Press Pack Spring 2021

This page provides information about the awards ready for you to use as needed. You will also find images at the bottom ready to use along with graphics and posters.

The Documentary Family Awards is currently open for a new round of submissions with 11 categories to enter and an all-new panel of Live Judges!

Submission Deadline May 18, 2021
Late Submission Deadline June 1, 2021

Closes @ 11:59pm PDT (GMT-7)

Why is the Documentary Family Awards such a unique photo contest?

The leading photo competition of it’s genre – the DFA concludes each round of awards with a multi-day live-streamed judging event where top photographers in the industry critique the finalist images and award Top 10 photos in each category.

And anyone can enter!  Regardless of age, level of experience or education, the Documentary Family Awards encourages every photographer to use a FREE PHOTO ENTRY as an opportunity for your work to be recognized and celebrated.

The unifying theme of the Documentary Family Awards is the celebration of “family.” Family in all the different ways it is lived, cherished and experienced. “Family to us means sharing some portion of life with the ones you love; sharing laughter and sadness, tragedy and victory, success and regret, compassion and support. Family encompasses the people we came into this world with and the larger community that holds us together. The sweet simplicities and deeper complexities found in the comradeship of humanity.”

Open categories

1. Night Time
2. Teenagers
3. Joy
4. Faith & Religion
5. Pandemic
6. Nothing Is Better Than Real Life
7. Birth
8. Cell Phone Only
9. Environmental Portrait
10. Photo Series
11. Young Photographers (free to enter, open only to emerging photographers 18 and under)

Visit the DFA website to take a look at previously awarded photographs and submit your free entry during this round of awards! 

Where to submit

Call For Entries: https://documentaryfamilyawards.com/call-for-entries/

Why You Should Enter

• First entry is free
• Access to live stream judging providing hours of educational discussions directly related to the documentary family photography genre
• $3800 USD in cash prizes
• Best Overall Award winners receive $500 (1st place), $350 (2nd place) and $250 (3rd place)
• and free entries into the next award cycle
• 1st Place Award winners in each category receive $250 USD and free entries into the next award cycle
• Judges Choice Awards receive free entries into the next award cycle
• Permanent online gallery published featuring all award winners, honorable mentions and finalist images
• Customized Press-release for digital or print media sent to every award winner
• Individual award profile created for all winners on the DFA website featuring their work
• Feature Interviews and Photographer Spotlights regularly published in the DFA photo digest newsletter as well as featured across the DFA’s social media channels
• Video On Demand access to the final round of judging of the March 2021 Call For Entries
• Digital Award Badge for all winners and honorable mentions for use on their website or social media
• Your photograph(s) published in the 2021 year-end magazine
• Eyes on your work and the opportunity for critique from top photographers, educators and editors in the industry

Meet Our Live-stream Guest Judges

The final round of judging to select the top 10 winners + honorable mentions in each category, will be live-judged across multiple platforms by the following three finalist judges.

The Documentary Family Awards believes in the educational value of a transparent judging process. Our final round of judging is live-streamed to the public, providing a thoughtful discussion around photography and the work submitted. In this three-day event, our three guest judges will select the Top 10 Winners and Honorable Mentions in each category.

Meet Our Preliminary Round Guest Judges

The Documentary Family Awards are honoured to have the following lineup of guest judges reviewing every submission we receive. Their selections are sent to the final round judges for the live-stream portion of the awards.

Posters & Graphic Downloads

These resources can be used as part of Facebook, Instagram, Newsletter or blog posts.

To download click on an image. After the full-size image loads click and drag the image to your desktop or control + click (Mac) / right-click (PC) and save the image.

The following photos can be used for announcements about the Documentary Family Award only.

Full credit must be given to the photographer as captioned. If you wish to use any of the following images for any other purpose or are unsure if you have the rights to do so, please email us at support@documentaryfamilyawards.com.

To download click on an image. After the full-size image loads click and drag the image to your desktop or control + click (Mac) / right-click (PC) and save the image.