There will be two first place winners of the fundraising portion of our photo contest.  One will be the top cat themed fundraiser and the top dog themed fundraiser. See RULES for information about photos that include cats and dogs.

The two first place winners will receive:

• One entry into the There's No Place Like Home 5k on September 14
• All fundraising totals will roll over into the 5k Lollipop Guild Fundraising competition to be able to continue fundraising and earn exciting incentives
• Social media thank you and promotion of your photo

Second place winner

• Set of two 19oz travel mugs with your pet's photo on them

Third place winner

• Individually designed T-shirt featuring your pet and sold in our Bonfire shop

All fundraisers garnering more than 1000 votes will receive a Homeward Pet branded gift valued at $50.

Fundraising Prizes sponsored by Homeward Pet and Digital You Photography

• Judge’s Choice HPAC Alum (Cat and Dog) – Your pet’s photo printed on a set of 8 coasters, and your pet’s photo in the header for our social media platforms during a month in 2024.

Photo Prizes sponsored by Digital You Photography

•  "Contest Period" - 07/11/24 to 07/31/24.
• "The Contest" – Homeward Pet "I ❤️ my Pet" Photo Contest, which includes both a photo contest component and a fundraising component run as two separate contests within one. Both require upload of a photo for the contest.
• "Judges Choice Photo Contest" - component of The Contest which is judged by an independent panel of Homeward Pet Staff and Volunteers to arrive at the top three.
• "Fundraising Contest" - component of The Contest which entails a votes-based fundraising competition to raise money for the cats and dogs of Homeward Pet. 
  
  

• Photographs must contain only pets (owned or adoptable animals) and no full human faces. Partial faces, hands or arms are ok, as long as they support the theme "I ❤️ my Pet".  We will require model releases if a photo with a recognizable human is chosen.
• Photographs may not be edited or altered (other than minor color, contrast, or sharpness adjustments.)
• Your pet does NOT have to be adopted from the Homeward Pet to be eligible to enter this contest.
• There is no limit on the number of photographs that can be entered. 
• Photographs taken by a minor must be submitted by a legal guardian.
• This is an amateur photo contest. Professional or watermarked photography will not be accepted.
• Cell phone photographs are acceptable as long as they have not been excessively filtered using popular apps and are submitted without a lot of cropping.
• Photos should be high resolution (3650 pixels x 2740 pixels is preferred for printing purposes).
• Acceptable photo formats are limited to .jpg, .bmp, and .tif
• Any photograph that includes content that is deemed inappropriate, indecent, or obscene, as determined by the staff of Homeward Pet in their sole discretion, will be removed from the Contest with no opportunity for a refund.
• Photographs must be uploaded via this contest site.

The  "I ❤️ my Pet" Photo Contest (the "Contest") is open to all legal U.S. residents who are at least eighteen (18) years of age. The Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. Void where prohibited or restricted by law or regulations. This contest is also open to Homeward Pet Staff and Volunteers.  Staff/Volunteers who enter will not be eligible to judge in the Judge’s Choice portion of the contest.

Online entries must be received between 07/11/24 to 07/31/24 (the "Contest Period"). All entries and requests become the property of Homeward Pet and will not be acknowledged or returned. By submitting a photo, entrant agrees that Homeward Pet may use any submitted photos in donation solicitations or on our site or social media without acknowledgement or recompense. Know that these uses help raise more money for homeless pets, so your submission could continue to help homeless pets even if it does not win.

You agree that Homeward Pet may at any time, including prior to the Contest close, request a larger resolution version of the submitted entry. This request is not to be construed as indication of a winning entry.

You will be asked for the following information during the entry process:

• Your pet's name
• Your pet’s species
• Your name
• If your pet was adopted, rescued, purchased, a gift or still adoptable
• From what organization or individual your pet was adopted/rescued/purchased
• To confirm that you took the photo being entered

The donation for entry is $1, and will earn you 5 votes automatically. This is a fundraiser to benefit homeless pets. Donations are tax deductible by law. Please save your receipts for your tax records. Homeward Pet is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Each photo uploaded enters both the Fundraising and the Photo Contest. It is not necessary to submit two copies of the same photo to enter both contests.

Fundraising Contest

• Voting is required to participate in and win the Fundraising Contest.
• Voting requires a $1 donation per vote. Entrants can and should solicit votes using the tools provided.
• Must raise a minimum of $100 to be entered into the Judge's Choice contest
• The one cat photo and one dog photo with the most votes (donations) at the end of the contest period will win the Fundraising Contest and our undying gratitude for the moneys raised.
• If a photo contains both a cat and a dog, it will be considered for both the cat and the dog contests but cannot win both. See SELECTION OF WINNERS for how winner is determined in this case.
• The voting period will begin at 9 a.m. on 7/11/24 – 8 p.m. on 7/31/24.
  • Entrants may vote for their own entries.
  • To vote, voter must go to the photo contest site and purchase a minimum of five (5) votes for a $5 donation. Those votes can then be cast for any photo entered in the contest in one vote increments.
  • Voters do not have to use all the votes at the time of donation, nor on a single entry. When voters donate, they will be given the option of applying all the votes to one (1) entry or setting up an account and storing votes in their account. If voter chooses to store the votes, voter can log in to their account using their ID and password and vote later.
  • Votes left unused at the termination of the contest will be considered donations and will not be applied towards any single entry.
• Voting will not affect the decision for the photos in the Judges Choice Photo Contest. The Photo Contest is run separately from the Fundraising Contest.
  • It is possible that the photo that wins Fundraising Contest will also win the Photo Contest. Both winners are chosen separately. In this instance, the winner will be eligible to claim both prizes. 

Photo Contest

• Voting is not required to win the Judges Choice Photo Contest.
• Three photographs will be hand-chosen by a panel of Homeward Pet Staff to win the Photo Contest.
• It is possible that the photo that wins Fundraising Contest will also win the Photo Contest. Both winners are chosen separately. In this instance, the winner will be eligible to claim both prizes.

Fundraising Contest

• Fundraising winners will be determined by public voting in the form of donations made on their entries. The top fundraising cat and the top fundraising dog photo will tie for first place.

• If a photo contains both a cat and a dog, it will be considered for both the cat and the dog contests but cannot win both.
  • If a cat/dog photo raises more than all other cat photos, it will win the cat photo contest.
  • If a cat/dog photo raises more than all other dog photos, it will win the dog photo contest.
  • If a cat/dog photo raises more than all other cat and dog photos, we will look at the next highest fundraiser and the cat/dog photo will win the opposite.  Eg. If the next highest fundraiser is a cat photo, the cat/dog photo will win the dog photo contest.
  • In the event of a three way tie, additional prizes will be procured.
• Second and third place winners will be independent of species and will be solely chosen based on votes.
• Winners of the Fundraising Contest will be notified by e-mail during the first week of August and will be given instructions on how to claim prize.

Judges Choice Photo Contest

The winners will be chosen from all entries. A panel of judges designated by the Homeward Pet will judge all entries on the following factors:

• the quality of the image
• how well the image fits the theme

Judging will begin immediately following the close of the contest.

We will make every effort to contact winners. Any prize notification returned as undeliverable through no fault of Homeward Pet will result in disqualification of the potential winner and an alternate new entry will be selected. Winners will be notified by email to the address provided by entrants, who are solely responsible for its accuracy.

When you enter the Homeward Pet "I ❤️ my Pet" Photo Contest, you warrant that you are at least eighteen (18) years old as of the date of entry, that the photograph is original, that you are the sole owner and copyright holder of that photograph, and that you have not granted exclusive rights of that photograph to any other person or entity. You also warrant that the photograph does not invade the right of privacy of any individual; does not infringe any trademark, trade name, trade secret, intellectual property right, or other common law or statutory right; nor does it contain any material that otherwise violates any criminal prohibition or the personal or proprietary rights of any person or entity.
 

With regard to any image or content submitted, you agree to grant the Homeward Pet, its legal representatives, successors, and assigns, the nonexclusive right and permission to use, modify, adapt, reproduce, publish, and distribute the photograph, or any portion thereof, throughout the world, in any printed form and by any kind of mechanical or electronic or any other method or device of reproduction, publication, and distribution known or later developed, during the full term of the copyright, and without notification or payment. Homeward Pet agrees that it will never sell the photograph or rights in the photograph to any individual or entity.

You agree that Homeward Pet may at any time, including prior to the Contest close, request the full resolution version of the submitted entry. This request is not to be construed as indication of a winning entry.

Homeward Pet shall not be responsible for printing, typographical, human or other errors of any kind in any Contest-related materials or for stolen, lost, late, misdirected, damaged, incomplete, or illegible entries. If, for any reason, the Contests are not capable of running as planned, or infection by computer viruses, bugs, or tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, actions of entrants, technical failures, or any other causes corrupt or infect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of the Contests, the Homeward Pet reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify any entry or entrant and/or to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Contests and at its sole discretion award a prize from among all eligible non-suspect entries validly received prior to the action requiring such modification. By entering, all Contestants agree that the Contests are governed by laws of the State of Washington for the resolution of all claims and disputes (excluding any claims against or disputes involving parties other than the Homeward Pet relating to any prize awarded in the Contests).
 

Personally identifiable information provided by entrants and voters will be added to the Homeward Pet's email list. Entrants and voters will be able to "opt out" of future such communications by following the instructions on any electronic communication we send. Sponsor does not sell, rent, trade or share its email addresses with any third parties for such party's own marketing purposes. 

LEGAL WARNING: ANY ATTEMPT BY AN INDIVIDUAL, WHETHER OR NOT AN ENTRANT, TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE, DESTROY, TAMPER OR VANDALIZE THIS WEB SITE OR INTERFERE WITH THE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST, IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES AND DILIGENTLY PURSUE ALL REMEDIES AGAINST ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

Homeward Pet - 13132 NE 177th Place, Woodinville, WA 98072

DigitalYou Photography Prize Sponsor

If you have any other questions about the Homeward Pet "I ❤️ my Pet" Photo Contest, please contact Kim Leary by email at kim@homewardpet.org. Thank you for participating and supporting Homeward Pet!

Prepare for your photo shoot

• Clean your lenses with a soft cloth to remove smudges that will give your photos a soft focus you weren't intending.
• Grab some treats.It's not cheating to use cheese or hot dogs or whatever your pet's favorite treat is to get them to look at the camera.  
• Photos with natural light are best because you avoid the issues with demonic flash eyes. Open the blinds, turn on more lights or head outside.
• Avoid midday sun which can be harsh and blow out all the beautiful contours of your pet's coat.  A bright shady spot can be relaxing and beautiful.  If possible, put the sun behind you so that it can create those happy little glints in your pets' eyes.
  
  

Take the shot

• Vary the orientation of your photo - take some in landscape (sideways) and portrait (up and down). 
• Get down to their level. Taking a photo from eye level of your pet is much more interesting and often will capture more of the awesomeness that is your pet than standing over them and taking the photo downwards.
• If using treats or toys or squeakers to get their attention - wave the treat or toy slowly around to catch their attention and get their eyes following it.  Settle it right above the viewfinder a second before you take the shot.  The pet's eyes will appear to be looking right into the lens.  Make sure to give them the cheese or a treat right after so that you can use the trick over and over.  PS Cats like treats too - they're just more picky about what...
• Move in or zoom in as close as you can without scaring or distracting your pet to really showcase how adorable he/she is.  You don't need to capture their entire body in the photo for people to know that it's a dog or a cat.  Note that most smart phones have pretty good telephoto.  Try going in to 3 or even 5x zoom.
• Focus on their eyes.  Most camera phones allow you to tap on the screen where you want the focus to be.  Tap on your pet's face.
• Try shooting from different angles. You can eliminate background distractions by moving even a foot to one side or the other. 
• Pay attention to what is behind your pet. We've all seen those photos where Uncle Harold appears to have a plant growing out of his head. Look at the preview as you move around your pet until what is behind them is mostly a solid or blurred, non-distracting, background.
• Pay attention to what is on the floor near your pet. If you're looking through the viewfinder and see a dirty sock by Fluffy's paw, kick the sock out of the way before taking your shot.
• Have fun! If you or your pet are getting frustrated with the session, the photos will show it.  Take it easy. Take breaks. Talk to your pet in a happy high voice.  Distribute treats liberally.  
  
  

Things to avoid:

• Choke, shock or pinch collars and muzzles
• Blurry subjects
• Busy photos, where there is so much going on in the background that it distracts from your pet.
• Situations where your pet is only a minor addition to the photo. This is a pet photo contest so, while the Grand Canyon is impressive, it likely will distract from adorable little Muffin, who accompanied you on your vacation.
• Overly processed photos.  While apps and filters are fun, they are not for this contest where we want to see your pet's true natural personality.
• Photos where your pet doesn't appear to be having fun.
• More tips and tricks here:
• https://www.aspcapetinsurance.com/resources/how-to-photograph-pets/ 
• https://digital-photography-school.com/top-10-pet-photography-tips-techniques/ 
• https://shotkit.com/dog-photography-tips/