Light in the Dark - Photography Competition
Lighting up
dark winter
days
Calling all amateur photographers in Aberdeen! We have teamed up with the photography department at North East Scotland College (NESCol) for a brand new photography competition this January!
The Light in the Dark will encourage you to find unique perspectives of Aberdeen; to find moments of joy and light in the Granite City during the darker winter months. This is your chance to stretch your creative muscles and discover new ways of looking at the city around you.
Entries are open in two categories – 18+ and Young People (17 & Under). The top three entries in each category will be exhibited in Aberdeen Arts Centre, while those placed first will also win family tickets to Aberdeen Arts Centre’s 2025 pantomime, Robin Hood.
To enter, photographers should email their entries to info@aberdeenartscentre.com by 11.59pm on Sunday, 2nd February, 2025. Photos should have been taken in the recent winter months.
Entries should include the entrant’s name, address, telephone number, location of photography, category, date of birth (for Young People) and a declaration. Full details and requirements are available below.
Steve Smith, photography lecturer at NESCol, will judge the competition. He said: “The theme of ‘Light in the Dark’ is a reminder that even during the darkest times of the year, there is beauty to be found if we look for it.
"Photography is a powerful tool for capturing these moments of light, joy and connection, and this competition is a chance for everyone – whether taking photos with a camera or a phone – to explore their creativity.
“Art and photography belong to all of us, and I’m excited that we are working with Aberdeen Arts Centre to see how people of all ages and backgrounds interpret this theme, shining a spotlight on Aberdeen’s unique character.”
Aberdeen Arts Centre’s creative director, Amy Liptrott, added: "Winter's darkness often challenges our spirits, yet it's within this very darkness that light, beauty, and joy can emerge most profoundly. Our 'Light in the Dark' photography competition invites individuals of all ages and backgrounds to discover and capture these illuminating moments in Aberdeen.
“At Aberdeen Arts Centre, we are deeply committed to making art accessible to everyone through our Creative Learning and Artist Development programmes.
"We are delighted to partner with NESCol for this competition to inspire a sense of community and creativity, reminding us all that even in the darkest times, there is light to be found and shared."
Photo by Natalie Hood.
Good luck – we can’t wait to see your entries!
Terms & Conditions
Entry is open to everyone who isn’t a professional photographer, except for those directly involved in the organisation and judging of the competition, and their families.
Entrants must be at least 18 years of age with the exception of entrants to the Young People’s category.
Entrants to the Young People’s category must be under 18 years of age on the closing date of 2nd February 2025. Entry to the Young People’s category must be with the permission of a parent or guardian, and the parent or guardian must assume responsibility for the entrant’s compliance with the rules.
Entries are welcome from around the world, but all images entered must have been photographed in Aberdeen. Images should have been taken in the recent winter months.
Images that have won an award, or have been shortlisted/commended in a nationally or internationally promoted competition, or that have been entered in such a competition where the results are still pending, are not eligible for entry.
Entrants are responsible for respecting human rights, animal welfare and the environment, and compliance with all laws.
The competition will open for entries on 8 January 2025. The closing date is 11.59pm on 2 February 2025.
There is no cost to entry.
Entries should be submitted to info@aberdeenartscentre.com. Entries submitted in any other way will not be accepted. We regret that we are unable to accept postal entries.
Image files must be 300 dpi and between 1MB and 3MB. Files should be clearly names with the entrant’s name and a title for the photo.
In the body of the email, entrants should include their own name, address and telephone number. If they are entering the Junior / Young Person’s category, please provide date of birth and consent in the email from a parent, carer or guardian.
Please use this format in the body of your email:
Name:
Address:
Telephone Number:
Location of Photograph:
Category:
I have read all terms and conditions: Yes / No
Date of Birth (if submitting in the Young People’ category):
You can enter any or all of the categories for which you are eligible and submit a total of 5 images to the competition.
Categories:
- 18+
- Young People (17 and under)
We invite entries from around the world on the theme of 'Light in the Dark', capturing moments of joy in Aberdeen in the winter months. For all categories, images must be taken in Aberdeen, Scotland. The judges will be looking for originality, creativity, technique and response to the brief.
The organisers reserve the right to refuse or remove an entry from the competition for any reason.
The organisers reserve the right to remove any entries from the competition that they feel may breach or contravene laws of copyright, public decency or may bring the competition or its organisers into disrepute. Such entries will be deemed as void.
A panel of judges (Steve Smith, NESCol, and Amy Liptrott, Aberdeen Arts Centre) will assess all entries and a shortlist will be drawn up in February 2025. All those on the shortlist will be contacted by email to supply a high-resolution file for final judging, along with detailed caption information.
Failure to produce a high-resolution file of the correct size within the designated time period will eliminate an entrant from the shortlist. The image you submit should not need a licence for photography. Any that do will be eliminated.
All high-resolution images should be sent to info@aberdeenartscentre.com
The organisers cannot be held responsible for emails that do not arrive e.g. due to the entrant’s email security settings or restrictions placed by their internet service provider.
In the event that the high-resolution file submitted for a shortlisted image does not meet the technical standard required by the judges, the image may be eliminated from the shortlist. Should any entries in a category fall below the standard required, Aberdeen Arts Centre and NESCol reserve the right not to award prizes.
The winners will be announced in February 2025. All winners will be notified by email. A list of the winners will be published on Aberdeen Arts Centre’s website. All images will be exhibited for a minimum of 2 months following a celebration evening all finalists will be invited to attend. Winners will be announced at the celebration event.
The Judging Panel’s decision will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
Prizes will be awarded as follows:
18+ Category
- 1st place: Included in exhibition in Aberdeen Arts Centre; family ticket (4 seats) to a performance of Robin Hood at Aberdeen Arts Centre in December 2025.
- 2nd place: Included in exhibition in Aberdeen Arts Centre.
- 3rd place: Included in exhibition in Aberdeen Arts Centre.
Young People (17 and Under) Category
- 1st place: Included in exhibition in Aberdeen Arts Centre; family ticket (4 seats) to a performance of Robin Hood at Aberdeen Arts Centre in December 2025.
- 2nd place: Included in exhibition in Aberdeen Arts Centre.
- 3rd place: Included in exhibition in Aberdeen Arts Centre.
Prizes are non-transferable There is no cash alternative.
Aberdeen Arts Centre and NESCol will promote the Light in the Dark Photographic Competition and aim to provide a platform for promoting the photographers who take part. Therefore, we have made provision for license to use images submitted to the competition for that purpose as detailed below.
By submitting images to the Light in the Dark Competition, each entrant confirms that:
- they are the photographer of each entry and that it is their original work;
- they own the copyright and any rights of each image;
- they have submitted entries with no identifiable people anywhere in the image. Photographs with identifiable people will not be put forward for judging.
- they have not licensed or disposed of any rights in the image that would conflict with uses to be made by the Light in the Dark Competition;
- no image should need permission from the owner(s) of buildings. Any that do will not be put forward for judging.
By entering the competition, you grant Light in the Dark Competition and its organisers free, non-exclusive usage of the images for the following purposes directly connected with the competition, until judging is completed:
- on a secure web browser for image submission;
- for judging purposes;
- on Aberdeen Arts Centre’s website;
- for use in press coverage giving information about or promoting the competition, exhibition etc..
By entering the competition, you grant the Light in the Dark Competition and a worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual licence to Aberdeen Arts Centre to feature any or all of the submitted images in any promotional material connected to this competition. This may include, but is not limited to:
- inclusion in a book featuring images;
- display at any exhibitions;
- merchandise
- on the Aberdeen Arts Centre and NESCol websites;
- or use in press coverage giving information about or promoting the competition, exhibition etc.;
- for use as part of the Light in the Dark Competition “Winners Archive” to promote the competition/exhibition in perpetuity.
- for use by sponsors and partners in acknowledging/publicising their support of the competition/exhibition.
The organisers will make every effort to ensure that name credits are included with images.
Free usage of any photograph outside of the scope of the competition and exhibition will not be permitted by Light in the Dark Competition, or any of its partners or sponsors
Entrants retain the copyright to images submitted.
You will be asked for personal data if you choose to submit entries to the competition. This data will only be used to contact you about the competition. If you wish to support Aberdeen Arts Centre and sign up for more information, you can do so here:
Donate: https://www.aberdeenartscentre.com/donate
Newsletter sign up: https://www.aberdeenartscentre.com/newsletter
Our organisational privacy policy can be found here: https://www.aberdeenartscentre.com/privacy-policy
These terms and the relationship between you and us shall be governed by the law in Scotland. Any dispute may be decided by the Scottish courts or those of any other part of the United Kingdom.
Entry to the competition constitutes acceptance of the website terms & conditions and rules of the competition.
By entering the competition, you indemnify the Light in the Dark Competition, organisers, partners and sponsors against any third party claim in respect of your entry.
The Light in the Dark Competition and its organisers, partners and sponsors bear no responsibility for any loss or damage, however arising, as a result of your entry to the competition.
Any breach of the competition rules by you will invalidate your entry. If a breach has occurred that is discovered after the award of a prize, we might require the return of that prize.
We reserve the right to amend the rules and in that event, to detail the amendments on the website. If you do not agree to any changes to the rules, you may withdraw from the competition.
If you have any queries please contact us by email: info@aberdeenartscentre.com
@aberdeenartscentre
