BEST OF THE BEST DESTINATION PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST OFFICIAL RULES

featuring wedding, engagement, and couple portraiture from around the world

This competition is sponsored by:

  • JBW Media, Inc. dba Junebug Weddings ("Junebug"), 4425 South Mopac Expy Ste 100 Austin, Texas 78735

Entries will be accepted on the following dates:

The Competition begins July 1st, 2015, at 12:00 am Central Time ("CT") and ends August 3rd 2015, at 11:59 pm CT (the "Entry Deadline").  Entries that are submitted before or after the Entry Deadline will be disqualified.

Who can enter:

  • Anyone may enter providing they are at least 18 years of age or who have reached the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence at the time of entry, whichever is older.
  • Employees of Junebug, as well as the 2015 Best of the Best Destination judges, and their immediate family members (spouse, parent, child, sibling and their respective spouses, regardless of where they live) and parent companies, affiliates and agents of Junebug are not eligible to enter.

By submitting an entry, each Entrant understands and agrees to the following:

  • Each submitted photograph (each, an “Entry”) must be a work of original material taken by the Entrant in its entirety. By entering the Competition, the Entrant represents, acknowledges, and warrants that (i) Entry is their original work created solely by the Entrant, (ii) the Entry does not infringe on the copyright, trademark, moral rights, rights of privacy/publicity or intellectual property rights of any person or entity, (iii) no other party holds any right, title, or claim in the Entry
  • All Entries must have been taken between July 1st, 2013 and August 3rd, 2015.
  • The Entries will be judged in accordance with the Judging Criteria, as defined below.
  • To the extent the Entry depicts any individual, the Entrant represents, acknowledges, and warrants that Entrant has obtained permission from each person appearing in the Entry or, if that person is a minor, permission from that person’s parent or legal guardian, to grant all of the rights listed in these Official Rules, and can make written copies of such permissions available to Junebug upon request.
  • The Entry may not be obscene or indecent, it must not contain defamatory statements, it must not include threats to any person, place, business, or group, it must not invade privacy rights or any other rights of any person, business, or group, and it must not name or depict any third party without his/her permission.
  • The Entry may not depict or encourage any dangerous, life-threatening, or otherwise risky behavior.
  • The maximum number of Entries per Entrant is fifteen (15).

Judging Criteria:

  • Entries will be judged anonymously based on merit only.
  • Junebug membership is not required to enter the competition and will not be used to determine winning Entries.
  • The selection process will consist of multiple rounds of evaluation in which a panel of judges, including Gabe McClintock, Sigit Prasetio and Tito Rikardo of THEUPPERMOST, along with the Junebug Editorial Team, will act as Judges to collectively and anonymously review the Entries and select them based on distinctiveness, skill and artistry.
  • It is recommended that submissions showcase real couples, however styled shoots and workshops will be considered. You can view our 2014 Best of the Best Destination Contest and our contest FAQ page for more information. 
  • The Entry must showcase both the beauty of the destination and the love between the couple (i.e. anniversaries, vacations, engagements, weddings, and honeymoons are eligible).
  • The decisions made by the Judges will be final and binding.

How to submit:

  • Please visit http://junebugweddings.com/photo-contests/best-of-destination/2015/submit, review the checklist and pay the processing fee before submitting. Important note about the security of the submission forms: We use Formstack embedded forms which are served across a protected, 256-bit SSL connection that encrypts the data before it is sent back to their servers. This ensures that any wrong-doer who may be listening to our network traffic is not able to actually read any of the data being submitted within the form.
  • Entries formatted in .jpg measuring at least 1,500 pixels on their long dimension are preferred.
  • All Entry file names must include the appropriate copyright - the business and photographer's name.
  • Entries must be compressed in a .zip file no larger than 20MB, and the zip file name should include the appropriate copyright - the business and photographer's name.
  • Diptychs, triptychs, and similar photo combinations are allowed and will be considered as a single Entry and should be combined into one image file.
  • Entries must be made by an authorized agent of the e-mail address submitted at the time of entry. An "authorized agent" will be defined as the person who is an assigned user of the e-mail address provided by an internet access provider, online service provider, internet domain owner, or other person or organization (e.g., business, educational institution, etc.)

How the Winners will be notified:

Winners will be determined and notified by August 13, 2015. Winners will be notified through the email address provided in their submission form and will also be asked to (i) send a high res version of their image and (ii) approve the caption to be shown in our 2015 Best of the Best Destination Photo Collection. At the discretion of Junebug, Winners may be disqualified for any of the following reasons:

  • The Winner has not complied with the Official Rules
  • The Winner has failed to execute and return any required documents or images within the specified time period
  • The Winner notification is returned as undeliverable

In any of these events, and at Junebug's sole discretion, the Winner will be disqualified and an alternate Entry will be selected in his/her place according to the judging criteria set forth above.

What Winners will receive:

  • Each of the 50 Winners will receive a Winner's badge to display on their website or blog (“Winner’s Badge”) (total retail value $0 USD).
  • The winning Entries will be published on JunebugWeddings.com with a link to the photographer's website or blog (total retail value $0 USD).

Junebug Weddings' Limitation of Liability:

  • By participating, Entrants release, discharge, indemnify, defend and hold harmless Junebug, Fotofafa, and each of their respective partners, agents and their employees, officers, and representatives (the “Released Parties”) from any claims, losses, and damages arising out of or relating to (i) Entrant’s participation in this Competition or any Competition-related activities, (ii) the content in Entrant’s Entry, (iii) any technical errors that may prevent Entrant from submitting an Entry, (iv) unauthorized human intervention in the Competition, (v) errors in the administration of the Competition or the processing of Entries, (vi) the receipt, transfer, use, handling, transportation, storage, hosting, posting, or display in any manner of the Entries, (vii) injury, death, or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from Entrant’s participation in the Competition or the acceptance and use, misuse, or possession of any Winner’s Badge provided hereunder.  Entrant further agrees that in any cause of action, the Released Parties’ liability will be limited to the cost of entering and participating in the Competition, and in no event shall the Released Parties be liable for attorney’s fees.  Entrant waives the right to claim any damages whatsoever, including, but not limited to, punitive, consequential, direct, or indirect damages.  In addition, Junebug and Fotofafa reserve the right to report inappropriate Entries to any applicable law enforcement authorities.
  • Junebug assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, or delay in operation or transmission; communications line failure; theft or destruction of or unauthorized access to Competition entries or entry forms; or alteration of entries or entry forms.
  • Junebug is not responsible for any problems with or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any email entry to be received on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website, human errors of any kind, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to entrants' or any other persons' computers related to or resulting from participation, uploading or downloading of any materials related to this Competition.

General conditions:

  • This Competition is void in any country or province where prohibited.
  • This Competition is subject to federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Certain restrictions may apply.
  • Junebug is not responsible for late, lost, stolen, mutilated, incomplete, illegible, or misdirected email. An Entry will be deemed void if the Judges determine the Entry to not be an original, or if the Entries are illegible, incomplete, damaged, irregular, altered, counterfeit, produced in error or obtained through fraud or theft.
  • Except where prohibited, Entrant agrees that any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of, or connected with, the Competition or the Winner’s Badge” shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the appropriate court located in Travis County, Texas.  All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, Entrant’s rights and obligations, or the rights and obligations of Junebug in connection with the Competition, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of Texas, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of Texas or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than Texas.

Entrants shall:

  1. be bound by these Official Rules;
  2. accept that the decisions of the Judges are final on all matters relating to the Competition; and
  3. if he/she wins, consent that Junebug may use each winner's name, photograph, likeness, and/or voice in any publicity or advertising relating to the Competition or future promotions of the Competition without compensation or approval.

Junebug's right to cancel the Competition:

If for any reason the Competition is not capable of running as planned, due to infection by computer virus, bugs, worms, trojan horses, denial of service attacks, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of Junebug that corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Competition, Junebug reserves the right, at their sole discretion, to disqualify any individual(s) who tamper with the entry process, and/or to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Competition. If Junebug elects to cancel or terminate the Competition, Junebug will not retain any rights in the Entries and will return the entry fees.