Smithsonian Photo Contest
Smithsonian Magazine has kicked off its Sixth Annual Photo Contest! There are five categories for which photographers can submit their photos:
- Altered Images
- Americana
- The Natural World
- People
- Travel
A few key rules:
- “Photographs must have been shot by the entrant within the past three (3) years (since January 1, 2006).”
- “Photographs that have won any other contests or have been published in magazines and newspapers (except online) are not eligible. Photos that violate or infringe upon another person’s copyright are not eligible.”
The rights:
“By entering the contest, entrants grant Smithsonian Institution a royalty-free, world-wide, perpetual, non-exclusive license to display, distribute, reproduce, and create derivative works of the entries, in whole or in part, in any media now existing or subsequently developed, for any Smithsonian Institution purpose, including, but not limited to advertising and promotion of the magazine and its Web site, exhibition, and commercial products, including but not limited to Smithsonian Institution publications. Photographs may appear on the Smithsonian Journeys Web site as well as in Journeys publications. Any photograph reproduced will include a photographer credit. The Smithsonian Institution will not be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in connection with such uses.”
And of course, the prizes:
“Grand Prize: A four-day, three-night Smithsonian Journeys Grand Canyon Weekend Adventure for two from July 17-20, 2009, or the wholesale cash equivalent.
Category Winners:
The winners of each of the five categories will receive $500.Readers’ Choice:
The winner of the online Readers’ Choice award will receive $500.Winners may receive additional noncash prizes.”
The deadline for entry is December 1, 2008. Read more about, and enter, the contest here.
Hat tip: Current Photo Contests
Popularity: 8% [?]
October 28th, 2008 at 11:09 am
This contest and another announced at National Geographic the day before sounded interesting but the terms and conditions of both put me off. Is it really fair to grab perpetual commercial rights to all entries? While I would be delighted to have any of my images in Smithsonian Mag, this clause feels unfair and exploitative to me. Even though I expect the majority of entries are not likely to be the types of image the magazine would publish, given the expected size of the entry, and looking at previous entries, there will definitely be a significant number of publishable works. Are they doing this as a way to reduce their licensing budget, I wonder (given that a cover shot license likely costs in the $2000 range if my calculators are to be believed)?
October 28th, 2008 at 11:12 am
That may be. And I often find myself wishing the terms were a little better but I’m finding that these terms are fairly standard. They do offer photo credits, which is something, I guess. The bottom line, to me, is exposure. When I’m at a point where I can easily shop around my images for magazine covers, I’ll be less likely to enter contests. In the meantime, though, the potential benefits appear to outweigh the risks. But it’s definitely a good idea to scrutinize the rules in any of these contests.
Good question. Thanks!
November 3rd, 2008 at 7:16 am
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