Submit your People photos to APOY 2022 Round Seven!

Round Seven of our Amateur Photographer of the Year competition is now open! The theme is People

The possibilities are endless when it comes to capturing portraits and people shots. From the traditional to the unconventional, inside or outside the studio, anything goes in this round. Whether you choose to make yourself the subject or capture others, we’re looking for a portrait that tells a story and gives us an insight into the person portrayed. Great people pictures can be found in all walks of life – it’s how you capture your subject that draws the viewer in. For inspiration, take a look at the work of David Bailey, Arnold Newman, Mary Ellen Mark, Jane Bown, Rineke Dijkstra and more.

Your guest judge for Round Seven, People

Denise Maxwell

Your guest judge for Round Seven, People, is Denise Maxwell. A full-time photographer for more than ten years, Denise left her job in the NHS to specialise in events and portrait photography, but now works in other fields, including sport, fashion, wedding and music. She has photographed the likes of Barack Obama, Usain Bolt and Lewis Hamilton, and has worked for clients including the BBC, Starling Bank and the Commonwealth Games. See more of her work at lensi.co.uk and on Instagram @lensi_photography

ENTER AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR ROUND SEVEN HERE

Round Seven, People, closes Friday 12th August.

Lucy Monckton, fourth places Young APOY 2021 Portraits round

See some of our best-ever tips for portraits here!

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Featured image: Matthew Vivian, sixth place APOY 2021 portraits round

Young Amateur Photographer of the Year

For the second time, we have added a Young Photographer of the Year category to APOY, in order to encourage our up-and-coming snappers. Entrants should be 21 years old or younger by the competition’s final closing date of 4 November 2022. All the categories are the same as for the main competition – simply select the Young APOY option on Photocrowd when you upload your images. This category is free to enter; each category winner receives a £250 voucher, and the overall winner receives a voucher for £500 to spend at MPB.

ENTER YOUNG AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR ROUND SEVEN HERE

Mieneke Dempers, second place Young APOY 2021 Portraits round

Camera Club award

Do you belong to a camera club? You can accumulate points for your society when you enter APOY. After all the ten rounds are complete, the one with the most points will win a voucher for £500 to spend at MPB. The club might want to spend it on gear for use by members, or even run its own in-house competition with the prize going to the most successful photographer. It’s entirely up to the winning group to decide.

See the current leaderboards here: APOY 2022 Leaderboard

What you win

The winner of each round of APOY 2022 receives a £500 voucher to spend on anything at MPB. Described as ‘sensational’ when reviewed in AP, the Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM is part of the firm’s premium G Master line, which is designed to combine top-level image quality, speed of use and reliability. It employs 14 elements in ten groups, an 11-bladed diaphragm to render out-of-focus highlights as circular and is dust and moisture resistant. At the time of being reviewed, it was said to be ‘one of the finest lenses we’ve ever tested’. Find one in like-new condition at MPB for £1,399.

With a slightly wider aperture, the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM is well worth considering for portraiture. Performing extremely well in low light, its virtually circular aperture diaphragm gives out of focus areas appear soft, with the main subject appearing sharp and jumping out of the frame. Its ultra-sonic motor allows quick, near-silent autofocus, while Super Spectra coatings ensure accurate colour balance and enhance contrast. A well-used example of this lens can be picked up at MPB for £664, while one in like-new condition costs £994.

The Canon EOS 5D Mark IV is a superb workhorse of a DSLR and is rightly extremely popular. It features a 30.4MP full-frame CMOS sensor, ISO 100 32,000 (expandable to ISO 50-102,400), 61-point AF system with 41 cross-type and 7fps continuous shooting. In our review, we said ‘we expected a pro-level autofocus performance and that’s exactly what we got’. You can find this all-rounder at MPB for £1,599 in excellent condition.