Documentary Photographer of the Year 2021 Judges

Anyone entering a photographic competition would like to think that the judging process is fair. Yet, even today, few competitions provide any insight into the judging process. To improve transparency, we have outlined the process we intend to use.

The competition rules and entry process are available in the Terms and Conditions (available via rps.org/groups/documentary/dpoty-2021).

The Judges

Bindi Vora - Curatorial Projects Manager at Autograph, London

Image Credit: Laura Hensser

Lekgetho Makola - CEO Javett Art Centre, Pretoria

Image Credit: Gabi Ngcobo

Marie Sumalla - International Photo Editor Le Monde

Image courtesy of Marie Sumalla

Mimi Mollica - Photographer and Director of Offspring PhotoMeet

Image Credit: Mimi Mollica

Rosy Santella - Photo Editor Internazionale, Rome

Image courtesy of Rosy Santella

Roy Mehta - Photographer and Lecturer

Image Credit: Roy Mehta

Tanvi Mishra - Photo Editor, Writer and Creative Director, The Caravan

Image Credit: Aditya Kapoor

Judging Process

All entries are reviewed, shortlisted and selected anonymously. The three categories are judged independently. During judging only the statement images, sequencing and any captions are available to the judges. The judging process is initially carried out online using our submission tool (Kyoso).

Images will be initially long-listed by the RPS (essentially to ensure the competition entry criteria have been met). Then the process will depend on the number of entries, but it is expected that it will consist of several rounds - with an initial judging stage, followed by more in-depth assessment in which projects are scored (on a scale 1-10) independently by the judges. That will permit us to get to a shortlist for each category.

If shortlisted, The RPS will endeavour to contact the entrant to notify them using the details provided by the entrant and to verify they meet the category requirements (eg a bona fide student). Once shortlisting is complete, we plan to hold an online meeting of judges (via Zoom) to review the shortlist before final judging to select the category winners and commended entries. Commended and winning entries will be announced at our Awards Event at the FUJIFILM House of Photography in London in November.

The judging ‘criteria’ will be largely driven by the expertise and experience of our international panel of judges. But as a guide, the broad considerations for selection are:

- Intent and Narrative - Is the photographer’s intent clear? Do the images and sequencing provide a compelling narrative, consistent with the project description and intent?

- Engagement and Impact - Has the photographer created a compelling series of images that engage with the subject and the viewer? Has the photographer brought a new insight?

- Technical and post-production - Are the images technically sound? Has postproduction been executed in a way that is ethically acceptable and complementary to the overall intent?