1. Who we are
Photographers First (the "service") is operated by Bornbee Technologies, a business registered in Italy with its seat in Trieste, VAT number (P.IVA) 10570971217 ("we", "us"). You can reach us at [email protected]. These terms form a contract between you and us when you use the website photographersfirst.com, our emails and any related services.
If you use the service on behalf of a company, festival or other organisation, you confirm that you may bind it to these terms.
2. What the service is
We publish a directory of photography contests, awards, grants, residencies and open calls run by third parties, together with editorial content, guides, tools for planning entries, a newsletter, and showcases such as Photographer of the Month and Picture of the Week. Part of the directory is free to read. Some listings, details and tools are available only to Pro members.
We work hard to keep listings accurate, but deadlines, fees, prizes and rules are set by the organizers and can change without notice to us. Always read the organizer's own rules before you enter or pay.
3. Accounts
You need an account for Pro membership, saved searches, the entry tracker, uploads and some other features. You must be at least 16 years old to open an account. Give accurate information, keep your password private, and tell us promptly if you think someone else has used your account. You are responsible for what happens under your account unless it results from our failure to protect it.
4. Pro membership and payment
Plans. Pro is offered monthly or yearly at the prices shown on the pricing page at the moment you subscribe. Prices include VAT where we are required to charge it to consumers; business customers may see VAT applied according to their country and VAT status.
Free trials and codes. A trial or promotional code gives you Pro for the period stated. Unless you cancel before the trial ends, your subscription starts automatically at the regular price and your payment method is charged. We email you three days before a trial ends. Each code can be used once per person unless stated otherwise, cannot be exchanged for cash and may expire.
Renewal. Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each period until you cancel. You can cancel at any time from your account, in one click, through the billing portal. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current paid period and you keep Pro until then.
Payments. Payments are processed by Stripe Payments Europe Ltd. We never see or store your full card number. If a payment fails, we may retry it and, if it keeps failing, end your Pro access.
Price changes. If we change the price of your plan we tell you at least 30 days before the change applies to you, and you can cancel before it does.
Gifts. Gift codes do not expire. Each works once and gives the stated period of Pro when redeemed.
Guides. Paid guides are digital content made available immediately in your account after payment.
5. Right of withdrawal (consumers in the EU)
If you are a consumer in the European Union you normally have 14 days to withdraw from a distance contract without giving a reason (articles 52 and following of the Italian Consumer Code, Legislative Decree 206/2005). For Pro membership, you ask us to start the service immediately when you subscribe. If you withdraw within 14 days, we refund the payment minus an amount proportional to the days of Pro you used. For guides and other digital content supplied at once, you agree when buying that supply starts immediately and you acknowledge that you therefore lose the right of withdrawal once the content is made available. To withdraw, write to [email protected] or use the model withdrawal form in Annex I(B) of the Consumer Code. This does not affect your legal guarantees.
6. Organizers and promotions
Organizers may submit listings for free. We review each listing before publication and may edit it for clarity and consistency, decline it, or remove it, in particular if it appears misleading, if the rules take unfair rights over entrants' work, or if fees and prizes are not stated clearly. Organizers confirm that the information they submit is accurate and that they have the right to run the call and to use any image they upload.
Paid promotions (Featured, Spotlight, Season) place a listing in highlighted positions for the stated period. Promotion buys visibility, never a better review: promoted listings meet the same rules as every other listing and are labelled as promoted. Promotion credits from a Season package are valid for 12 months. If we remove a promoted listing because it breaks these terms, no refund is due; if we cannot run a promotion for reasons on our side, we refund the unused part.
7. Sponsors
Sponsors book placements online. Every campaign is reviewed before it runs. We may decline a campaign that conflicts with our standards, and in that case we refund it in full. Sponsors confirm that their materials are lawful, accurate and that they own or have licensed them, and that their landing pages comply with the law, including consumer protection and privacy law. Sponsored placements are always labelled. Impression and click figures are counted as described on the sponsor page; we do not guarantee any particular result. Invoices are issued in accordance with Italian and EU VAT rules.
8. Photographs you upload
You keep all rights in the photographs and texts you upload. You grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, resize, display and share them on the service, in our newsletter and on our social channels, solely to run and promote the service and the feature you submitted to (for example your portfolio, Photographer of the Month or Picture of the Week), always with your name. The licence ends when you delete the photograph, except for copies already published in sent newsletters or social posts, which we are not obliged to remove, and except for backups kept for a limited time.
You confirm that you took the photograph or hold the rights to it, and that you have any consent needed from people who can be recognised in it. We remove location and camera data from every upload. We review uploads before they are shown and may decline or remove any of them, giving a reason.
If you believe something on the service infringes your rights, write to [email protected] with the details and we will act promptly, in line with the Digital Services Act.
9. Acceptable use
Do not misuse the service. In particular, do not copy the directory in bulk or by automated means, resell or republish Pro content, share your account, try to get around paywalls or security, upload unlawful, hateful or sexually explicit material, impersonate others, or send spam through any feature. Embedding our public widget as offered on the for bloggers page is welcome.
10. Listings run by others
Contests and open calls listed on the service are run by their organizers, not by us. Your entry, any fee you pay and any prize are matters between you and the organizer, under the organizer's rules. We are not a party to that relationship and are not responsible for an organizer's conduct, although we will investigate any complaint and remove listings that mislead photographers. Links to third-party sites are provided for convenience.
11. Creator and affiliate programs
Participants earn the commission stated in their program terms on payments from people they refer, for the period stated. Commission is not paid on refunded or fraudulent payments, on your own subscription, or on traffic from paid search ads that use our name. Participants must disclose the commercial relationship clearly, as required by their platform and the law, including the Italian Advertising Self-Regulation Code and the guidelines of the Italian Communications Authority (AGCOM) where applicable. We may end participation for breach of these rules.
12. Liability
We provide the service with reasonable care and skill. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for gross negligence or wilful misconduct (article 1229 of the Italian Civil Code), or your statutory rights as a consumer. Within those limits, we are not liable for losses caused by an organizer, for a missed deadline that results from information an organizer changed, or for indirect losses. For business customers, our total liability in any 12-month period is limited to the amounts paid to us in that period.
13. Suspension and closing accounts
You can close your account at any time from your account page or by writing to us. We may suspend or close an account that seriously or repeatedly breaks these terms, after warning you where reasonable. If we close a paid account without cause, we refund the unused part of your subscription. You can contest a moderation decision by replying to the email that informed you of it.
14. Changes to these terms
We may update these terms to reflect changes in the service or the law. For material changes we notify account holders by email at least 30 days in advance. If you do not agree, you can cancel before the change applies.
15. Law, disputes and contact
These terms are governed by Italian law. If you are a consumer, you also keep the protection of the mandatory rules of the country where you live, and you may bring proceedings in the courts of your place of residence. For business customers, the courts of Trieste have exclusive jurisdiction. Consumers may also turn to an out-of-court dispute resolution (ADR) body recognised under Part V, Title II-bis of the Italian Consumer Code. Before any formal step, please write to [email protected]: most problems are solved in a day.