Signature Image Search

The annual signature image is used on marketing materials for Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival which includes posters (both in Banff and in over 40 countries on the World Tour), banners, website (as well as World Tour host sites), and any marketing materials including brochures, programs, and our Festival/World Tour magazine. The 2025 image represents the 50th anniversary of the Festival which takes place from Nov. 1-9, 2025 at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

Find out more about the stellar 2025 image by Paul Zizka here!

The 50th anniversary photo was selected earlier this year to align with our 2024 Festival marketing materials and we did not open a public entry form. However, once again the public search for an image to represent the 2026 Festival will resume and will be open to all professional photographers.

2026 search :

Open to professional photographers only!
Photos can be taken from anywhere in the world.
Photos have been ideally taken in the past 5 years. See "Image Elements: What are we looking for?" section below.
The photographer also receives far-reaching exposure to their work, and the chosen image will be featured prominently on our website along with the winner's biography, plus the opportunity to attend screenings and events at the Festival.
We offer a payment of $3000 (CAD) for the selected image.
Finalists will be contacted (approx. 4-5 top finalists) to make sure a final high res copy is available should they be selected.
2026 Entry Form opens by January 2025

Technical requirements below. (For reference only)

Technical Requirements | Enter Information

Please read through the image elements below to find out what we are looking for.

Submissions by professional photographers only.
Submit the online form with your contact information and a link to a custom gallery or We Transfer link prepared specifically for the Film Festival.
Please submit a maximum of 30 images. (Ideally your top 10!)
If you only have a few awesome ones that you think are best, then just send those.

IMPORTANT:
We must be able to download the images for our team to review them.
Please do not include an expiry date for downloads. (Minimum 1 week expiry if necessary.)

Tecnical Requirements:

JPG files only.
File size for initial entry:
Between 1 MB (minimum) – 3 MB (maximum) per image.

Final file size:
If selected, you will be asked for higher resolution images in April.
The photographer of the chosen/winning image will be asked to provide a high-resolution RAW or TIFF file.
The image needs to be used in large formats sizes such as tall banners, 11 x 17 posters and larger, therefore the final image will need to be these approximate sizes:
Vertical – 300 dpi at 18 inches x 24 inches or larger
Horizontal – 300 dpi at 24 inches x 18 inches or larger

Please contact Nicky_Lynch@banffcentre.ca if you have any questions.

Image Elements: What we are looking for?

The image can be taken from anywhere in the world, as long as it's mountain-themed.
Ideally the photo has ideally been taken in the last 3-5 years.

Theme: The signature image reflects our mountain-themed Festival.

Concept: We look for an image that evokes passion and energy, has a dynamic and enticing landscape and/or features a mountain activity.

Orientation: The image must work well both vertically and horizontally. Most of our marketing materials are vertical (posters, banners, postcards, ads, etc.), but for web and video production, a horizontal orientation is preferred. Many of our winners have been horizontal originals that crop well vertically for marketing materials.

Clean: We incorporate the placement of numerous sponsor logos, so we are looking for images where these can be easily incorporated.

Exposure: Ideally, we would like an image that hasn’t already appeared in a national ad campaign or featured on a cover of a major magazine. However, if your image has already been used in other major publications/campaigns, please let us know just so we know it's history and previous use. That would be appreciated, many thanks in advance.

Free of commercial elements: We want an image without prominent commercial elements such as clearly visible logos.

The image will be used by Festival and World Tour hosts and partners who are third parties connected to the Festival and may be used on items such as shirts, merchandise, banners etc.