CEWE 2023 contest suspends winning photographer who staged her photo
Nov 15, 2023
Dunja Đuđić
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, concerts, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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The CEWE 2023 photo contest winner caused quite a stir after it was busted for being staged. After a few weeks of investigation. CEWE has now made the decision. This year’s winner Dikye Ariani, has been suspended for “providing untrue and misleading information” about her image.
The backstory
Let me refresh your memory first. Indonesian photographer Dikye Ariani won the first prize in the contest themed “Our world is beautiful” in October. Undoubtedly, her winning image is remarkable, showing a woman playing cards in a traditional Indonesian café, “Warung Kopi.” Other than the flattering title, she also won the grand prize worth over $25,000.
“The proprietress, the sole woman in the scene, welcomes the men from the village after a hard day’s work in the rice fields,” the photo description read (it’s now been removed from CEWE’s website). However, contrary to Ariani’s description – she didn’t actually take the photo at a Warung Kopi. The whole scene was set in a studio.
CEWE’s statement
After investigating the reports from numerous photographers and media outlets, CEWE made the decision. They’ve suspended Dikye Ariani as the 2023 CEWE photo contest winner. Interestingly enough, it wasn’t only for providing false information and misleading the jury and the public. According to CEWE, Ariani has also been unable to prove she owns the usage rights.
Here is the complete statement from CEWE:
“The photo selected by the jury as the overall winner, as well as the winner of the “People” category, is – contrary to the photographer’s statement – not an authentic shot but was created in a studio as a staged scene. We were made aware of this by external photographers.
Staged photographs are not a violation of our terms and conditions. However, the photographer provided untrue and misleading information regarding the creation of the photograph to us and to the jury president of the CEWE Photo Award on stage during the award ceremony, thus misleading the public. This contradicts the values that CEWE stands for as a company.
Furthermore, legal questions arise regarding the usage rights of the photo. The photographer has not satisfactorily answered these questions and failed to submit appropriate documents establishing her as the owner of the usage rights.
We will therefore suspend the award status until the legal situation concerning the photo is fully clarified. Meanwhile, the photo will no longer be displayed by us on our website or other CEWE media.”
This isn’t our first time seeing a staged image winning a prestigious contest. In 2019, Malaysian photographer Edwin Ong Wee Kee won Hamdan International Photography Award (HIPA). Moreover, his photo earned him the grand prize of $120,000, but it was later revealed to be staged. My favorite case involves photographing a stuffed anteater and winning the 2017 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition.
Dunja Đuđić
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, concerts, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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20 responses to “CEWE 2023 contest suspends winning photographer who staged her photo”
Oh no, a photographer staged a photo! I’m betting that’s never happened before in the history of photography!
Robert Bray I don’t think it’s a matter of staging it, it’s a matter of lying about staging it. But I wonder why they lied when it’s really done so well! I’d want credit for making such an authentic scene. ☺️
Matt Nicki Lautemann If you read the story it was a group shoot, multiple photographers were there taking photos, not much to take credit for I’d say! 😂
Shane Simmons yes, so the contest winner isn’t even the one who actually staged the shot.
Matt Nicki Lautemann they didn’t make the scene either!
So why lie if the photographer could have submitted it as staged?
ロッリンス デイジャネー They stated it was candid probably because the competition called for candid (as opposed to staged) shots.
Shane Simmons I understand that but I don’t understand why they would lie that it was candid if a staged photo was acceptable?
ロッリンス デイジャネー stages photos weren’t acceptable
Sebastian Nowakowski from the article, the organization response:
“Staged photographs are not a violation of our terms and conditions. However, the photographer provided untrue and misleading information regarding the creation of the photograph to us and to the jury president of the CEWE Photo Award on stage during the award ceremony, thus misleading the public. This contradicts the values that CEWE stands for as a company.”
ロッリンス デイジャネー because their bs story sounds so much better than “I took this at a Fuji camera event of a staged setup with paid actors that Fuji arranged for us”
Michael Hussey I see OK. Does the story contribute to judgement of the photo in the contest?
ロッリンス デイジャネー I’m not sure. Probably not initially, but maybe in the later rounds of judging.
ロッリンス デイジャネー I’ve often wondered if the title you chose will change your chances in art contests.
Michael Hussey I imagine it does something because a good title can catch people’s attention on a list that may make them more interested in seeing the photo
Sad.
Good 👍🏼
How the judges couldn’t see this is beyond me, said it as soon as I saw it
Just like awards Pro Bono ads…
Photoshopgrapher