To celebrate the working men and women of the IAM, each year we like to showcase your skills in the IAM Calendar. And who better to capture the essence of your job than you? Each month of the calendar is a winning entry from the IAM Photography Contest — pictures taken by IAM members of IAM members at different IAM workplaces.
Needless to say, we can’t have an IAM Calendar without you. Enter the 2014 IAM Photography Contest today! Photos entered in this year’s contest will be featured in the 2015 calendar. First, Second, Third Place and Honourable Mention photos will also be awarded cash prizes.
Members may download the complete contest entry package by visiting http://vvww.goiam.org/photocontest.
We’re proud that $2.00 from the sale of each IAM Calendar goes directly to Guide Dogs of America, an IAM-supported organization that provides free guide dogs and training for the visually impaired.
So get out your camera, and go capture your fellow members at work. Your entry in the IAM Photography Contest will make the 2015 IAM Calendar the most successful yet. Good luck!
Contest rules
1. Each photograph must be the work of the person submitting the entry and that person must be an IAM member in good standing. The subject(s) of the photograph must also be a member(s) in good standing.
2. Each IAM member in good standing may submit one photo for entry in the contest. The photo should be accompanied by the photographer’s name, address and phone number.
3. Members must use the Entry Form to submit a brief caption and explanatory note of their submission. The Entry Form must be filled out completely. The information submitted on the Entry Form will be used for the photo caption and photographer credit on the 2015 calendar if the entry wins.
4. An official Contest Entry Form and Model Release & Authorization to Publish form should accompany the entry. These can be obtained by going online to: http://www.goiam.org/photocontest.
5. The photographer and photo subject(s) must sign the Model Release and Authorization to Publish form for the contest entry to be considered eligible. It is the photographer’s responsibility to secure the necessary releases from the identifiable persons shown in the photograph.
6. Entries may be submitted as film or digital photographs. Film photos must be un-matted, un-framed, and no larger than 5″ x 7.” A photographic negative of the entry must be included with film entries.
Digital photos should be taken with the camera set on the “fine” setting. Low resolution digital photos may be disqualified. Digital photo entries must be recorded on a CD. Please turn off your camera’s date and time stamp feature. Digital photos should be in the .jpg format and may not be enhanced by computer software.
7. The theme of the contest is “IAM Members at Work.” Photos should be unposed and should depict IAM members doing their jobs. Members at work should be wearing all appropriate safety gear and following proper safety procedures. Entries will be evaluated based on appeal, content and photographic skill. The decision of the judges is final.
8. If there are employer restrictions on taking photos in the workplace, photos of members doing union-related activities, such as a community service project, are acceptable.
9. While utmost care in handling will be given all entries, the IAM cannot assume responsibility for damage or loss of entries in transit and assumes no responsibility for submissions.
10. Contest entrants agree that the IAM has the right to use, without further compensation, their photographs for IAM literature, both print and electronic, to further the cause of trade unionism. Photos will not be returned and will remain the property of the IAM.
11. An independent panel of judges will be chosen by an agent of the IAM. The independent panel will choose the contest winners.
12. Judges will award prizes of $500, $300, and $200 for the top three photographs. They will also award prizes of $25 to Honourable Mentions.
13. All pictures will be judged anonymously. Pictures and Entry Forms will be numbered upon receipt.
14. The deadline for contest entries is August 11, 2014. Winners will be announced in the fall of 2014.
15. The IAM will include contest winners as part of the 2015 IAM Calendar.
16. The submission of any entry will be understood to imply agreement on the part of the photographer to all the above conditions.
17. Entries should be submitted to:
IAM Photo Contest
IAM Communications Department
9000 Machinists Place
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
Photography tips
- If shooting with a digital camera, turn off the time/date stamp function and set the resolution to “high” or “fine.”
- Posed photos won’t do well in the contest; the judges don’t want to see people mugging for the camera.
- Catch your subject doing something. Action photos will grab the judges’ attention.
- Get close to the action. The photograph should show clearly what the subject is doing.
- Consider the background when you compose your photo. You don’t want trees growing from peoples’ heads.
- Scout out the location without a camera before you shoot. Compose the picture in your mind’s eye.
- Plan in advance the shots you want to take, so you’re ready when the action begins.
- Avoid photographic clichés. Look for new angles to shoot from and different ways to show familiar concepts.
- Make sure the subject’s face is in the photo; don’t shoot the subject’s back.
- Although photo contest rules only allow you to submit one photo, take many so you will have a large selection from which to choose your best entry.
- Since photos are for the IAM calendar, subjects wearing hats or shirts with IAM logos would be great.
- Make sure your subject(s) is/are wearing all appropriate safety gear and following proper safety procedures.