1. Nature of the Award

The Verus Awards is an international photography competition dedicated exclusively to the recognition of authentic, unposed family photography. Its purpose is to honor images that capture real moments — genuine, unrehearsed, and true to life.

There is no cash prize or material compensation of any kind. The value of the award consists of the distinction itself: the Verus Awards seal of excellence, international visibility, and professional recognition in the photographer’s portfolio.

2. Eligibility & Participation

The competition is open to all photographers, regardless of nationality, location, or level of professional experience.

There is no annual membership fee. Participation is limited to the registration fee per image submitted for the current Season. Photographers may participate in as many Seasons as they wish, with no obligation for continuous participation.

3. Registration Process

Registration must be completed through the official Verus Awards website by filling in the photographer’s profile.

Payment must be completed following the instructions provided on the website, after which images may be submitted.

If a photographer completes payment but does not submit images, the credits remain active and may be applied to the following Season.

Images must strictly conform to the technical specifications described in Section 6 of these Rules.
Registration fees cover administrative and operational costs and are non-refundable under any circumstances, regardless of the outcome of the Season.

4. Season Deadlines

The opening and closing dates of each Season are determined by the organizers and communicated individually through Verus Awards’ official social media channels and website prior to each Season’s launch.

5. Categories

The award encompasses multiple categories, offering photographers the opportunity to showcase their work across different moments in family life:

• Family The core. Family as a unit — connection, chaos, everyday life.

• Motherhood Beyond pregnancy. The real mother — present, exhausted, whole.

• Mom-to-Be Pregnancy documented with honesty.

• Birth The birth as it is — unembellished.

• Newborn The first days. A family rearranging itself around someone new.

• Children Childhood unchained. No posing, no performance.

• Siblings The relationship between siblings has its own language — fights, closeness, mutual indifference.

• Ordinary Moments No special occasion. Dinner, bath time, mess, routine. The day that seems ordinary and isn’t.

• Day in the Life A full day documented. From morning coffee to lights out.

New categories may be introduced in future Seasons at the organizers’ discretion and will be announced through official channels before the Season opens.

6. Technical Specifications

Images must meet the following requirements to be eligible for evaluation:

Recommended maximum dimension: 1920 pixels on the longest side. Minimum dimension on the shortest side: 1200 pixels.
Maximum file size: 500KB.
Accepted formats: JPEG and PNG.
Color and black-and-white images are both accepted.
Both vertical and horizontal orientations are accepted.
Images may have been captured at any time — there is no restriction on the month or year of capture.
Images previously published on social media are accepted.
Images must be submitted without watermarks, signatures, logos, initials, or borders of any kind. Submissions must be clean, with no identification of the photographer or studio.

7. Rules & Guidelines

By submitting images, the photographer represents and warrants that:

All submitted images are exclusively the photographer’s own original work.
No image submitted has previously received a Verus Awards seal in a prior Season. Images that have already been recognized are not eligible and will be automatically disqualified.

No image constitutes plagiarism or any violation of third-party intellectual property or copyright. In the event such a violation is identified, the image will be disqualified.

All photographers are solely responsible for ensuring their submissions comply with all applicable copyright and intellectual property laws.
Images depicting violence, racism, child nudity, pornography, abuse, illegal activities, drug use, exploitation, discrimination, offensive content, or any other inappropriate material will not be accepted.

The organizers reserve the right to disqualify any participant who violates these Rules, without obligation to provide justification.
Images that do not conform to these Rules may be disqualified without refund.

8. Evaluation Criteria

Each Season features a panel of recognized photographers who serve as judges and act with full autonomy in their decisions. The organizers do not interfere in scoring or selection, ensuring the absolute impartiality of the process.

Judges evaluate submissions based on the following criteria:

Authenticity and genuine emotional content.
Compositional quality.
Technical excellence.
Connection, narrative, and meaning conveyed.
Mastery of light and use of illumination.
Art direction and aesthetic vision.
Impact of the decisive moment.
Post-processing and final editing.
Innovation and originality.

There is no limitation on the number of images a single photographer may receive recognition for within a given Season. Multiple images may be awarded the seal of excellence in the same Season.

The individual scores and deliberations of the judges are for internal use only and will not be disclosed.
All decisions by the judges are final and not subject to appeal.

9. Copyright & Use of Images

The photographer retains full copyright over all submitted images at all times.

By submitting images and receiving recognition, the photographer grants Verus Awards a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to display the awarded images for promotional and editorial purposes, including but not limited to: the official website, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, other social media platforms, internal and external publications, exhibitions, events, and national and international print and digital media.

Verus Awards assumes no liability for unauthorized reproduction of images by third parties.

If any identifiable person depicted in a recognized image can demonstrate that proper authorization for such use does not exist and requests removal, Verus Awards will take appropriate measures and the recognition will be withdrawn in accordance with these policies.

10. Announcement of Results

The winners of each Season will be officially announced through the Verus Awards website, with their images displayed bearing the award seal. The publication date will be communicated in advance through official social media channels.

Awarded photographers may download their sealed images directly from the website. These images are provided in web resolution, optimized for social media and digital use.

Since images are submitted in low resolution, Verus Awards does not hold the photographers’ original high-resolution files. Photographers who wish to obtain their sealed image in high resolution for print or portfolio purposes must submit the original file upon request by the organizers.

11. Authenticity Verification

Verus Awards reserves the right to request the original file of any submitted image at any time, for the purpose of verifying the authenticity and integrity of the work. Photographers are expected to cooperate fully with such requests.

Failure to provide the original file when requested may result in disqualification and withdrawal of the award seal.

12. Limitation of Liability

Verus Awards is a competition of strictly cultural and artistic nature.
Verus Awards does not issue letters, invitations, or documents for visa applications, immigration proceedings, or any other legal or administrative purpose.

Verus Awards is not liable for technical failures, connectivity issues, or any other circumstances beyond its control that may prevent a photographer from completing their registration or submission within the established deadline.

13. Acceptance of Terms

By completing registration and submitting images, the photographer unconditionally accepts and agrees to all terms and conditions set forth in these Official Rules & Regulations.

These Rules may be updated at the organizers’ discretion. Any amendments will be communicated through official channels prior to the opening of the Season to which they apply.