Participation Guidelines
The Kuusamo Nature Photo nature photography competitions are open to everyone!
- All submitted images must be taken by the participant, who must also hold full rights to the photos
- You may also participate in the series with previously published photos. However, images submitted to this competition may not be entered in other Finnish national competitions between 2023 and 2025
- Images can be submitted to international competitions, even if they have been awarded there
- If the image features recognizable individuals, the photographer must have their consent for the images to be published
- Photos taken at any time are accepted in all categories
- The image can be taken anywhere in the world
- See detailed participation guidelines on each competition category’s page
Entry Fee and Participation
- The participation fee for the Hannu Hautala and Nature as Art categories is 30 euros. This single fee allows you to enter both categories
- Once you have paid the registration fee, you will receive by email:
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a participation code for each category
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a receipt for your payment
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- Remember to check your spam folder if the message doesn’t appear in your inbox.
How do I use the participation code?
- Although you will receive a code for both categories after payment, you can choose to participate in only one if you wish
- Fill out a separate entry form for each category and use the category-specific code
- You may submit up to five (5) images per category, and all images must be submitted at once
- Once submitted, images cannot be edited or removed
The Instagram categories are free of charge and participation is done via the Instagram app.
Jury and Evaluation
The competition jury comprises Jonna Kalliomäki (Chair), Paavo Hamunen and Mika Honkalinna (permanent jury members), and Mia Surakka (changing jury member).
By entering the competition, a photographer agrees to follow the competition rules. The jury can disqualify an image that breaks the rules even after the selection and announcement of the winning images. The decisions of the jury will be final.
All competition finalists will receive an email around mid-August after the judging has concluded, requesting the original file(s) of their image(s) to be submitted for verification in the final round of judging.
The results will be announced at our website and our social media outlets. They will also be widely covered in the media
Results Announcement
The results will be announced during the Kuusamo Nature Photo event and on the festival’s website, social media channels, and various media outlets.
Each photographer participating in the top eight of the categories Hannu Hautala and Art of Nature, as well as the top three participants in the Instagram categories, will receive an invitation to attend the Kuusamo Nature Photo event as special guests. The rankings of the participants will be announced during the award ceremony at Kuusamotalo.
The organizer’s intellectual property rights to the images
The organiser of the competition i.e. the Kuusamo Town Department of Culture has the right to use the awarded images free of charge for the purpose of Kuusamo Nature Photo news coverage and marketing in both print and electronic media, and also in the touring exhibition presenting the results of the competition. In addition, Kuusamo Nature photo may show any non-awarded photos free of charge in a multimedia presentation about the competition, which will be shown when the winners are announced at Kuusamo Hall.