The NME Music Photography Awards with Nikon aims to find the most stunning and original music photography from both amateur and professional photographers.
Entries will be judged by a specially selected expert panel headed by photo director for NME and www.NME.com Marian Paterson, alongside renowned music photographers including Pennie Smith and Jill Furmanovsky and current NME photographer Dean Chalkley.
NME.COM users will be invited to rate the entries throughout the competition and the scores will be considered in the final stage of voting by the panel.
Categories for amateurs consist of Live, Portrait, Reportage, Festivals, as well as categories Age Group 15-17, Age Group 14 and under, and Grand Prix (into which all entries are automatically entered). The categories for professionals are Photographer of the Year and Outstanding Contribution.
The first stage of the competition – calling for entries – is supported with news stories on NME.COM and in the pages of NME. A picture gallery on NME.COM will also showcase some of the best photography from NME’s archive with links to a co-branded competition microsite – www.nme.com/photoawards – which will feature a gallery and top tips for taking a great picture from NME photographers.
Voting will begin in September and will see a shortlist of 20 pictures from each category selected. Nominees will be announced through a news story online and in the magazine.
NME head of PR Nicola Woods says: “The pages of NME and NME.COM show an unrivalled passion for music photography which these awards will celebrate. As well as recognise the most talented professional photographers, we hope this competition will discover a talent for the future.”
Jeremy Gilbert, group marketing manager at Nikon UK Ltd, adds: “Nikon is committed to supporting and recognising the work of photographers and is delighted to be able to engage with an audience passionate about both music and photography. With such an exciting line up of festivals and concerts over the summer we encourage people to enter the competition and share their experiences through photography.”
Winners in each of the amateur categories will win the Nikon COOLPIX S3000 - a compact camera worth £109.99. And the Grand Prix winner will claim a Nikon D5000 worth £639.99. The professional winner will win a Nikon D700 DSLR camera and 24-70mm lens worth a total of £3780.98. And the runner-up will receive a top end COOLPIX camera worth £349.99.
Winning and shortlisted entries will also be exhibited at the O2’s music museum, the British Music Experience.
