2022 Birth Photographer of The Year

brought to you by Atkins Lab

Image by Laura Brink

Read the Rules Become a Member

Live Judging Starts In…

Day(s)

Hour(s)

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Entries Now Closed

Prize Money

1st Place- $750 + trophy
2nd Place- $500 + trophy
3rd Place- $250 + trophy

We are so grateful to be able to offer prize money this year due to our amazing sponsor Atkins Pro Lab.
*image by Rianna Carlos

Certificates

We are upgrading from a digital competition, thanks to Atkins Lab, by printing certificates for each Bronze, Silver, Gold, Top 20, Top 5 and Highest Scoring Image award winner. These will be mailed out to each entrant. (shipping additional)
*image by Hanna Hill

Merits

Bronze = 1 merit point
Silver = 2 merit points
Gold = 3 merit points

10 points Associate Professional Birth Photographer
25 points Master Professional Birth Photographer
50 points + 5 gold awards Grand Master Professional Birth Photographer

*image by Colby Tulachanh

Birth Photographer of the Year Awards has been meticulously curated to cover as many bases as we possibly can.

What makes BPOTY Awards so unique is each image is judged and scored individually. This means that our judges are not selecting their favourite images from a gallery of thousands. Your image will not be overlooked. Did I mention, judging is live streamed in real time…

Our judges are required to attend an intensive judges training program that requires them to demonstrate certain qualities, learn our rubric intricately, as well as participate in mock judges trainings. This is an in depth commitment. We do this to ensure there is consistency in judging, but also to allow for diversity. It seems like a paradox- and you’re right, it is.

Images that differ in score from judge to judge more than 10 points are able to be challenged. Meaning we want to discuss your image and find out why one judge sees it differently than another.

Not only are we looking for a Birth Photographer of the Year, but we also want to honour each artist individually. Every award won will receive a certificate of authenticity commemorating their award winning image. You don’t have to win, to win- iykyk, right?

As a member, every award collected (bronze, silver and gold) gives you merit points. Once your merit points accumulate, your Honours status changes from Professional Birth Photographer to Associate Professional Birth Photographer, Master Professional Birth Photographer and so on. Keep reading to learn more about Honours.

All of our judging is done live. So you can watch it in real time or catch the replay forever hosted here on our website.

We aren’t just looking for stunning images, but also smart and saavy business people. Birth Photographer of the Year is more than a great photographer, this is the pinnacle of our niche.

Our judging panel is constantly changed to ensure diversity of judging. Each section of the judging will also require a new panel. Meaning live judges will not assess semi-finalists and semi-finalist judges will not asses finalist portfolios. Therefore, there is no bias.

The entire awards process is anonnymous. What bias?

Become a Member

Discounted Entries

When you are a member you can enjoy a massive savings of up to $50 on entry fees on your submissions. Who doesn't like saving a buck!

Enrollment in the Honours Program

All members are automatically enrolled in the Birth Photographer of the Year Awards Honours Program. This means each award earned will accumulate into your Honours Merit points.

BECOME A MEMBER

How to Enter

Select Your Images For Submission

To understand the awards process, you can view the Rules tab on the website for some insight as to how the judges are judging images, how to select an award-winning image, and other various resources. Please make sure your images are exported with the correct file format found on the Rules page.

Login

You will need an account to submit your images. You can either create a free account or upgrade to a Conservatory account for additional education, monthly coaching, access to the merit system, and discounted entry fees.

Submit Your Entries

Press any of the submit images buttons on the page. You can submit up to 5 images and opt for feedback for an extra fee for up to all 5 of your submissions. You’ll receive a pop-up message that your images have been submitted successfully. If there are any issues, we will contact you so you can revise your submission.

Watch the Live judging

Completely optional but oh so rewarding, our live judging is one of the biggest things that sets The Birthphotographer of the Year Competition apart from others. The criteria and feedback are second to none and one of the most encouraging parts of submitting images to awards.

This is not your average photography competition.
Before submission, please ensure you read all of the rules. Submissions are final.

read the rules

Why Should You Enter The Birth Photographer of the Year Competition

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Feedback

In the Birth Photographer of the Year, we offer unparalleled feedback as you’ve never seen it before. All of our judging is live-streamed, giving you the opportunity to follow along live. To receive feedback, there is a $10 fee for for each image selected for feedback.

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Media Exposure

We contact media for you with a Media Release to help your SEO links and backlinks to be seen. There is nothing better than sharing a win with the world.
You deserve it.

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Meet New People

I have forged some of the BEST relationships with people I have met during an awards process. Get ready to create a new hub of people that believe in you and love you.

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Beginner Friendly

If you have never entered a competition before and have no idea where to start, this is the place to start. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. With no monetary investment, you’ll leave knowing exactly what you can do to improve your images and make them even better. This leaves you more confident to enter the second part, enabling you to be able to bet on yourself.

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ONE Image Is Judged At A Time

No more having judges look at hundreds of entries and picking their fave based on the others. This is designed to SEE the artist that is in front of judges. We are basing our feedback on what is in front of us, not what it should have been or could have been.

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Judging Diversity

The team has curated a team of judges that represent diversity and give unbiased feedback. Our panel at all times will consist of judges from all different views, walks of life, and experience. This competition was created to discover new talented artists. (pssst that’s you!)

We understand that sometimes photographers can be die-hards with their technical skill, so a challenge system is in place to help bring us back to earth to remind us that sometimes the moment is worth more than the technical skill. Diversity and unbiased opinions are important to use to ensure fair judging.