WHAT ARE THE MASTERS?

• A local award for the best wedding photography in the USA, Canada and Mexico
• A new round every three months and the photographers with the most awards at the end of the year are the Masters of Wedding Photography
• The photographer with the most awards in a single round will win $500. Every round! In the event of a tie for first place, the $500 will be equally distributed between the respective contestants.
• A jury consisting of international top wedding photographers (ouside of North America)
• Developed and supported by wedding photographers
• A community of wedding photographers willing to learn from and with eac hother in our FB Group
• A good place for bridal couples to find the best wedding photographers

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Please also take a look at our websites for:

the Netherlands, Belgium & Lux / Masters of Wedding Photography NL, Be & Lux

Germany, Austria & Swiss / Masters of German Wedding Photography

Italy / Masters of Italian Wedding Photography

UK & Ireland / Masters of Wedding Photography UK & IE

WHY AN AWARD FOR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY?

The Masters of Wedding Photography was established in 2014 in the Netherlands because wedding photographers felt there was a need for a local award to appreciate the best wedding photography in the country. Since then, the Masters has expanded to Germany, Italy, the UK and from 2018 also in North America. 

It's an educational experience for the photographers to participate in a competition, because before submitting you have to take a good look at your own work and break down your own images. There are even online groups of photographers who help each other with choosing the right images for a contest, just to learn from each other. After submission, your photos are judged at the highest level. If you win an award, it is a wonderful appreciation for your work, a sign that you are on the right track and a great marketing tool. Photographers can also draw a great deal of inspiration from other winning photos, and learn from them.

For brides & grooms it's important to have a clear distinction in quality between the many wedding photographers. The Masters contest is a wonderful way to make that distinction clear to everyone looking for an exceptionally good wedding photographer.

How does this contest work?

THERE'S NO RISK TO ENTER - Winning photos will be presented at the Masters website and it's social media channels.

All photographers retain their copyright.

The Jury panel for this contest is comprised of three international wedding photographers outside of North America (Cananda, USA & Mexico).  Each juror has consistently received accolades for their craft from the international wedding community.  Their experience, dedication to the wedding community and urge to continuously raise the bar across the industry qualifies them to evaluate submissions reliably and without bias. Masters Awards will be awarded to photos that our judges find exceptional. The elements used to assess each submission will include but not be limited to: impact, emotion, atmosphere, creativity, use of light, composition and post-processing techniques. This contest aims to represent all styles of wedding photography.

Individual entries will be assessed anonymously during the evaluation process. In addition to the identity of each contestant not being known to the jury, each juror will be evaluating each submission independently. There will not be a discussion or assessment of the entries as a group. The decision of each juror is also concealed from the other jurors.
A judge has to say YES or NO to an image. When two or three judges have said YES, then that image wins a Masters award. 
If an image wins a Masters Award, it will be added to an online gallery on this website and on social media.
The photographers with the most awards after one year will win some prizes presented by our sponsors.
In the event of a tie for first place, the prizes for first and second place will be equally distributed between the respective contestants.

IMAGE REQUIREMENTS:

A photo will be disqualified for one of the following reasons:
When it contains logos, text, or borders. When it is made at a photography workshop, seminar, gathering or when it is made at a commercial or editorial session. When it contains added content (you are allowed to clone out small things). When the image contains violence, sex, drug use or other things people might find offensive.

Images must be from weddings shot in any year and sized as 960x640, 640x960 or 640x640 in jpeg or jpg format
The photos should be taken of an actual bridal couple, during a love shoot, engagement shoot, after-wedding or trash-the-dress shoot. Also images from guests attending the wedding can be submitted. 

We look forward to receiving your images!

How are the photos judged?

• All entries are assessed anonymously, which means that the photographer’s name is not visible, and the jurors are not discussing photos together.
• When 2 or 3 jurors vote in favor of a particular photo, then this photo is presented with an award.
• A juror cannot see which photo has received a vote from another juror.
• A juror can vote for up to 15% of the entries.
• There is no minimum with respect to the number of votes per juror, so only the best images will be awarded

WHY PARTICIPATE IN THE MASTERS ?

• It's fun & you'll learn from it.
• The photographer with the most awards in a single round will win €500. Every round! In the event of a tie for first place, the €500 will be equally distributed between the respective contestants.
• The Masters is an independent award for the best wedding photography in North America that runs for a full year.
• At the end of the year (after 4 rounds), photographers with the most awards will get great promotion and win great prizes, which are made available by our partners and sponsors.
• You can enter up to 22 photos every round. For the first five photos you pay €10 (around 12 USD) per photo. The next five photos are free of charge. For photo 11-15 you pay €10 each again and photo 16-22 are free again.
• After the winning photos have been announced, they will be extensively promoted on our website, social media channels and by our partners in the wedding industry and photography business.
• After winning an award, the winning photographer may use the MASTERS logo for communication purposes.
• Bridal couples can search our website for photographers with the most awards.

WHEN ARE THE MASTERS ?

Every 3 months, every season, every year.

Check out the Masters North America Facebook Page

Check out the Masters of Wedding Photography international Instagram