Windows Live and Bing Photo Contest
Official Rules

CONTEST OVERVIEW

This is a skill-based Contest.  The object of this Contest is to submit a digital image that embodies the contest theme of "Clouds" for the Grand Prize of being on the Bing Homepage for a day.  No other compensation will be provided.

CAN I ENTER?

You are eligible to enter this Contest if you meet the following requirements at time Entry:

You are a legal resident of the 50 United States (includes District of Columbia) and are 16 years of age or older.

o   If you are 16 of age or older, but are considered a minor in your place of residence, you should ask your parent's or legal guardian's permission prior to submitting an Entry into this Contest; and

  • You are NOT an employee of Microsoft Corporation or an employee of a Microsoft subsidiary; and
  • You are NOT involved in any part of the administration and execution of this Contest; and
  • You are NOT an immediate family (parent, sibling, spouse, child) or household member of a Microsoft employee, an employee of a Microsoft subsidiary, or a person involved in any part of the administration and execution of this Contest.

This Contest is void outside the geographic area described above and wherever else prohibited by law.

WHAT ARE THE START AND END DATES?

This Contest starts at 9:00 a.m. PT October 1, 2010 and ends at 11:59 p.m. PT on Friday October 22, 2010  ("Entry Period").

HOW DO I ENTER?

For purposes of this Contest, each digital image submitted in the Contest will be called an "Entry."   All eligible entries received will be judged using the criteria described below to determine the winners.  We will only accept 5 entries per person.  Additional entries in excess of 5 by the same Entrant will be disqualified.

To enter,

  • Send your Entry to WLcontest@hotmail.com by Friday October 22th, 2010. Your email should include your image(s), image title, short description of the image(s), your first/last name, and a contact email address.

You may also choose to include optional hotspots which are the 160 character limited descriptions about your photograph.

Contest submissions must include the following specifications and information to be eligible:

  • Your photograph must fit within the contest theme of "clouds".
  • Your photograph must meet the Photo Guidelines referenced below; and
  • Your photograph must be your own original work - you must have taken the photograph yourself; and
  • Your photograph cannot have been selected as a winner in any other contest; and
  • Your photograph must not violate the rights of any other person or company by using their trademarks, copyrights logos, names or images, or feature any recognizable person; and

Photographs must NOT contain, content that:

  • Is sexually explicit, unnecessarily violent or derogatory of any ethnic, racial, gender, religious, professional or age group; profane or pornographic;
  • promotes alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, firearms/weapons (or the use of any of the foregoing) or a particular political agenda;
  • is obscene or offensive;
  • defames, misrepresents or contains disparaging remarks about other people or companies;
  • contains trademarks, logos, or trade dress (such as distinctive packaging or building exteriors/interiors) owned by others;
  • contains copyrighted materials owned by others (including photographs, sculptures, paintings, and other works of art or images published on or in websites, television, movies or other media);
  • contains any recognizable figure, living or dead;
  • communicates messages or images inconsistent with the positive images and/or good will to which we wish to associate; and/or violates any law

Photographs may NOT contain, as determined by us, in our sole and absolute discretion, any content that does not comply with these Official Rules or the Photo Guidelines. We reserve the right to reject any Entry, in our sole and absolute discretion, that we determine does not meet the above criteria.

HOW WILL MY ENTERY BE POTENTIALLY USED?

Other than what is set forth below, we are not claiming any ownership rights to your photograph. However, by submitting your photograph, you (your Parent / Legal Guardian on your behalf if you are a minor):

  • Are granting us an irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual right and license to: (i) use, review, assess, and otherwise analyze your photograph and all its content including any hotspots in connection with this Contest; (ii) feature your photograph and all its content including any hotspots in connection with the promotion of this Contest in all media (now known or later developed); and (iii) to use, reproduce, publish, modify, perform and display the photograph and all its content including any hotspots on the http://www.bing.com webpage or any replacement or successor to such web page, any sub domains, any international versions of http://www.bing.com , and in any marketing or advertising of any kind related thereto, in all media (now known or later developed); and
  • Agree to sign any necessary documentation that may be required for us and our designees to make use of the rights you granted above; and
  • Understand and acknowledge that the Promotion Parties may have developed or commissioned materials similar or identical to your photograph and you waive any claims you may have resulting from any similarities to your photograph; and
  • Understand that you will not receive any compensation or credit for use of your photograph, other than what is described in these Official Rules Please note that if your photograph is displayed on http://www.bing.com , any sub-domains or any international versions of http://www.bing.com , we may include your first name and title of the photo. Please note that during this Contest your photograph may be posted on a website or displayed publicly on a website selected by us for viewing by visitors to that website's public location. We are not responsible for any unauthorized use of your photograph by visitors. While we reserve these rights, we are not obligated to use your photograph for any purpose, even if it has been selected as a winning Entry.

If you do not want to grant us these rights to your photograph, please do not enter this Contest.

WINNER SELECTION AND PRIZES

On or around the close of the Entry Period, a panel of judges will review all eligible photographs and select winners as follows:

Ten (10) First Prizes. Each winner will have their image featured in a Windows Theme Pack.

One (1) Grand Prize. The winner will have their photo featured on the http://www.bing.com US-English homepage on November 8th, 2010. Microsoft may choose to use any hotspots within the winning photograph but is not obligated to do so. The winning photographer will be given credit for the photograph.

Judging will be completed no later than November 5th after which the winners will be notified by the email used to submit their entry

The photographs will be judged based on:

  • 50% - how visually stunning they are
  • 50% - how well they meet the selection criteria and aesthetic guidelines detailed below.

HOW CAN I FIND OUT WHO WON?

The winning submission will be presented on http://www.bing.com November 8th, 2010. Additionally, there will be a blog post on the Bing community site (http://www.bing.com/community) and messaging on the Bing Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/bing)

WHO IS SPONSORING THIS CONTEST?

Microsoft Corporation One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052

PHOTO GUIDELINES

In celebration of the latest release of Windows Live Essentials - the best way to connect your PC to the cloud -  we're looking for some breathtaking and stunning pictures of clouds . Your photographs can be anything so long as they relate to clouds; rainbows, thunderclouds, airplane contrails, orographic clouds, you name it!

When taking your photo, think about the following:

  • The image should draw you in and be a starting place for exploring Bing.
  • Strive for subtlety and poetry. For example, if the photo was taken on a day of celebration, you shouldn't have to know that it's Halloween, Columbus Day, or Mother's Day to enjoy the photo.

We have some basic requirements about the size of photos you submit, the orientation and format, so please read on.

Subject matter

We strive to show new things every day, but we do have the following limits on subject matter:

  • No recognizable people
  • No 3rd party trademarks or logos (such as distinctive packaging or building exteriors / interiors) owned by others
  • No objectionable content, such as alcohol, smoking, guns, violence, or nudity
  • No content that is defamatory to any group or individual and/or violates any law

Technical Requirements (File type, size, etc.)

The raw image files that you submit need to meet the following requirements:

Format

JPEG only

Dimensions

Minimum of 970px width and 528px height.
Higher resolution is better. Note that we prefer to have the image submitted in its original size and aspect ratio, which will allow us the most flexibility when sizing and cropping to meet the needs of the homepage. However if the aspect ratio is very different, the cropping used for the thumbnail in the contest may be sub-par. We do reserve the right to crop, modify, and edit images at our discretion to work within the constraints of the homepage.

Orientation

Horizontal.

Resolution

At least 1MB.

Markup

No watermark, signature or photographer name can be included in the image file. The photographer credit for the winner will be added to the page separately.

Composition

The logo, search box, and explore pane need room to breathe. Images we use on the homepage need to have the main focus away from that area of the frame, as shown below:

The main area of interest should be in the lower and right side of the photo.

Quick list of reasons we may not select your picture to win:

  • If it's a digital composition or other obvious computer manipulation (we don't use this type of imagery)
  • If we can't crop the image to fit the page
  • If the image is vertically oriented (would result in empty space)
  • If the subject fills the entire frame (can't crop)
  • If the image is too busy (can't compress)
  • If the resolution is not sufficient (image would be grainy)
  • If the image is obviously staged or shot in a studio (not our style)
  • If there isn't enough contrast with the page background (too monotone)
  • If there is a watermark, signature or photographer name burned in the image (we add the photographer credit separately for the winner)
  • If the image doesn't work with our page layout (see composition section)
  • If the image doesn't meet the technical, subject matter, and composition requirements outlined above