Blog

Every year, we receive questions regarding our annual People, Places & Things Photo Contest. We put together this FAQ to help answer these questions. 

Check out the official rules here!

Q. Contest rules state that photos must be taken within Northeast Wisconsin. What constitutes “Northeast Wisconsin?”

A. For purposes of this contest, we define Northeast Wisconsin as the geographical area bordered by Green Bay to the north, Oshkosh to the south, the entire eastern lakeshore including Door County and Waupaca to the west. 

Q. Contest rules also state that submissions must be from “non-professional” photographers. What does that mean? 

A. For purposes of this contest, we define non-professional photographers as individuals who make less than 50 percent of their total income from photography. Professional photographers would clearly have an edge in a photo contest, and this contest is focused on presenting photos by amateur photographers. However, photo enthusiasts who sell their work as a secondary income are not excluded. 

Q. In what size and format should photos be submitted?

A. Image data for one file must be within 20MB, the recommended format is JPEG/300dpi. 

Q. To what extent can photos be edited?

A. Photos may be processed and edited by camera applications, editing applications, software, etc. Color or black and white photos are both accepted. Please keep in mind, our intent is to celebrate the natural beauty of Northeast Wisconsin’s people, places and things, so heavily manipulated images that distort this are not favored. 

Q. Can I make multiple submissions?

A. Each photographer may submit one image per category (people, places and things) for a total of three images. Please indicate the category in the subject line of your email submission. 

Q. I submitted an image to the “places” category, but it ended up winning in the “things” category. How did that happen?

A. Judges reserve the right to place images in categories other than the one to which they were submitted. If an image is served better in a different category, sometimes judges will move them accordingly. 

Q. How are judges selected?

A. Judges are selected to represent various points of view within the Fox Cities community. Our judges represent small businesses, nonprofits, large corporations and arts organizations. They bring their unique perspectives to the photo judging, which is led by a photographer moderator. The moderator does not vote, but helps the judges by providing technical insight on the images up for discussion. 

Q. How are winners determined?

A. Winners are selected through discussion among all the judges together, guided by a moderator. The grand prize winner is chosen from all photos submitted, regardless of category. That image is removed from further judging. Each category is then addressed individually, with a first, second and third place image selected from each. FOX CITIES Magazine staff does not participate in winner selection. 

Q. When is the judging held?

A. The judging is planned to be conducted in June 2024, after the submission deadline. 

Q. Will I receive notification that my photo was not selected as a winner?

A. Due to the volume of submissions received, only photographers of the winning images will be notified. We cannot provide judges’ critique and comments for images other than the award-winning works.

Q. If I win, when will I be notified?

A. Winners will be notified no later than July 1, 2024. 

Have a question not addressed here? Email [email protected] for the answer!