Help us continue to showcase great photography in Sydney.
Join us as we bring great photography by emerging and established photographers that explores ideas and our world through an annual festival of exhibitions, workshops and conversations led by Australian and international artists and thought-leaders. Head On Photo Festival is presented by the not-for-profit Head On Foundation.
*Please note donations are not tax deductable
Enter your best work into the Head On Photo Awards 2020
Win major prizes
2 Overall winners - Portrait and Landscape - $15,000 in cash each
Runners-up - Portrait and Landscape, Australian photographer
Runners-up - Portrait and Landscape, international photographer
All finalists receive a prize, published in a printed catalogue and exhibited in Head On Photo Festival 2020 - all costs covered by Head On
Entry fee
AUD$30 / image (Approximately USD$20)
Become a festival member and enter for AUD$25* (approximately US$17)
Information about the Student award is here
Entries close Sunday 16 February.
2019 Portrait Award Finalist Image Credit: Elizabeth Looker
2019 Landscape Award Finalist Image Credit: Marcin Giba
We have been helping photographers to create, exhibit and inspire since 2004. Since then we have awarded over $650,000 in cash and prizes to photographers all over the world.
The Head On Photo Awards represent a global selection of the best work from emerging and established photographers across three categories;
Portrait | Landscape | Student
The Head On Portrait and Landscape awards are open INTERNATIONALLY to professional, emerging and enthusiast photographers from classical to contemporary styles and the Head On Student Award is open to Australia’s young photographers (school years K-12).
Our anonymous judging ensures each work is selected solely on its merit rather than the celebrity of the photographer.
Entries close Sunday 16 February.
Over 2000 people attended the 2019 Head On Photo Festival launch, where the Head On Photo Award winners were announced.
The Head On Photo Awards exhibitions receive large visitation across two venues, Head On Photo Festival Hub, and Paddington Reservoir Gardens.
Three winners per category will win prizes from a $70,000 prize pool including $30,500 in cash.
We would like to thank all our prize partners over the years for their generous support of the photographic community.
Sony A7R IV with 24mm f1.4 lens
$15,000 in cash
Adobe creative cloud - 12 month subscription
Better Photography - 12 month subscription
Photo Review - 12 month subscription
Photobook Australia credit
Exhibition and promotion during and after Head On Photo Festival 2020
Adobe creative cloud - 12 month subscription
Better Photography - 12 month subscription
Photo Review - 12 month subscription
Photobook Australia credit
Exhibition and promotion during and after Head On Photo Festival 2020
Adobe creative cloud - 12 month subscription
Better Photography - 12 month subscription
Photo Review - 12 month subscription
Photobook Australia credit
Exhibition and promotion during and after Head On Photo Festival 2020
Fujifilm GFX50 R with GF50mm f3.5 lens
$15,000 in cash
Adobe creative cloud - 12 month subscription
Better Photography - 12 month subscription
Photo Review - 12 month subscription
Photobook Australia credit
Exhibition and promotion during and after Head On Photo Festival 2020
Fujifilm X-Pro 3 with 35mm f2 lens
Adobe creative cloud - 12 month subscription
Better Photography - 12 month subscription
Photo Review - 12 month subscription
Photobook Australia credit
Exhibition and promotion during and after Head On Photo Festival 2020
Fujifilm X-Pro 3 with 35mm f2 lens
Adobe creative cloud - 12 month subscription
Better Photography - 12 month subscription
Photo Review - 12 month subscription
Photobook Australia credit
Exhibition and promotion during and after Head On Photo Festival 2020
Entries close Sunday 16 February.
Curators walkthrough 2019 Portrait Prize Photo: Stephen Godfrey
The Head On Photo Awards Finalists’ exhibitions will be open to the public 2-17 May at the Festival Hub in Paddington, Sydney. The Festival Hub is at the heart of the festival where talks, tours and school excursions take place; in 2019, the Hub attracted over 12,000 visits. Head On team curates, designs and produce the exhibitions and the Festival covers all associated costs (once you enter your image, we do the rest).
Each year we produce a limited-edition 120-page printed catalogue of the Finalists’ work. The high quality, 20x20cm hardback book contains a full page for each photograph. It is available for purchase at the Festival hub or on our online store.
Having difficulty choosing the right images to enter into photo awards?
Join our presenters; Head On Photo Festival Creative Director, Moshe Rosenzveig OAM and past Head On Photo Award winners Chris Round and Lauren Horwood discussed tips when entering photo competitions and answered questions. This session was recorded on 12 February 2020
To get free access the webinar login or create a free account on our site.
Entries close Sunday 16 February.
Work is judged anonymously; no identifying details of the photographer will be visible to the judges to ensure that the celebrity of the photographer and/or the subject of the image does not affect the selection process.
The judging panel is comprised of leaders in the Australian and international photography communities and represents all aspects of the photography world including curators, picture editors, photographers, educators and other industry leaders.
Before joining National Geographic, Johnson was the director of photography at The New Yorker where her work was widely recognised, earning awards from the American Society of Magazine Editors; Awards of Excellence from the Society of Publication Designers; and a Peabody, in collaboration with Human Rights Watch and the photographer Platon.
Johnson received a BA in American Literature from Barnard College and completed MA coursework in American Studies at Columbia University.
She serves on the boards of the Alexia Foundation and the W. Eugene Smith Fund and was a Jury Chair in the 2018 World Press Photo Contest.
Erdmann works as a freelance writer, specialising in the field of photography
She is a freelance editor of Leica Fotografie International and her texts also appear regularly in various publications and exhibition catalogues such as Arte Magazine, EIKON magazine and Halle4, gute aussichten, Germany’s most significant competition for photography graduates, Deichtorhallen, one of the largest exhibition venues of its kind in Europe.
Renée is best known for her in-depth work focusing on the disadvantaged and those who would otherwise not be heard. In 2007, her ability to produce photographs with profound emotional resonance and sensitivity earned her the Pulitzer Prize for feature photography.
She was also a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2013 and has received dozens of national and international honours, including the World Understanding Award from Pictures of the Year International (POYi).
Moshe Rosenzveig OAM is the founder and Creative Director of Head On Photo Festival.
Moshe has over 40 years’ experience in the media as a photographer, award-winning television producer/director (SBS TV) and curator. He has held lecturing positions at the University of Technology (UTS), the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS) and others. He has also sat on judging panels for various competitions including The Walkleys, Tokyo Photography Prize, Sydney’s Art & About and is the lead judge for Head On Photo Awards.
In 2018, Moshe received an Order of Australia Medal for services to the arts.
Erik is Editor-at-large for GUP Chief editor for the print edition of GUP Magazine, the international platform for creative contemporary photography, based in Amsterdam (NL).
He has been closely involved with the selection and production of the annual catalogue GUP New and its European version, Fresh Eyes. He also curated exhibitions with emerging artists based in The Netherlands, in festivals and galleries around the world.
As a freelance writer/critic Erik has contributed texts to several other international print magazines and blogs, including British Journal of Photography, 1000Words and World Press Photo's 'Witness.'
Amanda Love is currently on the board of Artspace and a past board member of the Biennale of Sydney for over 10 years
A former arts lawyer, Love practised in Sydney with Allen Allen and Hemsley and in Hong Kong with Deacons. She has been an independent adviser and arts advocate for over 20 years and her expertise includes Australian and international modern and contemporary art.
Love has played a founding role in the now flourishing contemporary benefaction groups at the AGNSW (Contemporary Collection Benefactors) and MCA (Directors Working Circle).
Irina Chmyreva is Co-founder and Artistic Director of PhotoVisa, Russia’s most significant international photography biennial outside Moscow.
Irina has curated more than a hundred exhibitions worldwide and collaborated with several state and private museums in Moscow and other Russian cities, presenting both national and international contemporary artists.
She has curated the Project in Support for Photography in Russia for the IRIS Foundation and was a part of the team behind FotoFest 2012 Biennial, Contemporary Russian Photography: 1950s-2012 in Houston, USA.
Adam first gained recognition for his work in 2009 when he embarked on a sustained survey of the US-led war in Afghanistan. Since that time, he has worked internationally with a focus on conflict, contributing to The New York Times, Time Magazine and National Geographic, amongst others.
Over the years he has been the recipient of awards from World Press Photo, Pictures of the Year International, Photo District News, National Portrait Gallery of Australia, American Photography and his photographs have been included in several solo and group exhibitions worldwide.
Charles is a Sydney based photographer with over forty-year experience.
He is an AIPP Master Photographer II, was NSW Illustrative Photographer of the Year in 2013 and 2015, is a Fellow of the Australia Photographic Society, and is Artist in Residence at St Catherine’s College in Waverley. He co-founded and curated AddOn since its inception in 2011.
Charles has been a finalist in many prestigious Australian and international competitions including Head On Photo Awards, the Moran Prize, NPPP, Blake Prize, Ulrick and Schubert, Shoot the Chef, CLIP Award, Photography Masters Cup, International Photo Awards, and International Travel Photographer of the Year.
Ellie began her career in the arts working with emerging artists at Global Gallery. She then spent four years as Curator and Manager of the Olsen Gallery; Works on Paper, Small Paintings and Sculpture Gallery.
Ellie has managed various photographic and immersive artists, such as Tamara Dean and featured on the board of VADEA (Visual Arts and Design Education Association) as Director of Professional Learning.
She is now a Photographic & Digital Media and Visual Arts educator and is also the Director of Lucida Learning, an innovative learning platform for both students and teachers.
Vignes Balasingam is the founder and director of the OBSCURA Festival of Photography.
He is a commercial photographer, curator, and produces book projects. He’s a nominator of the World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass and the 6x6 Global Talent Programme. He’s curated works for festivals and shoes across Southeast Asia, Australia and the EU.
Andy Adams is an independent curator + writer whose work explores current ideas in visual culture. He directs FlakPhoto Projects, a digital/arts lab focused on promoting photography in all of its forms. Find him on Instagram @FlakPhoto.
Image: Kevin Miyazaki
Entries close Sunday 16 February.
Head On Portrait Award 2019 Finalist Photo credit: Stewart Leishman
The image must feature or reflect the essence of a person or group of people and must be photographed by the Applicant. Group portraits, self-portraits and collages are accepted.
Head On Landscape Award 2019 Finalist Photo credit: Max Mason-Hubers
Our approach to ‘landscape’ is very broad and encompasses ‘large vista’ images of the natural environment (land or sea), urban or industrial settings. It may include people, but these should be ‘incidental’ rather than the main subject matter.
Entries close Sunday 16 February.
Entries close Sunday 16 February.
