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 2010’s Outstanding Contribution winner, Andy Willsher.
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, an Under-18s category 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's head of Creative Media Rob Hunt says: “We're really pleased to be working with Nikon again this year on the NME Photography Awards. NME has an incredible history of publishing some of the most iconic images of bands and live music over its 59-year history. We now want to find the next genius behind the lens and partnering with the most iconic camera company is a perfect match.”
Jeremy Gilbert, group marketing manager at Nikon UK Ltd, adds: “The competition is an ideal platform for us to engage with and celebrate the talents of both aspiring and professional music photographers. We encourage people to capture and share their music experiences through images and ultimately to have fun with their photography.”
Winners in each of the amateur categories will win the Nikon COOLPIX S3100 - a compact camera worth £129.99. And the Grand Prix winner will claim a Nikon D5100 worth £779.99. The professional Photographer of the Year winner will win a Nikon D300S camera and 28-300mm lens worth a total of £2258.98. And the Outstanding Contribution award winner will receive a P300 camera worth £299.99.
