Terms & Conditions for the WPE Competition

ABOUT US
Dear Photography Lovers,
The foundation of the WPE Awards was laid in 2014.
As most of you know, the founders of WPE are in the photography profession just like you.
After countless contests they have been participating in for years, they have presented WPE to you by noting the deficiencies in the contests and developing them with their own visions.
Archiving is one of the most important issues on the WPE website developed in full response to the expectations of a photographer.
Thanks to the exchange of ideas with the experts in the field, it was possible to create archives both in the general profile of the website and in the member profiles.
The awards you will earn will be stored for years on the WPE website which was created by providing a solid infrastructure.
Your awards that will be open to access will represent the family tree of your photography life.
Thanks to our archives, the next generations will have the opportunity to see the awards you have won, and you will set an example for them.
Our aim is not only to give you badges but also to ensure that your investments are permanent.
If you check out our site carefully, you will already see this.
Let WPE immortalize the moment you have captured.
What is beautiful is shared.
What is shared is remembered.
Let future generations know you with WPE!

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE COMPETITION?
The WPE Competition is open to professional photographers from all over the world ages 18 and over.
Working judges cannot participate in the contest in order to preserve neutral voting.
Judges can only enter the competition when they have no judging duty.

WHY YOU SHOULD ENTER THE COMPETITION:
✩Top 100 photographers in the world will each receive the Crystal
✩Collect the Badges of Excellence!
✩Receive comments from respected photographers!
✩Earn Honors of Excellence points!
✩Raise the scores of your own country in the world ranking!
✩Compete with the best photographers in the world and with the photographers in your own country!
✩Inspire, and get inspired by your peers!
✩A challenging and exciting platform to share your photos!

COPYRIGHT ON IMAGES:
✪All entries will be considered the legal property of the authorized account holder at the email address submitted when registering.
✪Photographers cannot delete their account or their photos once registered at wpeawards.com.
Please enter your name and surname correctly. It is not possible to edit names and email addresses later.
Please do not sign up more than once with different emails. Otherwise your account will be deactivated per WPE rules.
✪The Entrant must present in their entirety a unique work emanating from an original image capture.
The various treatments, manipulations, impressions, presented, must have been performed by the Entrant or under the Entrant's direct supervision.
✪By participating in this competition, the participant accepts that he/she is the owner of the photos he/she sends and accepts all responsibilities.
✪Entering declares, acknowledges and guarantees that the Entrant possesses all their legal and moral capacities to participate in the competition and that the image capture presented, respects copyright and property rights.
✪The image capture, presented in the competition, must not promote discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, sexual orientation or age.
✪All images presented by the photographer are protected by copyright that belongs exclusively to the Entrant.
Any images taken in violation of the legislative and legal framework in force will be disqualified and then deleted by WPE after investigation.
✪By entering the Contest, Photographers accept that all image(s) sent for the competition may be reproduced and used to conduct and promote www.wpeawards.com.
✪If the image capture includes other persons, the candidate must have an authorization to use the image with the persons concerned, and must prove the authorization to use these image captures by means of a handwritten and signed authorization by the persons concerned.
✪WPE AWARDS assumes no responsibility for any incorrect or incomplete information or technical, hardware or software failure of any kind, for lost network connections, computer transmissions, other problems with regard to the competition. WPE AWARDS declines all responsibility.
✪WPE reserves the right to move an entry into another category or have it disqualified to protect the integrity of the competition.
✪Rules may be changed or modified without notice.

I DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE SECOND HALF COMPETITION. CAN I PARTICIPATE IN THE FIRST HALF OR ANNUAL FINAL COMPETITIONS?
Yes you can. Past competitions are not linked to future competitions.
The goal in WPE should be to earn a maximum of 20 points per year, and raise your place in Top Ranking Honors.

IS THERE A RESTRICTION ON WHEN THE PHOTOS WERE TAKEN?
No, there is no restriction on the date your photo was taken. The important thing is the result.

CAN I ENTER THE PHOTOGRAPHS I ENTERED IN THE FIRST OR SECOND HALF TO THE ANNUAL FINAL?
You can send the photos you sent to previous contests again, it is not against the rules.
Since it will be voted by different judges, it might get different points.
But when our judges become aware, they will score less in the creativity part compared to the score they got in the previous competition.
We want to avoid having the same photos in WPE competitions and to protect the prestige of the competition.

ANNUAL CATALOG:
WPE organizes a total of 3 competitions per year: First Half, Second Half and Annual Final.
At the end of these three competitions, an Annual Catalog of the best photographs and photographers will be made.

WHY AM I NOT ON ANNUAL CATALOG?
The annual catalog includes photographers who are in the rankings in the competitions that year.
For this catalog, we use your biography and profile photo that you added to your profile.
If you have not added your profile photo and biography to your profile, you will not be able to be in the catalog.
Please do not forget to add your profile photo and write a short biography in English.

TOP RANKING HONORS:
After every contest, points earned by the photographers will be added to their "Top Ranking Honors" account.
Point accumulation for each photographer is limited to 20 points per year.
Photographers with the same excellence points are sorted alphabetically.
Each photographer will receive star designations according cumulative points received as follows:
★.......................Member of WPE (0-5 points)
★★....................Distinguished of WPE (5+ points)
★★★.................Expert of WPE (10+ points)
★★★★..............Professional of WPE (20+ points)
★★★★★...........Master of WPE (40+ points)
★★★★★★........Senior Master of WPE (80+ points)
★★★★★★★.....Double Senior Master of WPE (160+ points)

TOP 100 PHOTOGRAPHERS:
IT SAYS "TOTAL POINTS TO DATE: 25" ON MY PROFILE. WHY ISN'T MY NAME IN THE TOP 100?
We rank the TOP 100 photographers in the world with the sum of the points you earn in the 3 competitions we organize every year.
The points you have earned in previous years are not valid in the TOP 100 ranking.
Photographers with the same scores are listed in alphabetical order.
At the end of each year, only the photographers making the WPE TOP 100 list are going to win crystals.

TOP RANKED COUNTRY:
Countries are sorted by the excellence points their photographers have received and the photographers in that country will be ranked among themselves. Countries with the same total of excellence points from their members are sorted alphabetically.
Every contest, points earned by photographers will be added to their countries.

HOW ARE THE ENTRIES JUDGED?
The objective of WPE Awards is to recognize and reward creative excellence in the field of photography.
Judges will evaluate the entries for entered category based on the following judging criteria:
Creativity, Originality, Value Control (Exposure, Color, Shadow, Lighting, Detail, Texture) and Composition.

IS JUDGING ANONYMOUS?
Yes, we respect the integrity of the photographers.
In addition, the voting is anonymous so that it is an impartial vote.
The juries will not know who owns the photo they voted for.

THE JUDGING:
The judging will include a panel of 10 judges. A point system with results from 1 to 100 points will be used.
It will follow this breakdown :
✪ PLATINUM AWARD: 95-100 points
✪ GOLD AWARD: 90-95 points
✪ SILVER AWARD: 85-90 points
✪ BRONZE AWARD: 80-85 points
The decision of the Judges and the WPE is final and no negotiation will be entered into with respect to any such decision.

WPE GRAND PRIZES: 
View The Full Grand Prize Winners:
WPE's main objective is to encourage, educate, and continuously motivate photographers so that they remain committed to their craft.
✪ FIRST PLACE: A Cash Prizes €2000 is awarded to the highest ranked photographer with the maximum number of points.
Cash prizes will be paid in € by PayPal. Any fees incurred for foreign currency transfers will be deducted from the winning amount. 
Points received at previous competitions will not be considered for these prizes. In case of a tie, the number of badges won by the photographer will be checked and it will be given to the photographer with the highest number of badges. (ie the number of Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze badges).
✪ SECOND PLACE: will be awarded with 15 free entries to the next competition.
✪ THIRD PLACE: will be awarded with 10 free entries to the next competition.
These above prizes are limited to top 3 photographers attaining the most points overall (not per category) in every competition.
The biggest crystal of WPE is given to photographers who are in the top three, collecting the most points at the end of each competition.
This award will be given at the end of the year.
Thank you for your patience.
 
ARE THE POINTS EARNED IN THE PREVIOUS COMPETITIONS ARE VALID FOR THE GRAND PRIZE?
The grand prizes are awarded to the photographers who took the first three places by collecting the most points at the end of each contest.
The scores of the previous contests apply to Top Ranking Honors and your ranking in your own country.
They are not valid for the grand prize.
The first is awarded with a €2000 award, the second is awarded 15 free entries for the next competition, and the third is given 10 free entries.
Badges will be given to the first, second and third places of each category.

HOW CAN I SHARE MY BADGES ON MY WEB PAGE?
You can download your badges from your WPE profile and write your name on it.
Also, you can copy the html code on your profile and share it on your website.

WHEN WILL THE CRYSTAL BE SENT?
WPE organizes 3 competitions per year.
When these 3 competitions are over, we send crystals only to photographers who are in the TOP 100 at the end of the year.
We only give badges to the top 3 of each category.
You can download these badges from your profiles.
At the end of the year, we cannot send crystals to photographers who do not have an open postal address and phone number in their profile.
Do not forget to update your address in your WPE account.Thank you for your patience. 

HOW TO ENTER:
Login or register as a new account member in order to purchase your entries.
Your credits will be displayed in your cart.
Once the registration process is completed, just follow the online instructions to upload your photographs from your computer.

I JUST REGISTERED. WHERE IS MY ACTIVATION EMAIL?
We've sent you an email confirming your registration.
If you haven't received it please try to check your spam or junk folder.
✩ You may have problem receiving an activation link.
✩ Add "contact@wpeawards.com" to your contacts or allowed sender list.
We use "contact@wpeawards.com" to send all email from wpeawards.com.
Add that email address to your trusted email or contacts list to make sure you get all email from wpeawards.com.

CAN I HAVE DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS WITH DIFFERENT EMAILS?
The prizes and points you will earn are determined with the email you registered in Top Ranking Honors.
You need to send all your photos by connecting with the same email.
According to WPE rules, a photographer can use a single email.
Photographers using multiple emails will be disqualified from the competition and their accounts will be deactivated.

COST FOR ENTRIES:
You can buy your credits now to enjoy the discount and you can submit your entries until the final deadline.
From opening date until the first deadline: €15 per Image.
From the first deadline until the final deadline: €18 per Image.
You can use your remaining credits in the other competitions within the year. 
Non-used credits will be deleted at the end of the year and no refund will be made.
All payments should be made via Visa, Mastercard or PayPal in the Euro € currency.
WPE Awards does not store any Credit Card information on the website. All payments are done directly through the payment gateway.

WHAT DOES 1 CREDIT MEAN?
You can send a single photo with 1 credit.

IS THERE A LIMIT TO THE NUMBER OF ENTRIES?
Starting from the Second Half 2022 competition, we have set a limit of 25 photos per competition to add a little more excitement to the competition. You can use your remaining credits in the competitions to be held during the year.

CAN THE CREDITS PURCHASED BE RETURNED?
It is not possible to return the credits purchased. You can use your unused credits at other competitions during the year.
Unused loans will be deleted at the end of the last competition of the year and no refund will be made.

I HAVE DISCOUNT CODE, HOW CAN I USE IT?
After connecting to your WPE account, when you click on the buy credit menu, you can enter it in the "enter discount coupon" section.
Some discount coupons are only valid for photographers who sign up for the first time.

CAN I MAKE CHANGES TO MY ENTRY AFTER I HAVE PAID?
You can change the photos you've submitted  until the closing date of the competition.

WILL MY IMAGES BE SOLD?
No. You reserve the copyright of your photos. WPE may only use them for its own promotion.

WHEN WILL THE WINNERS BE ANNOUNCED?
The decision of the Judges and the WPE is final and no negotiation will be entered into with respect to any such decision.
All winners will be announced on the Winners' Gallery page of our website about 45 days after the closing date and they will be notified via e-mail.

FORMAT GUIDELINES:
✩sRGB or Adobe 1998 colour space, 8-bit
✩JPG format
✩300 dpi
✩Must be equal to 2048px (longer side)
✩No watermarks
✩No copyright remarks or logos on images
✩Images without borders
Photos that do not comply with the rules of the competition will be deleted.
Your deleted credits will be uploaded back to your account.

LIST OF ALL CATEGORIES:
✩WPE reserves the right to move any entry from one category to another or have it disqualified in order to protect the integrity of this competition*
✩Composite: Adding and combining several photos into one photo.
✩The state of several photos being separately on a single photo.
You may enter any number of Entries in any of the following categories:
WEDDING CATEGORY:
✩Bride Alone Wedding Day (Composites images are not allowed.)
✩Groom Alone Wedding Day (Composites images are not allowed.)
✩Wedding Couple Together Wedding Day (Composites images are not allowed.)
✩Wedding Details (Composites are allowed. Real wedding accessories.)
✩Bridal Party (Family and Friends)
✩Wedding Photojournalism (Composites images are not allowed)
✩Creative Wedding (Composites are allowed. Models are permitted in this category.)
✩Pre Wedding Bride Alone (Composites are allowed. Models are permitted in this category.)
✩Pre Wedding Groom Alone (Composites are allowed. Models are permitted in this category.)
✩Pre Wedding Couple Together (Composites are allowed. Models are permitted in this category.)
PORTRAIT CATEGORY:
✩Fashion / Beauty (Composites are allowed. Models are permitted in this category. Accepts glamorous portraits that emphasize clothing, make-up, or someone's beauty.)
✩Portrait Creative (Composites are allowed. Models are permitted in this category.)
✩Individual (Composites images are not allowed. Models are permitted in this category.)
✩Newborn (Composites are allowed. Portraits of infants up to 1year old.)
✩Maternity (Composites are allowed. Image celebrating pregnancy alone or with members of their family.)
✩Children (Composites images are allowed. Age range of 1 to 13 is accepted. Models are permitted in this category.)
✩Group / Families (Composites are allowed. Photographs of a family or a few people together.)
✩Fine Art Nude (Composites are allowed. Non pornographic, Body painting and artistic portraits of nude and semi-nude subjects.)
✩Street Photography (Composites images are not allowed. Includes photographs capturing urban lifestyle, real life, random moments of people.)
✩Photojournalism / Reportage / Culture (Composites are allowed. Accepts photographs that tell a story about specific subjects and events, or about the culture and traditions of a person or society.)
✩Architecture (Composites are allowed. Cityscapes, Bridges, Buildings, Historic, Industrial, etc...)
✩Landscape (Composites are allowed. Landscape, Seasons, Sky, Trees, etc...)
✩Flowers (Composites are allowed.)
✩Photomanipulation (Composites are allowed.)
✩Macro (Composites are allowed. Accepts close-ups that show the subject in its real size or larger.)
✩Animals / Pets / Insects (Composites are allowed.)
✩Wildlife (Composites are allowed. Accepts photographs documenting animals and other wildlife living in their natural habitat. Submit animals that are not in their natural habitat, such as farm animals or animals kept in a zoo, to the "Animals / Pets / Insects" category.)
✩Food (Composites are allowed. Photographs featuring food.)
✩Commercial (Composites are allowed.)
✩Aerial / Drone (Composites are allowed. Accepts photos taken from high by a drone or another flying object.)
✩Sports (Composites are allowed. Photographs documenting any professional or amateur sports or sporting activity.)
✩Storytelling With Collages (Creating stories by making collages.)
AI CATEGORY (ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE)
✩You can submit a maximum of 5 photos per competition in the Artificial Intelligence category:
✩Portrait AI (Artificial Intelligence)
✩Landscape AI (Artificial Intelligence)