Head On Portrait Prize is the nation's major innovative showcase for Australian portrait photography, reflecting a vibrant, diverse cross-section of new and traditional photographic practices.

Mark RogersThe show's main selection criteria are the quality and impact of the image, rather than the celebrity of the photographer or subject. As a result Head On is regarded by the arts community and reviewers as the most critically important photographic portrait prize in the country.

Head On, was founded by Moshe Rosenzveig in 2004 as an independent national photographic portrait competition. Since then it has undergone exponential growth and now operates as a public non-profit company.

Sydney based, it travels to arts hubs in other Australian regions and has an online virtual exhibition presence year round. It was part of Daylesford Biennale in 2007 and Vivid Photography Festival in Canberra in 2008 and was exhibited in Melbourne in 2009 and Canberra in 2010 and 2011.

Past winners of Head On were: Greg Weight Stephen Dupont, Anthony Browell, Patricia Casey, Sally McInerney, Stephen Siewert, Samantha Everton, Thuy Vy, Matthew Duchasne; Neil Wallace, Christian Mushenko, Brendan Esposito, Richard Kendall, Tobias Titz, Montalbetti & Campbell, Katerina Mantelos, Vincent Long, Janyon Boschoff, Gary Heery, David Kelly, Gil Meydan, Fiona Wolf, Karl Schwerdtfeger, Franky Tsang, Shoana Greyerbiehl, James Brickwood, Katrin Koening, Alex Vaughan and Gary Ramage.

The 40 finalists showed each year are  selected from thousands of submissions by a panel of judges working in the visual arts.

Past judges include art world luminaries such as Magnum photographer Trent Parke, multi award winning photographer Narelle Autio, National Gallery of Victoria senior curator - photography Dr Isobel Crombie, MCA Head of Artistic Programs Judith Blackall, SMH Photographic Managing Editor Sandra Harrison, multi award winning photographer Sean Izzard, Good Weekend Picture Editor Judith Love, multi award-winning photographer Stephen Dupont, former Co-director of Stills Gallery and current freelance curator Sandy Edwards, Sherman Galleries Director Dr Gene Sherman, The Sydney Morning Herald photography critic Robert McFarlane, prize-winning photographer Anthony Browell, Russell Storer Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art at the time (now Contemporary Asian Art Curator, Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane), Isabelle Rouvoullois, gallerist Sandra Byron, Michael Nagy and Head On Curator, Moshe Rosenzveig.

Photo by William YangThe 2010 show was officially opened by the Minister for the Arts, Peter Garrett in front of a record crowd of 1200 people.

Head On has been running on a very limited budget raised through entry fees and thanks to the goodwill of many people. It has been supported by Olympus, Adobe, Momento, Epson, Sandisk, Focal Press, ACDSee, MailChimp, PureMac, Nik Software, Pixel Perfect Prolab, High Res Digital Imaging, Agileware, Baker & McKenzie, Fuji Film, TAFE NSW, Lowepro, Kayell, Buy-n-Shoot.com, Time Out, Capture, Better Photography, Shaw Vineyard Estate, City of Sydney, Waverley Council, Centennial Parklands, Arts Hotel, Australian Centre for Photography, Bendigo Bank, Messy Design, Australian Commercial and Media Photographers and The Australian Institute of Professional Photography.

Head On Reviews
'...Head On is really the only opportunity to see the best portraiture work the country has to offer' Good Weekend

'Now in its fourth year, it [Head On] is already poised to outlast the show that provided its impetus.' Art Gallery Guide Australia

'Head On photographic portrait prize has grown beyond the expectations of its founder Moshe Rosenzveig to become one of the nation's major photomedia exhibitions' Wentworth Courier

'The fourth exhibition...shows a fascinating cross-section of practice from photographers new and established' Weekend Australian