On Rose Photography Contest Official Rules
1. Contest Overview
On Rose is a juried photography contest sponsored by Looking Glass Photographic Outfitters. The contest invites photographers to submit original photographic work responding to the theme of Rose, interpreted as a botanical subject, color, symbol, story, memory, place, celebration, community, transformation, or act of rising.
A physical rose does not need to appear in every submitted photograph. However, each photograph must have a visible and meaningful relationship to the On Rose theme.
On Rose is a skill-based contest. Winners are selected by judges based on the criteria described in these Official Rules. This is not a sweepstakes, raffle, lottery, or game of chance.
2. Sponsor
The sponsor of the contest is:
Looking Glass Photographic Outfitters
2095 Rose Street
Berkeley, CA 94709
United States
Looking Glass may be referred to in these rules as “Looking Glass,” “Sponsor,” “we,” “us,” or “our.”
Zealous and Shopify are platforms used to support contest entry, submission, and administration. They are not sponsors of the contest and are not responsible for administering, judging, or awarding prizes.
3. Entry Period
The contest opens on July 9, 2026, at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time and closes on August 31, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.
All entries must be received through the Zealous submission platform before the deadline. Looking Glass is not responsible for late, incomplete, corrupted, misdirected, delayed, or failed submissions, including those caused by technical issues, internet connectivity, platform outages, user error, or other circumstances beyond Looking Glass’s reasonable control.
Looking Glass may modify the schedule if reasonably necessary to administer the contest fairly. Any material changes will be posted on the On Rose contest page.
4. Eligibility
On Rose is open to legal residents of the United States who are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry.
Looking Glass employees, contractors directly involved in the administration or promotion of the contest, contest judges, and immediate household members of those individuals are not eligible to enter.
The contest is void where prohibited or restricted by law. Entrants are responsible for ensuring that participation is lawful in their place of residence.
5. How to Enter
To enter, participants must complete the entry process through the Looking Glass website and submit photographs through the Zealous submission platform.
Entry uses a sliding-scale contribution model. Entrants may choose from the following contribution levels:
$5, $10, $15, $20, $25, $30, $40, or $50
Contribution amount does not affect eligibility, judging, selection, awards, or any other aspect of the contest.
After completing the entry process through Looking Glass, entrants will receive a Shopify Order # by email. That Order # is required when submitting photographs through Zealous.
Each entrant may make one entry and submit up to three individual photographs. Each photograph must be submitted separately through Zealous and assigned to one category.
6. Submission Categories
Each submitted photograph must be assigned to one of the following categories:
The Botanical Rose
Rose as a natural subject, including form, texture, growth, decay, fragility, abstraction, and the natural world.
Symbol, Story, and Metaphor
Rose as love, beauty, secrecy, longing, resistance, resilience, remembrance, hope, transformation, contradiction, or connection.
Rose as Color
Rose, pink, blush, coral, magenta, red, or rose gold used as atmosphere, emotion, tension, identity, or story.
Celebration, Honor, and Community
Images of care, gratitude, remembrance, legacy, gathering, joy, and communal connection that visibly relate to Rose.
On Rose Street
A literal or imaginative interpretation of Looking Glass’s Rose Street home, including place, neighborhood, belonging, transition, and shared stories.
They Rose Up
Photographs about resisting, returning, rebuilding, or becoming. This category invites images of courage, defiance, renewal, movement, resilience, and transformation, including moments when people, places, communities, or ideas rise from pressure, loss, injustice, silence, or change.
Each photograph may be entered in one category only. Entrants may submit photographs to the same category or to different categories, up to the three-photograph limit.
7. Submission Requirements
Each submitted photograph must meet the following requirements:
The photograph must be the entrant’s original work. The entrant must own or control all rights necessary to enter the photograph in the contest. The photograph must begin as an original real-world photographic capture made by the entrant using a camera or camera-equipped device. The photograph must have a visible and meaningful relationship to the On Rose theme. The photograph must not include the entrant’s name, signature, watermark, logo, caption, border, or other identifying text. The photograph must comply with the AI and photographic integrity policy below.
Recommended file guidelines are: JPEG format, at least 2,000 pixels on the long edge, and a file size suitable for online review. Zealous file requirements may also apply.
Looking Glass may disqualify any submission that is incomplete, unreadable, corrupted, improperly submitted, entered under an invalid Order #, inconsistent with the theme, noncompliant with the rules, or otherwise unsuitable for judging.
8. AI and Photographic Integrity Policy
On Rose is a photography contest. The baseline is simple: put a camera in your hand, photograph something from real life, and submit a photograph that captures a sense of reality.
Limited AI-assisted editing may be eligible when it is disclosed and when it does not create, add, replace, remove, or materially fabricate meaningful visual content within the image.
Prompt-generated imagery, text-to-image work, image-to-image generation, generative fill, synthetic objects, generated people, generated backgrounds, AI-created composites, or any photograph that cannot be shown to originate from an original real-world capture made by the entrant is not eligible.
During submission, entrants will be asked to select one of the following:
“No AI-assisted editing was used.”
“AI-assisted editing was used, is disclosed below, and complies with the On Rose AI policy.”
When AI-assisted editing is disclosed, entrants must briefly describe the tool or process used. This information is used for eligibility review only and will not be shown to judges.
Looking Glass may request original capture files, a capture sequence, layered edit history, or a brief process explanation when reasonably necessary to resolve an eligibility question. Failure to provide requested information may result in disqualification.
9. Rights, Permissions, and Releases
Entrants retain copyright to their photographs.
By entering, each entrant grants Looking Glass a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce, display, exhibit, publish, distribute, promote, archive, and otherwise use submitted photographs solely in connection with administering, judging, presenting, promoting, documenting, and archiving On Rose and its results. This may include use on the Looking Glass website, social media channels, email communications, contest materials, exhibition materials, press outreach, and other On Rose-related communications.
Looking Glass will not use submitted photographs for unrelated commercial purposes without separate permission from the photographer.
Entrants are responsible for obtaining any necessary permissions, releases, licenses, or consents related to their submitted photographs, including permissions from recognizable people, property owners, copyright holders, trademark owners, or any other parties whose rights may be implicated.
Looking Glass may request releases, permissions, original files, or other documentation from finalists or selected photographers before public recognition, exhibition, publication, or promotion.
10. Judging
Before judging begins, Looking Glass will conduct an administrative eligibility review to confirm that submissions are complete, eligible, associated with a valid Shopify Order #, and compliant with these Official Rules.
Eligible photographs will be reviewed anonymously by the contest judges. Judges will not see entrant names, contact information, Shopify Order #, contribution amount, or AI disclosure information while evaluating photographs.
Photographs will be judged using the following criteria:
Interpretation of Rose, 40%
The photograph’s clear, imaginative, and meaningful relationship to the On Rose theme.
Visual voice and emotional resonance, 40%
The photograph’s originality, point of view, emotional impact, memorability, and sense of authorship.
Photographic execution, 20%
The photograph’s composition, light, timing, color, tone, technical control, and the degree to which craft supports intention.
The judges will select category winners, runners-up, honorable mentions, and one overall On Rose winner. Judges’ decisions are final and binding in all matters related to judging and award selection.
A judge may recuse themselves from evaluating a submission if the judge or Looking Glass determines that a conflict, prior relationship, or other circumstance could reasonably affect impartiality.
11. Awards and Recognition
On Rose will recognize:
One overall On Rose winner
Category winners
Category runners-up
Honorable mentions
The overall On Rose winner will receive a commemorative trophy.
Selected photographs may be included in a Looking Glass photo exhibition, featured on the Looking Glass website, shared through social media and email communications, and used in other On Rose-related promotional or archival materials.
Looking Glass may pursue opportunities for selected work to appear in local East Bay media or other related editorial coverage. Any publication or opportunity beyond Looking Glass is subject to availability, editorial discretion, and separate confirmation with selected photographers.
No prize, award, exhibition opportunity, publication opportunity, or recognition may be transferred, assigned, substituted, or redeemed for cash unless Looking Glass expressly agrees in writing.
12. Winner Notification and Verification
Selected photographers are expected to be notified in October 2026 using the contact information provided during submission.
Selected photographers may be required to provide additional information, including original files, print-ready files, releases, AI process information, tax information if applicable, or other documentation reasonably necessary to confirm eligibility, rights, authorship, and compliance with these Official Rules.
If a selected photographer cannot be reached, does not respond within the timeframe specified by Looking Glass, fails to provide requested documentation, is found to be ineligible, or otherwise fails to comply with these Official Rules, Looking Glass may disqualify that photographer and select an alternate.
13. Publicity
Except where prohibited by law, by accepting recognition or an award, selected photographers grant Looking Glass permission to use their name, likeness, city/state, submitted photograph, artist biography, and statements about the contest for On Rose-related promotional, editorial, exhibition, and archival purposes without additional compensation.
14. Disqualification
Looking Glass reserves the right to disqualify any entrant or submission that, in Looking Glass’s reasonable judgment:
Violates these Official Rules
Contains false, misleading, incomplete, or inaccurate information
Is not the entrant’s original work
Violates or may violate the rights of another person or entity
Includes undisclosed or noncompliant AI-generated content
Contains obscene, defamatory, hateful, threatening, exploitative, or otherwise inappropriate content
Includes visible identifying marks contrary to the rules
Is submitted using an invalid, duplicated, fraudulent, canceled, refunded, or unverifiable Shopify Order #
Attempts to interfere with the contest, judging, Zealous platform, Shopify entry process, or another entrant’s participation
Looking Glass may also disqualify submissions that are inconsistent with the purpose, integrity, or spirit of On Rose.
15. Platform and Technical Issues
Looking Glass is not responsible for technical failures, upload errors, platform outages, corrupted files, lost data, internet or device issues, email filtering, delayed messages, or other technical problems that may affect entry, submission, communication, judging, or award notification.
Entrants are encouraged to complete their entry and submission well before the deadline. Looking Glass cannot guarantee support for issues reported immediately before submissions close.
16. Privacy
On Rose entries are administered by Looking Glass through our website, Shopify, and the Zealous submission platform. In connection with the contest, we may collect or receive information including your name, email address, phone number, Shopify Order #, submitted photographs, selected submission category, AI disclosure information, tool or process descriptions, and any follow-up materials needed to verify eligibility, rights, authorship, or selected work.
We use this information to administer the contest, verify eligibility and Shopify Order # status, communicate with entrants, conduct internal eligibility review, support anonymous judging, notify selected photographers, confirm rights and file requirements, present selected work, promote or document On Rose and its results, and comply with applicable legal or operational requirements.
We may share information with service providers and platforms that help us administer the contest, including Shopify and Zealous. Judges will review eligible photographs anonymously and will not be shown entrant names, contact information, Shopify Order #, contribution amount, or AI disclosure information during judging.
Selected photographers may be asked to provide additional information or materials, such as print-ready files, original capture files, editing or process information, releases, short biographies, or statements needed for exhibition, publication, promotion, or verification.
For more information about how Looking Glass collects, uses, discloses, and protects personal information, please review our full Privacy Policy.
Keep the rest of the Official Rules numbering the same. Section 17 would still be Taxes, Section 18 Limitation of Liability, and so on.
17. Taxes
Entrants and selected photographers are solely responsible for any taxes, fees, or reporting obligations associated with any prize, award, recognition, publication, exhibition opportunity, or other benefit received in connection with the contest.
18. Limitation of Liability
By entering, entrants agree to release and hold harmless Looking Glass, its owners, employees, contractors, judges, partners, platforms, and representatives from claims, damages, losses, liabilities, or expenses arising out of participation in the contest, submission of photographs, acceptance or use of any award or recognition, or use of submitted work as permitted by these Official Rules.
Nothing in these rules limits liability where such limitation is prohibited by law.
19. General Conditions
Looking Glass reserves the right to cancel, suspend, modify, or terminate the contest if fraud, technical failures, legal restrictions, platform problems, insufficient eligible entries, or other circumstances impair the integrity, fairness, feasibility, or proper administration of the contest.
If the contest is canceled or modified, Looking Glass may, in its discretion, judge eligible submissions received before the change or take other reasonable steps consistent with the purpose of the contest.
Looking Glass’s decisions regarding eligibility, interpretation of these rules, administration, judging process, selected photographers, disqualification, and all other contest matters are final.
20. Governing Law
The contest and these Official Rules are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any disputes arising from or relating to the contest shall be resolved in the state or federal courts located in Alameda County, California, unless otherwise required by applicable law.
21. Questions
Questions about On Rose may be directed to Looking Glass at:
LookingGlassContests@gmail.com
Please include your full name, the email address used for entry, and your Shopify Order # if your question relates to a submitted entry.