Teen Photo Contest
The much anticipated Teen Photo Contest, brought to you by Lambton County Library, the Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery (JNAAG), and Lambton College, is back for 2025. This year's theme is “Stories in Focus”. Participants aged 13 - 18 are encouraged to take creatively inspired photographs to tell a story. Each photographer can submit up to five photographs from April 2 until July 6, 2025.
A panel of industry experts will review all entries and select up to 25 photos to be featured alongside works by Adad Hannah in an exhibit at JNAAG from August 1 to October 5, 2025.
The jury will also select a grand prize winner as well as a winner for each of the following categories:
Comedy:
Capture a lighthearted, humorous moment. Think about how to bring a funny scenario to life through playful characters, exaggerated settings, or whimsical surprises. Play with visual contrasts, juxtaposition, irony, and absurdities.
Drama:
Explore tension, emotion, and human experience. Whether it's a deeply personal story, a dramatic reenactment, or an awe-inspiring location, convey intensity and raw emotion through your lens. Conflict is an important part of a narrative, consider capturing a scene that shows a conflict in need of resolution or the point at which a conflict is resolved. Look for dramatic locations and vistas that could be the setting for a story.
Fantasy:
Step into the extraordinary! Use your camera to create mythical worlds, magical characters, or otherworldly adventures. Fantasy is your opportunity to escape reality and bring your wildest imagination to life. Look for the fantastical in everyday settings; do light and weather conditions give a location an otherworldly quality? Or take something mundane and create something fantastical to photograph.
Teen Photography Workshops
May 18, 12:00 - 3:00 p.m. | Free
Learn the essential rules of composition that will take your photography to the next level. Participants in this workshop will explore key techniques like the rule of thirds, leading lines, framing, and balancing elements within the frame to create visually compelling images. Perfect for beginners and those looking to refine their skills, this session will help you understand how to arrange your subjects in a way that enhances the story of your images.
2025 Jurors
Richard Beland
A music photographer based in Toronto, Canada. His extensive body of work, which dates back to 1993 and includes live performance photographs as well as studio portraits, celebrates popular music's depth and eclectic breadth. From photographs of Coldplay to those of The Tragically Hip, Richard Beland's images of international stars and Canadian icons reveal his passion for his craft, his keen sense of composition, and his steadfast commitment to detail.
Sonya Blazek Curator at the Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery (2019-present). Prior to assuming this role, she was the assistant curator at the Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery (2017-2019), the curator (2016-2017) and assistant curator (2010-2016) at the Thames Art Gallery and served as the gallery administrator for the artist-run-centre ARTspace (2008-2010). She received her Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Art History from Queen’s University.
2024 Teen Photo Contest winners
"Overall" Winner
Isis Belleman-McKeegan
"Local Icons" Winner
Joey Cantalini
"Abstract" Winner
Madeline Palleschi
"Romance of Ruin" Winner
Alexis Brown