Alpha Awards: Showcase Your Best Australian Photography Work

About the competition

The Alpha Awards are back once again in 2024 to celebrate the greatest images from across Australia and New Zealand, captured on Sony Alpha cameras and lenses. The Awards aim to reinvigorate and reconnect photographers across the region, reward professionals and enthusiasts alike, and provide a platform to showcase the very best Alpha Photography work.

What's new in 2024?
In 2024 we are bringing back the Youth category. Unlike past years, Youth is no longer run through the Instagram platform; Youth entrants can submit directly through Scene, and the category is open to any photographers between the ages of 13 and 18. There is no specific genre for Youth, images of all shooting styles whether it is landscape, portrait, wildlife, pet photography, city/street, and more are welcome. But this year the Youth Category must feature the token theme and for 2024 it is "Key". Let your imagination take over in finding a way to add "Key" into your images.

In addition, for each full month during the entry period, one image submission uploaded during that month will be selected for a monthly $500 Sony Store voucher prize- these prizes are randomly drawn, but early birds will have the best odds so get your entries in ASAP!

Once again, the grand prize winner will be selected from among the total pool of finalists by Scott Gray of the World Photography Organisation.

Competition Dates

Entries open at 12:01 AM AEDT on Wednesday, 21st February 2024 and close for submissions at 12:00PM AEST on Monday, 24 June 2024.

Judging will commence on Tuesday, 25 June 2024 with all finalists notified from Monday, 29th July 2024. If finalists cannot be contacted by Monday, 5th August 2023 their entry will be deemed invalid and another finalist will be selected in their place.

Prizes

There is over $54,000 worth of Sony camera gear to win!

Grand Prize | Total Prize Value: $10,000
Sony digital imaging gear to the value of $10,000

Category Prize | Total Prize Value: $44,000
Sony digital imaging gear to the value of $4,000 for each category winner

Categories

Judging for all categories will be based on aesthetic considerations, including but not limited to the photographer's choice of subject, photographic technique and post-capture treatment. Where possible, images should be entered in the most specific category (i.e. a photo that could go into Landscape or Seascape should be entered into Seascape). Beyond this, category-specific criteria are listed below.

Open Photo Categories:

Astrophotography

A photograph that prominently features the night sky. Judges in this category are looking for images that demonstrate exceptional mastery of this field’s significant technical constraints, alongside the aesthetic considerations of the Landscape category.

Composite images that do not alter the explicit content of the image are allowed (i.e. exposure blending, colour compositing, dark frame subtraction).
Pure starfield images may be submitted, but judging will be based on aesthetic and pictorial criteria; astronomy work that lacks aesthetic impact may not be highly awarded, despite technical excellence.

City / Street

This category covers any image that documents life in an urban centre. Both people and places will be considered. Judges in this category are looking for images that give insight into urban life or reveal unexpected or extraordinary aesthetics.

Creative

A category which rewards originality, experimentation and imagination, Creative is the ideal place for photo-composite images, but single-exposure images are also encouraged. Any number of photos can be used and edited together to form an image of a subject, object, environment, idea, or concept. All key elements used in the creation of the image must be captured or created by the submitting photographer, and should the submission reach the final round of judging, entrants will be required to submit the original layered file and/or contributing images. Judges in this category are looking for a clear concept, executed with sensitivity to the subject matter and a high level of technical competence.

Editorial

Each entry in the Editorial category should consist of 3-5 images constituting a body of work. Judges in this category are looking for clear storytelling, executed both within the individual image and sustained throughout the series.

Landscape

A photo of a place and/or thing. Photo compositing in this category for technical purposes will not be penalised. Photographs that qualify for consideration in Astrophotography or Seascape are unlikely to receive an award in this category.

Nature

A photo of the natural living world. Animals, plants, fungi - if it’s alive, it counts. Domesticated animals and animals in clearly artificial settings or captivity are unlikely to be awarded.

Portrait

A photo of a subject, usually human, who is aware of the photographer and participating in the creation of the photo. Judging in this category will reward photos that reveal more than just the surface of the subject. Candid photography is not considered in this category.

Seascape

A landscape photograph that prominently features the sea.

Sports

A photo of a sport being played, or related to the culture of a sport.

Wedding

Photography documenting a wedding. Documentary work related to a wedding will also be considered.

Youth

Open to students between the ages of 13 and 18. There is no specific genre for Youth, images of all shooting styles such as landscape, portrait, wildlife, and more are accepted. The Youth Category must feature the token theme, for 2024 the token theme is "Key". Let your imagination take over in finding a way to add "Key" into your images.

Sony Australia

Sony Australia & New Zealand have a dedicated team of event specialists who help design and bring to life a small number of face-to-face events throughout t...

Images featured above were shot by category winners of the Alpha Awards Photo Competition 2023. Photo credits are listed in order of appearance: Astro, Brent Martin; City/Street, Simon Westlake; Editorial, Jerusha Mcdowell; Landscape, Darren Wassell; Seascape, Mitch Green; Nature, Sam Kay; Portrait, Benizi Santamaria; Sport, Scott Barbour; Wedding, Lucy Mcgoldrick

Terms and Conditions

Instructions on how to enter and the prizes form part of these Terms and Conditions. Participation in this promotion is deemed acceptance of these Terms and Conditions. This promotion consists of the main competition (“Alpha Awards”) in which entrants submit photography for the chance to win a prize as the overall winner and/or as a category winner in a number of categories as determined by the judges. There is also a minor competition in which each eligible entry into the Alpha Awards during 4 separate time periods has an opportunity to win a prize if their entry is drawn at random (“Monthly Give Away”).
Entries are open to individuals who are Australian and New Zealand residents, and:
1. All entrants must be over the age of 13 at the time of entry;
2. entrants under 18 years old must have parental/guardian approval to enter and further, the parent/guardian of the entrant must read and consent to these Terms and Conditions. Parents/guardians may be required by the Promoter to enter into a further agreement as evidence of consent to the minor submitting an entry to this competition;
3. employees of the Promoter and their immediate families are ineligible to enter;
4. contractors of the Promoter in connection to digital imaging are ineligible to enter; and
a maximum of five entries per person will be accepted;
1. The main promotion commences at 12:01 AM AEDT on Wednesday, 21st February 2024 and closes for submissions at 12:00PM AEST on Monday, 24th June 2024. Judging will commence on Tuesday, 25 June 2024 with all finalists notified from Monday, 29th July 2024. If finalists cannot be contacted by Monday, 5th August 2024 their entry will be deemed invalid and another finalist will be selected in their place.All dollar values in these Terms and Conditions refer to Australian dollars.
2. Alongside the main Alpha Awards competition there will also be the Monthly Give Away minor competition. During the submission period for Alpha Awards, in four (4) separate time periods, entries that have been successfully submitted into the Alpha Awards competition during a relevant period will go into a ballot
  1. The relevant periods are:
    1. 1st give away: Wednesday 21st February 2024 12:00pm to Sunday 31st March 2024 11:59pm
    2. 2nd give away: Monday 1st April 2024 12:00am to Tuesday 30th April 2024 11:59pm
    3. 3rd give away: Wednesday 1st May 2024 12:00am to Friday 31st May 2024 11:59pm
    4. 4th give away: Saturday 1st June 2024 12:00am to Monday 24th June 2024 12:00pm
  2. For each relevant period, a random winner will be drawn by the Promoter as the Monthly Give Away prize winner. The winner in each relevant period will be notified within one (1) week of their name being drawn at their email address included with their submission for the Alpha Awards. If the Promoter is unable to contact the winner at this email address and all other reasonable attempts at contacting the winner have been exhausted by the Promoter, then a new winner will be drawn. The winner in each case:
    1. Is drawn at random, and is rewarded the Monthly Give Away Prize only;
    2. Remains entered into the Alpha Awards competition;
    3. Is not chosen based on the judging criteria for the Alpha Awards, and the judges for the Alpha Awards are not involved in the draw;
    4. Is not, as a result of being selected as a Monthly Give Away winner, qualified as a finalist, or given priority in any way when judging the Alpha Awards.
    5. Cannot win again if they were the winner in an earlier relevant period.
Prizes include:
1. Overall Winner - First Prize (Valued at $10,000)
  1. Sony Digital imaging product/s to the value of SRP $10,000
2. 11 x Category Prize Winners (Astrophotography, City/Street, Creative, Editorial, Landscape, Nature, Portrait, Seascape, Sports, Wedding and Youth.)
  1. Sony Digital Imaging product/s to the value of SRP $4,000
3. All winners will have a maximum period of 6 months to select their Sony product/s to the corresponding retail value offered for their prize.
To enter, individuals must:
1. Read, understand, and complete the online entry form located at www.sony.com.au/alphaawards
2. Upload photos taken on a Sony branded camera and lens
  1. Maximum 5 submissions per person;
  2. Two files must be uploaded per image;
    1. A finished JPEG under 5MB in size, and
    2. An original image direct from camera with metadata intact;
3. Own the rights to any images they submit and have obtained all model releases for identifiable persons featured in any images. If it is found that the entrant has submitted any image they do not own the rights to (and/or have not obtained all model releases for identifiable persons featured in any images), their entry will be deemed invalid. Sony will not be liable for any legal action taken against such entrants by the rightful owner of the image (and/or legal action against such entrants by identifiable person(s) who claim that a release was not given).
4. Give Sony permission to use the submitted images for the purposes of promoting and exhibiting Alpha Awards. Where possible, such usage will include full photo credit. This includes:
  1. Promotional license for a period of up to 24 months from the opening of submissions. Usage of finalists’ and winners’ images may be used for (but not limited to) online, promotional materials, in-store point of sale materials, news media, and social media.
  2. License to publicly exhibit, in perpetuity, at Alpha Awards Exhibitions held domestically and internationally. Such exhibitions may include;
    1. Conventional gallery display
    2. Online gallery display
    3. Display in Out-of-home advertisement media (bus stop, train station, billboard, etc)
    4. Purpose-built out-of-home displays
    5. Other implementations at the exhibitor’s discretion
5. Images under 12 megapixels, or less than 4000px on longest side, may not be accepted
6. Declare that the photos submitted by them are their own work and all rights relating to those photo assets belong to them alone.
Outside of the Creative category, the use of generative AI in the Alpha Awards is strictly forbidden, and any images found using generative AI tools will be immediately disqualified. Within the Creative category, the use of generative AI tools is allowed and encouraged as a tool to enhance photographic content. Images generated entirely from written prompts are not eligible for submission in the Alpha Awards. Submissions to the Creative category require at least one original contributing image from a Sony camera to be considered.
At the time the Online Entry Form is submitted, individuals will receive an email from the Promoter (to the email address used for Sony Scene account creation), to confirm that their submission has been successful.
Any entrants that are unable to complete the entry process online can contact the Promoter by sending an email to SonyScene.SANZ@sony.com to arrange an alternative method of entry submission.
The Promoter reserves the right, at any time, to verify the validity of entries and individuals (including an entrant’s identity, age and place of residence) and reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual who the Promoter has reason to believe has breached any of these Terms and Conditions, tampered with the entry process or engaged in any unlawful or other improper misconduct calculated to jeopardise fair and proper conduct of the Promotion.
The Promoter’s decisions in relation to the Promotion (including but not limited to selection of finalists and prize winners) are final and no correspondence will be entered into.
Errors and omissions may be accepted at the Promoter's discretion. Failure by the Promoter to enforce any of its rights at any stage does not constitute a waiver of those rights.
If there is a dispute as to the identity of an entrant, the Promoter reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to determine the identity of the entrant.
If this Promotion is interfered with in any way or is not capable of being conducted as reasonably anticipated due to any reason beyond the reasonable control of the Promoter, including but not limited to technical difficulties, unauthorised intervention or fraud, the Promoter reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to the fullest extent permitted by law to disqualify any entrant, modify, suspend, terminate or cancel the Promotion, as appropriate.
Nothing in these Terms and Conditions limits, excludes or modifies or purports to limit, exclude or modify the statutory consumer guarantees set out in the Australian Consumer Law of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), as well as any other implied warranties under the ASIC Act or similar consumer protection laws in the State and Territories of Australia or, where relevant, the statutory consumer guarantees set out in the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 and the Fair Trading Act 1986 in New Zealand (“Non-Excludable Guarantees”). Except for any liability that cannot by law be excluded, including the Non-Excludable Guarantees, the Promoter (including its respective officers, employees and agents) excludes all liability (including negligence), for any personal injury; or any loss or damage (including loss of opportunity); whether direct, indirect, special or consequential, arising in any way out of the promotion.
Except for any liability that cannot by law be excluded, including the Non-Excludable Guarantees, the Promoter (including its respective officers, employees and agents) is not responsible for and excludes all liability (including negligence) including, but not limited to, in relation to any personal injury; or any loss or damage (including loss of opportunity); whether direct, indirect, special or consequential, arising in any way out of: (a) any technical difficulties or equipment malfunction (whether or not under the Promoter’s control); (b) any theft, unauthorised access or third party interference; (c) any entry that is late, lost, altered, damaged or misdirected (whether or not after their receipt by the Promoter) due to any reason beyond the reasonable control of the Promoter; (d) any tax liability incurred by a entrant; or (e) taking/use of a prize.
The Promoter collects personal information ("PI") in order to conduct the promotion and may, for this purpose, disclose such PI to third parties, including but not limited to agents, contractors, service providers and prize suppliers. Entry is conditional on providing this PI. The Promoter will also use and handle PI as set out in its Privacy Policy, which can be viewed at https://www.sony.com.au/section/contactusprivacypolicy. The Privacy Policy also contains information about how entrants may opt out, access, update or correct their PI, how entrants may complain about a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles, the New Zealand Information Privacy Principles, or any other applicable law and how those complaints will be dealt with. All entries become the property of the Promoter.
The Promoter is Sony Australia Limited (ABN 59 001 215 354) of Level 7, 73 Miller Street, North Sydney, NSW 2060.

The Alpha Awards brings together the greatest images from across Australia and New Zealand, captured on Sony Alpha cameras and lenses.

The Awards aim to drive creativity, reward professionals and enthusiasts alike and provide a platform to showcase the very best Alpha Photography work.