Image by Head On Portrait Prize 2010 Winners: Gil Meydan, Franky Tsang, Fiona Wolf, Karl Schwerdtfeger

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

The 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.

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

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 and Franky Tsang.

Finalists’ work have been selected by Judith Blackall, MCA Head of Artistic Programs, Sandra Harrison, SMH Photographic Managing Editor and Sean Izzard, multiple award winning photographer. The ‘Critic’s Prize’ is selected by photography critic Robert McFarlane.