action)
“Bouquet/Garter” (Action) entries capture active moments leading up to, and/or including, the peak action from the toss of the bride’s bouquet or her garter.

12. Details (Found)
“Details (Found)” encompasses tighter shots of the day’s small slices AS THEY WERE FOUND.
NOTE: This category is NOT for set-up detail shots. It’s important that images submitted in this category don’t contain content controlled by the photographer.

13. Ring Details
Entries that depict shots of the rings, either set-up and controlled by the photographer or as they were found.

14. Creative Portrait
“Creative Portrait” employs a fresh and artistic approach to portraiture in capturing the bride, groom, bridal party, family, friends, children and/or any other posed wedding party member. Candid moments are not eligible for this category.
NOTE: Though this category may resemble traditional portraiture for some, the key here is to be creative with your subjects.

NON-WEDDING DAY CATEGORIES:

15. Engagement Portrait
“Engagement Portrait” should demonstrate the photographer’s ability to create an interesting environmental portrait of their clients prior to the wedding day.

16. Trash The Dress (TTD) Portrait
Any image, created AFTER the wedding ceremony (typically from a different day), that depicts the bride or couple in formal wedding attire, trashing the dress, regardless of setting. Examples include the following:

Water – fully or partially immersed in a swimming pool, lake, ocean or even a puddle

Urban – within city or town life, amid well-trafficked or heavily populated areas, urban ruins, housing or architecture, graffiti-covered structures, social landscapes, busy streets or sidewalks, amongst transportation including cars, trucks, trains or subways

Rural – within a country, rustic, natural or rural setting, lying in a field or walking on a dirt road, among livestock or within an isolated pasture

The WPJA proudly recognizes the Photographer of the Year (POY), that member holding the most contest points (except those awarded from categories designated for portraits and/or details) at the end of each year.

This recipient is recognized with a permanent engraving of his or her name on the perpetually Traveling Trophy.

Each year, this trophy is returned to the WPJA and awarded to their successor the following year.

The WPJA PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR wins an additional $1,000.00 CASH (USD) GRAND PRIZE BONUS.

First runner up wins a $500.00 CASH (USD) AWARD.
Second runner up wins $250.00 CASH (USD) AWARD.

These CASH AWARD BONUSES are in addition to all other awards earned from each category.