The holiday season is almost upon us, which means it’s time for Stir-up Sunday, sentimental TV adverts, and the Amateur Photographer Christmas cover competition.

This year we have teamed up with Photocrowd, Billingham and Permajet to offer you global exposure, and some great prizes to boot.

The prizes

The expert’s winner (as judged by the AP team) will see their picture grace the cover of the AP Christmas Special (23-30 December).

They will also receive a Billingham Hadley Pro bag, worth £200, courtesy of Billingham (www.billingham.co.uk), and an A3 print of the finished design, courtesy of PermaJet (www.permajet.com).

There will also be a second winner (as awarded by the public vote via Photocrowd, www.photocrowd.com), who will receive £100 and an A3 print of their image.

If the standard of entries is deemed high enough, a selection of commended entries, will appear inside a future issue of AP.

How to enter

The competition is open to everyone, whether amateur or professional, and you are free to interpret the theme in any way you choose: naturally, we are happy to see shots of baubles, trees and lights, but we also want pictures that show the creative potential of the season in general, so feel free to submit winter landscapes, indoor portraits, frosty flora and fauna and so on. If you think you already have something suitable on file, great, but if not have a go at shooting something for the competition (see below for our insider tips).

To enter, upload your image(s) via the following link: https://www.photocrowd.com/photo-competitions/christmas-cover-star-2017-general-photo-contest-2286/.

For terms and conditions please see below.

Tips for cover success!

Don’t crop in too tightly: Leave lots of space for the magazine ‘furniture’ – the masthead, cover lines, and graphic devices. Busy images with lots of detail are generally unsuitable as they make superimposed text tricky to read.

Shoot portrait-format pictures: While it’s not unheard of for us to use a section of a landscape-format image, your chances are vastly improved by sticking to the upright orientation.

Make eye contact: If you’re submitting a portrait, ensure good eye contact, with the subject looking directly into the lens. Make sure the eyes are pin-sharp.

Provide plenty of options: Try various angles and subject placements, with the main focal point to the left, the right and centre, to give the art editor lots of options as to where to put the cover lines.

Terms and conditions

Entries must not previously have been published on the cover of a national UK photography magazine.

All images will be credited. Copyright in all images submitted for this competition remains with the respective entrants.

The competition is open to both amateur and professional photographers.

Images will only be used by Amateur Photographer in connection with the promotion of the competition and as part of the prize.

Pictures submitted to the competition may appear on the AP website and on social media in connection with the promotion of the competition and as part of the prize.

Your image should be a minimum of 30cm on the longest edge at 300dpi.

The prizes: The expert’s winner (as judged by the AP team) will appear on the cover of the AP Christmas Special (23-30 December) They will also receive a Billingham Hadley Pro bag and an A3 print of the finished design (complete with masthead, cover lines etc), courtesy of Permajet. The crowd winner will receive £100 GBP, and an A3 print of their image.

If the standard of entries is deemed high enough, the winner(s), and a selection of commended entries, will appear inside a future issue of AP.

If you are a winner, we will notify you by email and if, after two days of our sending notification you have not been able to supply the file required, we may offer the prize to someone else.

All entries must be the work of the individual who submits them. Entrants must ensure that photographs of people have been taken with the permission of the subject (where necessary) and do not infringe the copyright of any third party.

Employees of Time Inc (UK) Ltd and families may not enter this competition. Prizes are as stated and no cash or other alternative can be offered.

The winners will be chosen by the Editor. The Editor’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Rules:

Normal Time Inc (UK) Ltd competition rules apply. Competition details form part of these terms and conditions.

All entries must be made directly by the person entering the competition. Entries made online using methods generated by a script, macro or the use of automated devices will be void. The prizes are as stated, are not transferable to another individual and no cash or other alternatives will be offered.

The promoters reserve the right to amend or alter the terms of competitions and reject entries from entrants not entering into the spirit of the competition. The winner agrees to the use of his or her name, photograph and disclosure of country of residence and will co-operate with any other reasonable requests by Time Inc (UK) Ltd relating to any post-winning publicity.

The winners will be chosen from all entries received by the closing date stated within the promotional material. Winners will be notified email.

Reasonable efforts will be made to contact a winner.

Failure to respond and/or provide an address for delivery within two days of an email sent, or failure to meet the eligibility requirements may result in forfeiture of the prize.

If they cannot be contacted within two days, or are unable to comply with these terms and conditions, the Promoter reserves the right to offer the prize to the next eligible entrant chosen.

Where applicable, the judge’s decision is final based on the criteria set out in the promotion and no correspondence will be entered into over this decision. Competitions may be modified or withdrawn at any time.

Winners outside the UK will be responsible for any tax/customs duty incurred. This will need to be agreed in writing before the prize is sent out.