A new Artists' Bill of Rights adopter, The Photo Competition to Brand Brum, awaits your entry!

GasStreet milliganGas Street, ©Verity MilliganThis challenge is open for all Midlands amateur and professional photographers to capture Birmingham’s brand, and we are pleased that ORB and Retail Birmingham, sponsors of the competition, adopted and now support the Artists' Bill of Rights principles.

Birmingham branding agency, ORB, presents this competition in partnership with Retail Birmingham for amateur and professional photographers across the Midlands to take up to 10 photos that tell the story of Birmingham and convey what the city means to them.

The competition is part of ORB’s mission to champion Birmingham’s talent and encourage more local business leaders to recruit and invest locally in the city’s creative industries, rather than looking to London or overseas.

Launched on World Photography Day (August 19th), photographers capturing the city, its people and its spirit in their series of pictures can win £1,000 of camera equipment, courtesy of Retail Birmingham and shoppinginbirmingham.com, as well as have the chance to work alongside former Sony World Advertising Photographer of the Year Martin Brent.

Judging the competition alongside Brent will be Chief Executive of the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Paul Faulkner; Co-Founder & Director of Impact Hub Birmingham, Immy Kaur; Retail Birmingham BID Manager, Steve Hewlett; Former Editor of the Birmingham Post, Stacey Barnfield; renowned Birmingham photographer, Verity Milligan and Founder of ORB Branding agency, Rob Bloxham.

Birmingham’s creative scene is booming. Too many businesses look to London or overseas when sourcing talent in the industry, but that needs to change. This competition will showcase the amazing ability that we have on our doorstep and will hopefully encourage more businesses to invest locally. I am also really excited to find a new perspective and identity for the city which goes beyond taking photos of our landmarks, something that has been done so many times before,” said Rob.

As well as the £1,000 of photography equipment vouchers, the winner will be invited to work alongside Martin Brent on a commercial photo shoot, getting the inside track on how to create powerful images for brands that bring their story to life.

CanalDecember milliganCanal, December, ©Verity Milligan

Martin Brent said: “Being asked to judge this competition is a great honour. As someone who has championed Brum's creative talent worldwide, the pressure is now on the entrants to prove me right! While I don't have a pre-determined vision of what the winning images will be, I’ll be looking for a creative and innovative interpretation of what Birmingham represents in the modern world.’’

Retail Birmingham BID manager Steve Hewlett added: “The BID is keen to celebrate and raise the profile of Birmingham’s creative and independent businesses who really help give the city identity and individuality.

“We are delighted to support this great competition and hope to see a selection of stunning images to make our job as judges really tough!

To enter, simply upload up to 10 pictures of Birmingham as well as an explanation of the series in no more than 200 words at www.thisisorb.com/brandbrum. The images can be of people, places, landscapes or buildings, but must be of the city. They can be taken on any device, whether it’s a disposable camera, camera phone or a DSLR, all entries are welcome.

The competition is open to both amateur and professional photographers in the West Midlands and closes at midnight on Monday September 25th.

For more details, please visit www.thisisorb.com/brandbrum

If you are an organizer and would like to adopt the Artists' Bill of Rights' principles for your competition, please contact us with your request.