Submit your best Armed Forces Entertainment tour photos for a chance to win a Nikon D40 Camera and Lowepro Camera Bag. One winner from each of the following tour circuits will be chosen: Pacific, South/Southwest/Central Asia, Caribbean, Mediterranean, and Europe/Balkans.

Contest is open to all active duty military personnel and their dependents stationed at military bases on the Armed Forces Entertainment tour circuits listed above. Participants must be 18 years of age or older.

Deadline for submissions is Monday, September 1, 2008 no later than 5:00 p.m. Central Standard Time.

Photo Criteria

1. Shoot in hi-res digital formats, 8”x10” (1200 pixels x 1800 pixels) at 300 dpi.
2. Goal for these photographs is to vividly portray the interaction between troops and entertainers. Shots can be intimate, but should always strive to establish the audience and entertainer(s) and the interplay between them. AFE venue signage is critical to establishing who the host of the show is and identifying location is helpful (when security is not an issue).
3. Wide shots are good occasionally, but you must remember that lack of detail does not help convey a story. Tighter shots that do tell a complete story are much more preferable. Lighting is critical – remember that these photographs will be used in print publications (both good and not-so-good quality), so they must read easily, be well focused and should not contain excessively dark areas that will turn to mud when reproduced in print.
4. Unstructured Moments. Not all shots have to portray the show and its crowds. Interaction between entertainers – talking, eating, joking, traveling, moving from venue to venue either by bus or plane will also give us good material to work with. And, the interaction between troops and entertainers outside the venue can produce good shots.
5. Creativity. We are not suggesting that all shots must be editorial in nature. Creativity is encouraged, but remember the intended purpose of these shots – to be used to advertise Armed Forces Entertainment, the entertainers it presents and the troops that benefit from the experience. If you, as the photographer, have something in mind that is creatively unusual, please call us and discuss what you would like to do so that we can first determine if such an approach will work for our purposes.

AFE Photo Contest Official Rules

1. Eligibility
   This photo contest is open to all military personnel and dependents stationed at military bases overseas in the following locations: Pacific, South/Southwest/Central Asia, Caribbean, Mediterranean, Europe/Balkans. Participants must be 18 years of age and older and must be active duty with the U.S. military stationed in the above mentioned locations, or are the dependents of active duty personnel stationed in those locations.
2. Timeframe
   Contest runs from January 1, 2008 to September 1, 2008.
3. Photo Format
   Photos can be either black and white or color. They must be submitted in an electronic format (jpeg) with a 300 dpi resolution and the following dimensions: 1800 pixels x 1200 pixels or 8” x 10” (Prints of photos will not be accepted.)
4. Submitting a Photo
   All photo entries must be submitted via Armed Forces Entertainment website. You may submit up to 5 photos.
5. Theme
   All submissions must be of Armed Forces Entertainment touring acts photographed live, in concert while on tour in one of the world wide locations detailed in paragraph #1. Photo criteria and suggested shooting guidelines are posted at www.armedforcesentertainment.com.
6. Deadline
   All submissions due no later than 5:00 p.m. Central Standard Time, September 1, 2008.
7. Content Description
   The entry must be an original photo, that was taken for the express purpose of this contest or for the photographers personal or private use. The photo cannot be copied or reproduced from a third party source. Winning entries will be those that best demonstrate U.S. military personnel enjoying and interacting with the touring acts presented by Armed Forces Entertainment.
8. Judges/Judging Criteria
   Judges for this contest are professional photographers. All decisions made by the judges will be final. Photos will judged on the following considerations:
   
   Originality and creativity
   Composition
   
   Judging will occur between September 9, 2008 and October 9, 2008. Winners will be announced on October 16, 2008 via posting on www.armedforcesentertainment.com and by email.
9. Prizes
   Six winners will be chosen and each shall receive a Nikon D40 with Lowepro camera bag.

All photographers submitting photos to this contest will be required to acknowledge (via the online registration form) that they are releasing their photographs to Armed Forces Entertainment for their exclusive, discretionary use and that they will become the property of Armed Forces Entertainment. When these photographs are used by Armed Forces Entertainment, photo credits may or may not be employed.

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