Terms of Entry - Open & Amateur Competition


Some important rules to note in summary;

  • Entries in the Nature categories must be predominantly of natural subjects, although some man made objects within image are accepted. An example of this would be a jetty or a building within a landscape.
  • Entries in the Built Environment categories must be predominantly of man-made subjects, although some natural subjects within the image are accepted. An example of this would be a park within a city environment.
  • All images must be panoramic format, defined for this competition as a minimum 2:1 ratio (long side:short side). See Wikipedia for information regarding this definition. Images not complying with the minimum ratio rule will be given the lowest average score.
  • 360 degree images are exempt from the minimum 2:1 ratio rule.
  • Entrants are not encouraged to crop single shot 35mm files to fit the minimum ratio. If your entry is selected for the exhibition at PMA and is a cropped 35mm file, it may not be included due to quality and file size. Cropping from medium and large format is acceptable, however stitching and single captures from dedicated panoramic cameras are preferred. If you wish to crop from a single capture 35mm image, please ensure it originates from a high quality file (eg RAW) and quality DSLR camera.
  • Winning and high scoring entrants must be able to supply a high res file of their entry suitable for exhibition printing, within 7 days of judging completion.
  • The EPSON International Pano Awards recognizes that you retain full ownership of the copyright in each entry. Our sponsors, including Epson do NOT assume rights of use. Images are used for display of winning and highest scoring images, and promotion of the competition ONLY.
  • Images may be from single capture or stitching software, film or digital capture, but must be 100% photographic in origin.
  • VR/immersive/360 degree panoramic images are most welcome in the Open or Amateur competitions, however they must be entered as a 'flat' jpeg file if entered in Open or Amateur (not as formats such as .swf or Quicktime VR).
  • An Amateur is defined for this competition as someone who earns less than USD$20,000 per year from photography as an occupation. Amateurs may enter the Open or Amateur competitions.
  • A Professional is defined for this competition as someone who earns greater than USD$20,000 per year from photography as an occupation. Professionals may only enter the Open competition.
  • There is no restriction on the date of origin of entries, or on the number of entries per entrant.
  • *note: People, abstract/creative, B&W and vertical panoramic images can be entered in any category, with the exception of the VR/360 competition which does not accept vertical images.
  • Amateur and non-professionals may enter an identical image into the Amateur and Open competitions if they wish, as they are judged as separate competitions.


The Open Competition

  1. The EPSON International Pano Awards Competition is open to all Photographers
  2. By entering the Competition You hereby accept these Competition Rules and the Terms and Conditions
  3. Closing Date: Entries and the Entry Fees must be submitted by Friday 20th April 2012. Late entries will be accepted until Saturday 28th April 2012. Late entry fees apply
  4. Entry fees are US$20 per image, US$36 for two (2) images, US$48 for three (3) images, US$56 for four (4) images and US$12 for each additional image. There is no restriction on the number of entries per entrant
  5. Images will be judged category by category, category winners will be chosen on the highest individual averaged image score. In the case of a tie the aggregated score will be calculated to determine the winner
  6. Judging will be 'blind'. No names or other indicators will be shown in judging to lead to the entrant and no names or other indicators are allowed on the Entry that could indicate who is the author of the Entry. Entries will be assigned a random catalogue number for judging
  7. By entering the Competition, You agree and acknowledge that The EPSON International Pano Awards is permitted to receive Your registration data. All personal information will be used by The EPSON International Pano Awards in accordance with its Privacy Policy
  8. To enter, you must upload your image via the following website: www.thepanoawards.com (the "Website"), following the on-screen instructions carefully
  9. Entries will be judged by nominated judges
  10. Each Image will be scored by 5 separate judges
  11. The 5 scores will be averaged to produce a final score
  12. The highest final score within each category will be deemed the category winner
  13. In the case of a category tie the 5 individual scores will be added together to produce a score tie calculation. The Image with the highest score tie calculation will be deemed the winner
  14. The category winners will continue through to the final round of judging
  15. In the event that images are still tied at the end of the judging process, those images will be re-judged by a further independent judging panel to produce the winner
  16. The finalists will be judged by a panel of elite judges. The scores will be averaged to produce a final score
  17. The highest final score will be deemed the major prize winner
  18. In the case of a tie the individual scores will be added together to produce a score tie calculation. The Image with the highest score tie calculation will be deemed the winner
  19. The overall winner of The EPSON International Pano Awards 2011 will be announced online on a date to be determined in 2012
  20. Winners from each category will be selected and announced in 2012 on a date to be determined
  21. Additional non financial Gold merit awards will be awarded based on the averaged 5 voting scores of 86 or more, 80 - 85 will earn a Silver Award and 75 - 79 will earn a Bronze Award. Awards certificates will be made available to recipients online as PDF files
  22. The EPSON International Pano Awards reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify and remove any entry that does not comply with the following requirements, even after the entry is submitted on the Website. You warrant and represent, in respect of each entry submitted by You ("Entry"), as follows:
  23. You are the sole owner and author of each Entry
  24. The image presented for judging must be 100% photographic in origin, generally this means using a camera or similar device
  25. You have the right to make Your entry available to the Competition
  26. Each entry does not contain personally identifiable information about You or any other person(s) unless a model release is obtained. You must adhere to copyright laws in your own jurisdiction, especially in regards to the photographing of people in public places
  27. Each Entry does not contain any infringing, threatening, false, misleading, abusive, harassing, libelous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, scandalous, inflammatory, pornographic or profane content
  28. Each entry does not contain any material that could constitute or encourage conduct which would be considered a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any law
  29. Each entry does not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, contract rights, or any other intellectual property rights of any third person or entity, or violate any person's rights of privacy or publicity
  30. Your Entry does not include:
    • trademarks owned by third parties
    • copyrighted materials owned by third parties (including movie dialog or musical compositions)
    • names, likenesses, voices or other characteristics identifying celebrities or other public figures, living or dead, unless a relevant model release is obtained.
    • Entries in which You have purchased or secured the rights to use stock images
    • Entries which contain any commercial content that promotes any product or service other than that of the International Pano Awards
    • Entries containing screen credits
  31. You agree to fully indemnify The EPSON International Pano Awards in respect of all royalties, fees and any other monies owing to any person by reason of Your breaching any of the foregoing
  32. You confirm that each person depicted in the Entry has granted permission to be portrayed as shown, unless copyright laws in your jurisdiction allow for the photographing of persons in a public place without consent
  33. Any costumes, props or other materials used must be rented or borrowed with the permission of the owner, and all other relevant permissions must have been obtained
  34. The EPSON International Pano Awards recognizes that you retain full ownership of the copyright in each Entry
  35. All entrants understand that any image submitted to the competition and subsequently shortlisted or awarded may be used by The EPSON International Pano Awards, and its Event Partners, for marketing and promotional purposes of the event only. You hereby grant The EPSON International Pano Awards a non-exclusive, irrevocable license in each Entry throughout the world in all media for any use in connection with the Competition, including, but not limited to:
    1. judging the Competition during the year of entry
    2. displaying at public exhibitions promoting The EPSON International Pano Awards and organized by The EPSON International Pano Awards in perpetuity
    3. inclusion within the Website and/or an Awards catalogue in perpetuity
    4. inclusion within any materials promoting of the Competition and / or any exhibition organized by The EPSON International Pano Awards or its Event Partners, in the promotion of The EPSON International Pano Awards in perpetuity
    5. inclusion on Competition- and exhibition-related products to be sold by The EPSON International Pano Awards or any third party (following the individual agreement by the author)
    6. sub-licensing the Entries to the press for reproduction in connection with the Competition and any exhibition for a period of 5 years
    7. allowing viewers of the Website to view images on a computer screen, PDA or mobile telephone and store such pages in electronic form on disk or on a PDA or mobile telephone (but not on any server or other storage device connected to a network) for their personal, non-commercial use only, in perpetuity
  36. Any photograph used by The EPSON International Pano Awards shall carry a credit line. Any failure to provide such credit line shall not be deemed to be a breach, as long as The EPSON International Pano Awards uses its reasonable endeavors to rectify such failure within a reasonable period from the date of notice of such failure
  37. You acknowledge that is Your responsibility for protecting any Entry against image misuse by any third party, for example, but not limited to the insertion of a digital watermark (but not a visible watermark which could lead to the identification of the author by the judges). The EPSON International Pano Awards and its Event Partners assume no responsibility and are not liable for any image misuse
  38. The EPSON International Pano Awards assumes no responsibility for any incorrect, inaccurate or incomplete information, whether caused by website users or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Competition, and The EPSON International Pano Awards assumes no responsibility for technical, hardware or software failure of any kind, for lost network connections, garbled computer transmissions, other problems or technical malfunctions with regard to the Competition. The EPSON International Pano Awards assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, corruption, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alteration of Entries. The EPSON International Pano Awards is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer on-line systems, servers, computer equipment, software, failure of any e-mail addressed to The EPSON International Pano Awards on account of technical problems, human error or traffic congestion on the Internet or any website, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to Your or any other person's computer related to or resulting from participation or downloading any materials in the Competition. If for any reason a contestant's entry cannot be viewed or is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer viruses, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud or technical failures, The International Pano Awards assumes no responsibility.
  39. In no event will The EPSON International Pano Awards, its parents, affiliates, subsidiaries and related companies, Event Partners, its advertising or promotion agencies, or its officers, directors, employees, shareholders, representatives or agents be responsible or liable for any damages or losses of any kind, including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special or punitive damages arising out of any contestant's access to and use of the Website. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, everything on the Website is provided "as is", without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for purpose or use or non-infringement.
  40. You agree to participate in related publicity and to the use of your name and likeness for the purposes of advertising, promotion and publicity in connection with the competition without additional compensation
  41. Entries must comply with specifications, sRGB, 3000 Pixels on the longest side, saved as a jpeg at a setting 10 or higher. Please include your own name in each file name (all entries will then be assigned a random catalogue number of judging). All entrants must be ready to supply a high resolution image suitable for printing in media and exhibition display, if asked, within 7 days of judging completion
  42. There are no alternatives available for prize winners
  43. Winners will be published online on www.thepanoawards.com
  44. No late entries accepted after the pre-advertised late period
  45. Entry fees and prizes are quoted in USD, currency conversions are on screen at point of entry. The EPSON International Pano Awards does not account or have any liability for any participants' bank fees and charges that may be levied in currency conversion and currency transaction by the participating bank or institution. Prizes are paid in USD, currency conversions to local currency are at winner's expense at the time of conversion
  46. The EPSON International Pano Awards decisions are final. Right of rejection and or right of refusal are at the discretion of the event organizers and can happen at any time
  47. Entry receipts for the competition are stored in your account details. Your purchase receipt will be listed there
  48. Judges, sponsors, entry fees and prizes may be changed without notice up to the closing date of the competition.
  49. All entries are subject to the laws of Australia and the state of South Australia
  50. All terms and conditions subject to change without notice


The Amateur Competition

  1. The EPSON International Pano Amateur Awards Competition (the 'Competition') is open to all Amateur Photographers, Student Photographers and Non Professional Photographers. Winners will be asked to prove their non-professional status
  2. By entering the Competition, You accept these Competition Rules and their Terms and Conditions.
  3. Closing Date: Entries and the Entry Fee must be submitted by Friday 20th April 2012. Late entries will be accepted until Saturday 28th April 2012. Late entry fees apply.
  4. Entry fees are US$18 per image, US$32 for two (2) images, US$42 for three (3) images, US$48 for four (4) images and US$10 for each additional image. There is no restriction on the number of entries per entrant
  5. To enter, you must upload your Entry(s) at the following website: www.thepanoawards.com (the 'Website'), following the on-screen instructions carefully.
  6. Entrants may enter as many images as you wish (the 'Entry' or 'Entries') in the Competition. Each Entry must be entered into a Category. Entrants may enter all their Entries into one Category, or either of the two (2) Categories.
  7. Entrants must upload their Entries as digital files at www.thepanoawards.com and comply with the following specifications:
    • sRGB colour space;
    • Measure 3000 pixels on the longest side
    • Be saved as a JPEG at a setting of 10 or higher
  8. Winning Entrants must also be able to provide a high resolution digital file suitable for printing if required, within 7 days of judging completion
  9. Judging will be 'blind'. No names or other indicators are allowed in or on the Entry that could indicate who is the author of the Entry.
  10. Entries will be judged by nominated judges. Each Entry will be scored by 5 separate judges.
  11. The judging process is as follows:
  12. Each Entry will be judged in its category and the judges' scores will be averaged to produce a final score
  13. The Entry with the highest final score within each Category will be deemed the Category winner
  14. In the case of a category tie, the judges' 5 individual scores for each Entry will be added together to produce a score tie calculation. The Entry with the highest score tie calculation will be deemed the winner
  15. In the event that Entries in a Category are still tied at the end of the judging process, those images will be re-judged by a further independent judging panel to produce the winner
  16. Winners will be published on-line at www.thepanoawards.com
  17. The winner from each category will be selected and announced in 2012 on a date to be determined
  18. Judges, sponsors, entry fees and prizes may be changed without notice up to the closing date of the competition.
  19. All EPSON International Pano Amateur Awards "general terms and conditions" are in the rules of the main EPSON International Pano Awards Open competition.
  20. All terms and conditions are subject to change without notice.



By Clicking "I Agree" you are agreeing to abide by The International Pano Awards Competition Rules.
I Agree         I Disagree



Join our mailing list  
© The International Pano Awards | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Competition Rules | About Us