1. Eligibility
To submit an entry, photographers must have an intellectual disability or an intellectual disability and autism. Entrants must be a New Zealand citizen or a permanent resident of New Zealand aged 13 years or older at the time of entry.
Photographers DO NOT have to be using IHC, IDEA Services or Choices NZ. The photograph must have been taken by the photographer listed on the entry form, with minimal help from others.
Photographers aged between 13 to 17 years will automatically fall in the Youth Award category.
2. Photograph
Only one photograph per photographer may be entered. The photograph must have been taken in the last 12 (twelve) months with minimal help from others to be eligible.
Your photograph must come under the theme 'Nature: the living world' – all the animals, plants and other things in the world.
Your photograph can be black and white or colour.
A series of photographs will not be accepted.
If you are selected as one of the finalists, you will be notified by email.
3. Youth Award
The Youth Award is for entrants aged 13 to 17. The judges will select the winner of the Youth Award from the Youth Award entries received.
4. Judging
The selection of finalists and awarding of First, Second and Third place winners and the Youth Award winner is made by a panel of judges. Their decision will be final, and no correspondence will be entered into. The winner of the People’s Choice Award is selected by members of the public via online voting.
5. Entries Opening Date
The entry opening date for submitting photographs is Wednesday 15 July 2026. Entries will open at 9.00am. Photographs will not be accepted before this date. All photographs are to be submitted online using the Capture the moment online entry form.
6. Entries Closing Date
All photographs must be submitted and received online by 5.00pm on Friday 14 August 2026. Late entries will not be accepted.
7. Finalists
Up to 30 photographs will be chosen from the entries received to form the finalists. The number of finalists selected may be less than 30.
8. Reproduction / Publication of Artwork
All photographers must be willing to participate in publicity or media stories and agree to the publication or reproduction of their work by IHC at any time to promote this and future photography competitions for people with intellectual disabilities, without payment of any fee, royalty or commission.
9. Printing and Mounting
If your photograph is selected as a finalist, we will let you know by way of email. There is no need for you to do anything else. IHC will print, mount and frame your photograph ready for exhibiting. We will also print copies (unframed) of your photograph, should these sell.
10. Sale of Photographs
The finalists’ photographs must be available for sale. Your photograph and prints of your photo will also be available for sale on IHC’s website. One hundred percent (100%) of the sale price will be paid to photographers if their framed and mounted photograph or photograph prints are sold.
Should the photograph not sell at the FOTO FEST Exhibition, the printed, mounted and framed photograph will be returned to the photographer.
11. Payment for Artwork
One hundred percent (100%) of the sale price will be paid to the photographer's bank account if the photograph or prints are sold. Payment will not be paid into the account of an art base / studio, family member, support person or friend.
Due to the growing number of entries and the increasing administration costs involved in purchasing Prezzy Cards and Gift Cards, we are no longer able to make payments using these methods. If your photograph or print is sold, we will pay 100% of the sale proceeds directly into your bank account.
The photographers bank account details will be requested following the sale of the photographers’ image or print.
Proof of bank account details must be provided to IHC National Office which can be either being a bank deposit slip or a copy of the entrant’s online bank statement clearly showing the bank logo, their bank account name and bank account number (without the transactions).
Photographers will receive a confirmation email advising the sale price of their photograph or print and the expected date of payment to their bank account.
12. Pricing Photographs
We will price your photograph for you, taking into account the printing, mounting and framing costs. You will receive 100% of the photograph or print sale proceeds.
13. Notification to Finalists
When the finalists have been selected, all photographers who have and have not been selected as finalists will be notified by email.
14. Risk
All entries are submitted at the sole risk of the photographers. IHC accepts no liability for any loss or damage and shall not be required to provide insurance cover or cover the costs of damage to photographs.
15. Media
As an entrant of the Capture the moment photography competition, you may be approached by media or want to approach media yourself to talk about your entry. If this happens, contact the IHC Communications team at ihccomms@ihc.org.nz for support to work with media.
16. Your Privacy
By providing your personal information to use, you are consenting to the collection, storage, use and disclosure of that information as set out in IHC’s Website Privacy Statement. For further information about our Privacy Statement, please click on the link below:
IHC Website Privacy Statement | IHC New Zealand
Go to the Capture the Moment webpage
