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WHEN ARE ENTRIES OPEN?

The 2025 New Zealand Amateur Photography Awards are open from 9am Monday 25th May through until 11:59pm Sunday 21st June 2026 [NZST]

WHO CAN ENTER?

Any Amateur Photographers living in New Zealand at the time of entry.

You CANNOT enter the New Zealand Amateur Awards if:

• You are an NZIPP Accredited Professional Photographer
• You have previously entered the NZIPP Iris Awards (unless you have only ever entered the Student category)
• You are entering the 2026 Iris Awards
• You live outside of New Zealand

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO ENTER?

$20 per entry

or

$10 per entry for Under 18s

(Entrant needs to be 17years old or younger on 1st August 2026 in order to enter as Under 18)

Please note – the entry fee is PER ENTRY not per entrant

NEW IN 2026 – You can now opt to add on written feedback about your entry from the judges for an additional $10 per entry

HOW MANY ENTRIES CAN I SUBMIT?

There are no restrictions on the number of entries you can submit within a category or within the competition – so a many as you like!

You cannot enter an image/entry into more than one category. You also cannot enter an image into the 2026 NZAPA that you entered into the a previous year of the NZAPA

ARE THERE RESTRICTIONS ON WHEN AND WHERE THE PHOTO WAS TAKEN?

NO, there are no time restrictions on when the photo was taken, and no it does not have to have been captured in New Zealand. You cannot however enter a photo that you entered into the a previous year of the NZAPA.

CAN I ADD NON-PHOTOGRAPHIC ELEMENTS?

NO – EVERYTHING in your entry needs to have been photographed by you. This includes any borders, textures, text etc….

HOW DO I PRESENT A SERIES?

In ANY of the categories you are able to present a series of images as a single entry e.g a diptych or triptych. Please be aware that as this is a digital competition and adding a large number of images to a series may restrict the judges ability to see the details of your work as they are only allowed to zoom into 100%.

When presenting a series ALL ELEMENTS still need to be photographic. That means you CANNOT create a computer generated colour layer as the background behind your multiple images. In categories that do not allow composites (Nature and Photojournalism) your series of images must be presented on a white background. In any of the other categories you can either a) present your images on a white background; or b) create your background using a photographic element (i.e. something you have photographed yourself).

WHAT SORT OF FILES DO I NEED TO UPLOAD FOR MY ENTRY?

Please save your photo entries as a jpeg with the file size under 20MB for uploading onto the entry system https://nzipp.awardsplatform.com/

Images are viewed for judging in Colour Managed Programmes such as Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop.

While there are no other specific requirements for your files if you are looking for guidance on how to save your image for optimal viewing by the judges these are our recommendations:

Colour Profile – sRGB or Adobe RGB

Dimensions – 3000pixels on the longest side

Resolution – 300dpi

HOW DO I ENTER?

1. Check the global and categories rules, and decide on the best category for your entry

2. Prepare your image for entry in accordance with the rules – see above for reccommended file specifications.

3. Go to https://nzipp.awardsplatform.com/ and log into your account (or create a new account if you haven’t entered before)

4. Click on START ENTRY and follow the instructions to submit your entry

5. If you are entering more than one entry repeat this process until all entries are in your cart

5. Once you are happy with all your entries go to your shopping cart and checkout. Entries are not entered until payment has been made

6. Double check that all your entries have been submitted. Any entry that says “IN PROGRESS” has not been entered and needs to be submitted again and paid for.

7. BEFORE YOU GO – go into your account preferences and make sure Broadcast Emails AND Notifications Emails are enabled. This is how we communicate with you about your entries. If these are not turned on you won’t receive any correspondence from us or any award decals, so you will want to make sure these are turned on!

WHAT COULD I WIN?

If your entry scores 60 points or higher you will receive an award – see NZAPA Scoring Table for more details.

Every Awarded Entry will be given a digital decal which you can use to share and promote your achievement!

If your entry makes the Top 25 from a category you will also receive a digital decal of this achievement

Each Category will receive a 1st, 2nd and 3rd placing.

Category prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place:

Will receive a prize package provided by Photo Warehouse plus a digital decal

The New Zealand Amateur Photographer of the Year will win:

• A Photography Prize Package thanks to our Sponsor Photo Warehouse
• One Year NZIPP Affiliate Membership
• FIVE free entries into the 2027 NZIPP Iris Awards
• a digital decal
• an engraved trophy

CAN I USE AI TOOLS?

Short Answer = it depends

No AI-Generated Images or elements: The competition is focused on photography. Images that are fully generated by AI tools or have any elements created by AI tools are not allowed. e.g using tools such as – generative expand, or AI remove tools are not allowed.

However the use of AI tools in the post-processing of submitted photographs is allowed as long as they meet the global and category rules and under the following conditions:

1. Content-Aware Fill: AI tools that utilize pixels from within the original capture (e.g., content-aware fill, object removal) are permitted. The use of these tools should not significantly alter the fundamental composition or subject matter of the image.
2. Pixel-Based Editing: AI tools that operate by sampling pixels from the original image (such as local adjustments to exposure, colour, or contrast) are allowed. These tools must not introduce elements that were not present in the original scene.
3. Automated Processes: AI tools designed to automate repetitive or technical processes—such as de-noising, sharpening, and skin blurring
4. Manipulation Limitations: AI-based manipulation tools should not be used to excessively alter the original capture to the point where it no longer represents the original captured by the photographer.