American Photographic Artists National
Tue 12th May, 2026
Our annual competition is open to all photographers at every level, worldwide -- everyone from emerging photographers to established professionals. APA members save on each entry. APA Leader level members save 50% on each image.
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Steven Anderson is an Executive Producer with extensive experience leading award-winning design, animation, photography, editorial, and VFX teams for global brands, agencies, and entertainment franchises including Marvel and DC. Known for transforming ambitious creative ideas into successful campaigns, he specializes in guiding complex productions from concept through delivery while building strong client partnerships and high-performing teams. He also enjoys great wine, cooking a delicious dinner for eight, he loves to travel and is an NPR junkie. He lives with his husband in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago.
Ronald worked alongside the editors, writers, art directors and photographers at Condé Nast Publications and Vanity Fair magazine to connect all the dots and produce covers, portraits and portfolios on location from Anchorage to the Amazon River and on to Timbuktu for over two and a half decades. I currently have a Silicon Valley based role more on the business side and continue to consult with photographers to develop their work and figure out how best to present it. I’m also putting together my first book. Stay tuned. Creative photography production and consulting in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and on the road worldwide.
A recent recipient of the British Design and Art Director’s club President’s Award for a lifetime of achievement, she’s been named one of the most influential advertising women of the past century by Campaign magazine. Following her co-founding of renowned London agency Mother at age 27, she paused to be a mother for several years, then returned to the industry to invent the Third3ye process. Her method combines strategy, creative, humans, data with her three decades of experience building iconic brands on three continents. PayPal, Farmers Insurance, Barefoot wine and The Body Shop all credit Third3ye for firm strategic navigation and market success. She’s appeared on stage at Cannes, supported the BLAC initiative as well as offered returnships for countless women who paused their careers to be a mother.
Femi is a creative leader by trade and a brand builder and storyteller by obsession, with deep experience where creativity, culture, and innovation drive real-world impact and growth. At Rescue, Femi leads award-winning, large-scale behavior change initiatives for public health organizations across the United States, leveraging branded marketing approaches to deliver integrated, multi-channel campaigns powered by insight-led storytelling and culturally resonant creative. Prior to Rescue, Femi served as VP, Brand Creative at NBCUniversal, where she played a key role in the global rebrand for Universal Destinations & Experiences, associated brand campaigns, and upfront planning for the launch of EPIC Universe. Earlier in her career, she was Head of Creative at Little Dot Studios Americas, shaping modern, short-form storytelling and brand engagement for brands including Google, Disney, and Expedia. Her broader experience spans technology, entertainment, and retail. She lives in Los Angeles.
Shelby Georgis is Chief Creative Officer and partner at HLK, where she leads the agency's creative teams, integrated production, and design discipline. With more than 20 years of experience creating award-winning work for global brands, she's passionate about the intersection of ideas, storytelling, and craft—and helping creative teams produce work that moves people.
Melissa has over 30+ years in the business. Began in print production at Leo Burnett, agent for LA-based production companies, full-time producer at DDB, Ogilvy and Cramer Krasselt, production-cost consultant, and produced for a host of pharma agencies. Fun fact: Melissa was as a motion-capture / voice-over talent in a martial arts video game.
Lisa Kunst is an award-winning producer who has worked in the field for more than 20 years. Lisa’s accolades include awards from Cannes, Clios, D&AD, ANDYs, The One Show, Effies and other national shows. In her role she brings expertise to a wide range of media including print, broadcast/video, out-of-home, experiential, digital and interactive. Lisa’s high-profile clients include Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Mondelez International and Johnson & Johnson.
Julie Maxham is a Senior Integrated Art Producer with extensive experience leading multi-channel creative production across print, motion, CGI and experiential campaigns. She currently works as a full-time Senior Art Producer at Omnicom Production, partnering with healthcare clients including Sanofi, Novartis, Eli Lilly and Acadia Pharmaceuticals.
Throughout her career, Julie has worked with numerous ad agencies including TBWA\Chiat\Day, Ogilvy and DDB to name a few, as well as Sarah Laird & Good Company and Annie Leibovitz. Some of her past brand experience includes Pfizer, Clorox, Harley-Davidson, Boeing, Nissan, and Aldi. When she is not wrangling a team on production, Julie can be found enjoying a long walk on the North Shore of Chicago or eating soup dumplings.
Caitlin Ocegueda is the Director of Content and Capture at NBC Universal where she specializes in producing high profile marketing and publicity photoshoots in addition to coordinating unit photography for various programs under the Universal and Peacock umbrella. Caitlin has over a decade of experience in the entertainment photography industry producing international and domestic photoshoots for television networks such as The CW, NBC and Peacock while also managing live event photo coverage for titles such as The Latin Billboard Music Awards and more. From working on hit scripted shows such as Riverdale or bingeworthy reality shows such as Love Island: USA or The Traitors, Caitlin believes that her positive outlook is truly her secret weapon to achieving success. As a native to Southern California, Caitlin is passionate about helping grow the local Los Angeles photography community and giving back whenever possible.
Born in Costa Rica, raised in New York, and built in Chicago — Jorge is a brand creative executive who has spent his career making large organizations creatively distinct. At Capital One he's leading brand integration for the largest bank merger in two decades. Before that, eleven years at Discover: Super Bowl ECD, enterprise design system, $1B in customer value. He served on the Google AI CMO Council and is a McKinsey executive fellow.
Kate is an experienced Photo Director with over 20 years in creative direction and shoot production for television and editorial projects. After graduating from the School of Visual Arts, she began her career at NBCUniversal following a stint running a small art gallery outside New York City. That journey eventually brought her to Los Angeles, where she broadened her work across television and media. Today, she leads the photo department at Starz, with past experience at The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Disney ABC, Warner Bros., Syfy, Bravo, and USA Network.
Guilherme Possobon is a Creative Director at VML New York, with over 20 years of experience creating global ideas for some of the world’s most relevant brands.
His career began in Porto Alegre, in southern Brazil, and has taken him through São Paulo and Dubai before continuing in New York, where he works on projects at an international scale. Throughout his career, he has worked on and led campaigns for brands such as Coca-Cola, Nissan, Peugeot, Citroën, Gatorade and Visa, among many other global brands across different categories and markets.
In recent years, Guilherme has played a consistent role in Coca-Cola’s global platforms, collaborating closely with the brand’s evolving creative direction and helping build communication that is more coherent, relevant, and culturally connected across different regions. This work contributed to Coca-Cola being named Client of the Year and WPP Creative Company of the Year at Cannes Lions 2024, with special recognition for the “Thanks for Coke-Creating”, the most awarded campaign in Coca-Cola’s history.
His work has received more than 200 recognitions across the world’s leading creative festivals, including D&AD, Cannes Lions, Clio, LIA, New York Festivals and The One Show, among others.
Guilherme focuses on ideas that are culturally grounded in real people and genuine behavior, designed to resonate with those who truly live that reality. His approach to craft has become both his niche and his strength, using it as a tool to bring truth to ideas, amplify meaning and create authentic connections between brands and communities.
Alongside his advertising work, Guilherme develops personal work as a photographer and visual artist, drawing from human narratives, urban culture and everyday observation to shape his creative language.
Yung Savolainen is a production leader with extensive experience across photography, film, and content production. Throughout her career, she has led productions of all sizes, working closely with photographers, directors, creative teams, agencies, and brands to bring creative ideas to life. Her experience spans production management, creative operations, business affairs, budgeting, and execution. Yung brings a practical producer’s perspective and a strong appreciation for great photography, creative craft, and the collaboration behind the work.
Sean is currently Creative Partner/Director for Echo Designlab and ACOMPANY. 2 Studios in NYC focussed on Creative Design, branding, packaging and digital marketing for Luxury, Entertainment, healthcare and Tech clients. Prior to starting his studio, Sean was Vice President/Creative Director for Virgin and Capitol Records where he developed brand and package campaigns for Lenny Kravitz, Courtney Love, Rolling Stones, Christina Aguilera, Janet Jackson, Gorillaz and Iggy Pop to name a few. Smith has won awards for branding and design and is published in numerous design and photo books around the world. He has also been inducted into the Rock&Roll Hall of Fame.
More photos to come for:
Chuck McBride Founder, Executive Creative Director Cutwater
Sony alpha 7r v & lens Sony a7RV (a7R5) Mirrorless Camera | ILCE7RM5 Sony - FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS Standard Zoom Lens | SEL24105G/2 State-of-the-art AI processing uses detailed information about human forms and postures to dramatically improve the camera's subject recognition accuracy
Adobe 12 Month Creative Cloud subscription The Adobe Creative Cloud Pro Plan unlocks all of Adobe’s premium creative apps (including Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere Pro), cloud collaboration, and generative AI tools designed to help creators work smarter and create more.
Agency Access One-year Membership North American Database Powerful Directory Search — designed specifically for creative industry prospecting — allows you to find and target over 100,000 contacts with laser precision.
Blazing Editions 24”x36” Dye Sub Aluminum Print with an Inset Backing of the winning image Blazing Editions has become a leader in the Fine Art Printmaking industry offering unique custom solutions for professional photographers. Dye Sublimation is an innovative archival process that produces incredible image quality without needing protective acrylic or glazing.
Capture One One-year subscription Capture One is professional photo editing software trusted by photographers across every genre. It gives you easy-to-use tools to refine your images with precision, collaborate directly in-app, and deliver exceptional quality images. Whether you're working solo or as part of a team, Capture One supports your creative process from start to finish.
Cradoc fotoSoftware fotobiz business software Developed by photographers for photographers, Cradoc fotoSoftware has been helping photographers streamline business and simplify workflow for over 30 years and is considered the industry standard for freelance photographers. Programs provide pricing, quoting, invoicing, keywording, and complete, end-to-end business management and workflow.
Found One year portfolio membership Found Artists Connecting advertising agencies, magazines and brands to the very best photographers, illustrators and production artists working today.
ImageRights Search and Copyright Enforcement ImageRights International provides intelligent image search and copyright enforcement services to photo agencies and professional photographers worldwide.
PhotoShelter Two-year Pro Account More than 80,000 photographers worldwide use PhotoShelter to power their photography business. Offering websites with e-commerce, searchable galleries, client log-in, reliable cloud storage and essential Internet marketing tools; PhotoShelter is the industry's leading resource for serious photographers looking to have their images found, sold and delivered online.
Tether Tools AeroTrac Workstation System ($300 value) Tether Tools helps simplify digital photography workflow by offering modular workstation solutions and elegant connection tools to create a seamless tethered workflow. With versatile gear designed to improve your process, you can worry less about your tech and focus more on capturing the perfect images.
Think Tank $50, $100, $200 certificates to various winners to purchase products online Think Tank designs and creates high-quality travel gear for the world’s venturing observers. Our sophisticated travel gear raises the bar in carrying solutions — durable across the miles and versatile in every situation. Armed with insights from our community of photographers, Think Tank’s product designers meld form with function so that what you carry is a help, not a hindrance.
All winning photographs are included in the APA Awards printed edition.
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