RULES
Are you the winner this year?
Submit your best and most impressive underwater images taken between November 2nd, 2023, and November 1st, 2024, for the World ShootOut competition.
After the competition, a digital album will be created and distributed to all participants. Please carefully review the rules and guidelines for each category before submitting your images or videos.
Categories:
1. 5 Best Images
2. Wide Angle
3. Macro & Super Macro
4. Amateurs
5. UW Fashion
6. Black Water
7. Video Clips of the World
8. Environmental
9. Best Picture of the Year
Registration and image uploads will be accepted until November 1st, 2024.
Upload Images
1. Images submitted to any category must comply with the specific category requirements outlined on the respective category's page.
2. Images should be saved in JPEG format with a maximum dimension of 1,500 pixels.
3. During the judging process, Participants who reach the semi-final stages will be asked to provide original image files in RAW and JPEG formats using any online transfer service. These files are required for validation purposes, and failure to provide them upon request will result in disqualification.
2. Images should be saved in JPEG format with a maximum dimension of 1,500 pixels.
3. During the judging process, Participants who reach the semi-final stages will be asked to provide original image files in RAW and JPEG formats using any online transfer service. These files are required for validation purposes, and failure to provide them upon request will result in disqualification.
General Rules
1. Submit your best and most impressive underwater images taken anywhere.
2. All competition registration and image submissions must be completed through the competition website by November 1st, 2024.
3. Upon registration, each participant will receive a unique participation number, which should be used to log in and upload the images submitted to the competition.
4. All competition categories are open to all participants, except for the Amateurs category, which does not allow images taken with DSLR or Mirrorless camera systems.
5. Images submitted to any category must comply with the specific category requirements outlined on the respective category's page.
6. Images submitted to the competition must be taken underwater or half-half (half above water, half below water).
1. Submit your best and most impressive underwater images taken anywhere.
2. All competition registration and image submissions must be completed through the competition website by November 1st, 2024.
3. Upon registration, each participant will receive a unique participation number, which should be used to log in and upload the images submitted to the competition.
4. All competition categories are open to all participants, except for the Amateurs category, which does not allow images taken with DSLR or Mirrorless camera systems.
5. Images submitted to any category must comply with the specific category requirements outlined on the respective category's page.
6. Images submitted to the competition must be taken underwater or half-half (half above water, half below water).
7. For the Best Picture of the Year category, you can submit photos that have been submitted to other categories.
8. Image Editing Guidelines:
Minor post-processing adjustments are permitted to enhance the visual quality of images. These include:
• Colour and contrast adjustments, Backscatter removal, cropping up to 15% of the original frame, Minor blemish or flaw removal, Subtle background consolidation (e.g., darkening distracting areas, but not adding or removing significant elements).
However, any editing that fundamentally alters the reality of the captured scene or introduces artificial elements is strictly prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to:
• Moving, adding, or removing significant subjects (models, marine life, objects).
• Compositing elements from multiple separate photographs (except as explicitly allowed in Rule 9).
• Creating simulated or artificial scenes that did not exist during capture.
• Extensive manipulation that misrepresents the natural behaviour or appearance of the subject or its environment.
9. In-Camera Overlays:
Images created through in-camera multiple exposures or overlays are acceptable only if all exposures are captured underwater during a single dive. The photographer must be able to provide the original, unedited raw files for all contributing exposures upon request. Simulated overlays created through post-processing are not permitted.
10. Disqualification for Unethical or Unnatural Practices:
The judging panel reserves the right to disqualify any photograph that, upon thorough investigation, is deemed to have violated ethical wildlife photography practices or depicts an unnatural or simulated scenario. This includes, but is not limited to:
• Manipulation: Significant digital manipulation that misrepresents the original scene, the subject's natural behavior, or creates an artificial reality. This extends beyond standard adjustments and includes introducing non-existent elements or significantly altering existing ones.
• Disturbance of Wildlife: Evidence of moving animals from their natural habitat for the photograph, any action that demonstrably stressed or negatively impacted the subject's well-being, or using practices like baiting (unless explicitly permitted under specific competition guidelines and ethically conducted).
• Environmental Harm: Photographs taken in a manner that is detrimental to environmental conservation, including damage to habitats, disturbance of sensitive ecosystems, or violation of local regulations.
• Simulated or Staged Scenarios: Photographs that appear to depict events or interactions that were artificially created or staged for the photograph and did not occur naturally in the underwater environment will not be accepted. Images showing the animal in an unnatural environment will not be accepted, even if the photographer finds it like that. Of course, it is up to the judges to decide.
The judges' decision in such matters is final. Entrants may be required to provide original files - 3 photos in running order before the submitted image and 3 pictures after - unedited, metadata, or additional information (including descriptions of the photography process) to support their submitted images' authenticity and ethical provenance.
11. Authority of Organizers and Judges:
The organizers and judges possess the full authority to determine whether a photograph exhibits excessive manipulation, depicts a simulated or unnatural scenario, or violates ethical guidelines. Based on these assessments, their decision to disqualify a photograph or photographer is final and indisputable. This authority extends to interpreting these rules and making judgments based on the overall spirit and intent of the competition, which emphasizes genuine underwater photography and respect for the marine environment.
12. AI Usage Prohibition: We want to emphasize that using AI (Artificial Intelligence) in any form for image creation, enhancement, or manipulation is absolutely forbidden in this year's competition.
At World ShootOut, we value the traditional artistry and skill of underwater photography. Thus, all submitted images must be the result of conventional photography techniques and void of any AI-generated content.
13. Environmental Conservation Commitment:
By registering for the competition, each participant agrees to a strict environmental conservation commitment, obliging them to adhere to all environmental conservation regulations and demonstrate utmost respect for the underwater world while capturing images or videos. This commitment applies to all participants engaging in scuba diving, free diving, or snorkelling. Participants understand and accept that they are solely responsible for their behavior underwater while capturing images and that any damage to the protected underwater world, including the disruption of natural habitats, provocation of marine life through touching, feeding, or disturbing, or any other action that negatively impacts the environment, is strictly prohibited and will result in immediate disqualification.
14. Production Team Discretion:
The production team reserves the right to disqualify participants who violate these rules, contradict the spirit of the competition (including the emphasis on genuine and ethical underwater photography), or for any other reason deemed appropriate by the production team to ensure the integrity and fairness of the event. This includes concerns regarding the authenticity and naturalness of submitted images.
15. Original Authorship:
Submitting images under a photographer's name who did not personally capture them is strictly forbidden. The competition is conducted individually, and the highest ethical standards of authorship and originality must be followed. Any violation of this rule will result in immediate disqualification.
16. Finality of Jury Decisions:
The jury's decisions are final and binding in all aspects of the competition, including, but not limited to, judging, rule interpretation, and disqualifications. They cannot be challenged.
17. Any legal issues resulting in lawsuits shall be exclusively held at the Tel Aviv courthouse.
Awards
• All participants will receive participation certificates upon the conclusion of the competition.
• Nominees and winners will receive special certificates.
• At the end of the competition, a digital album will be produced and sent to all participants, available for free download.
• All participants will receive participation certificates upon the conclusion of the competition.
• Nominees and winners will receive special certificates.
• At the end of the competition, a digital album will be produced and sent to all participants, available for free download.
Prizes:
1. The final list of prizes will be published on the competition website on January 2nd, 2025. Prizes listed before this date may vary and cannot be considered final.
2. The prizes are awarded to the winners personally, and only the winners are permitted to use them. Selling prizes is strictly prohibited.
3. Dive safaris and trips awarded as prizes do not include air travel, taxes, or other expenses unless the relevant sponsor states otherwise.
4. Prizes do not include shipment and potential import tax fees in participants' home countries.
5. During the award ceremony, symbolic vouchers or letters will be presented to the winners, while the voucher sponsor will provide the actual prizes later. The sponsor is responsible for the prize announced in each category.
6. The prizes displayed in the categories are the responsibility of the sponsors and are subject to change.
Use of Photographs and Video Clips
By participating in the competition, participants agree that the submitted photos and videos in all categories may be used or reproduced for media coverage of the event and for promoting future competitions across all media channels, including TV, the internet, written publications, and more.
The competition organizers reserve the right to utilize the images and videos submitted to the competition for publishing a competition album, calendars, and any other purposes that promote future competitions or are deemed useful by the production team.
Submitted materials will indefinitely remain in the producers' archives without requiring further permission for usage.
When applicable, photo and video credits will be given to the photographer.
Submission of materials and participation in the competition automatically implies acceptance of all the above terms.
No additional written or verbal permissions from the photographer will be required for the described use of images.
Rights of Materials
By signing the official competition registration form, participants declare they are the rightful owners of all copyrights to the submitted images for the World ShootOut competition. They assert that they produced the images and that they possess the rights to sell, distribute, rent, or broadcast them in any way or form, including for private and commercial use worldwide.
In the case of images featuring models, the photographer must have a signed model release, allowing World ShootOut to use these materials for promotional purposes across all media channels.
Signing the official competition registration form signifies the photographer's agreement to the above-stated rules.
Good Luck
