Awards guide · British Columbia
Georgie Awards Photo Guide: CHBA BC Image Rules, Counts and Timing
For builders, renovators and designers entering the CHBA BC Georgie Awards. Checked against the 2027 Call for Entries on November 1, 2026.
The Georgie Awards are CHBA BC’s province-wide housing awards, judged entirely from the photos, plans and 300 words you submit. Images are JPEG only, 300 DPI and up to 10 MB each. They must be in colour, with no people, logos, renderings, virtual staging or “digitally enhanced images”. Night-time exteriors are not judged. Most new homes take 12 images, renovations up to 14 including up to 4 “before” photos, and kitchens 8. Files are named with the category, the entry ID and the project name. The 2027 awards close at 8:00 p.m. on November 3, 2026, earlier in the season than HAVAN or the CHBA National Awards. The photography therefore has to be finished by mid-October, which means shooting in summer or early fall.
Key dates and fees (2027 awards)
| Item | 2027 Georgie Awards |
|---|---|
| Eligible projects | Built, renovated, developed or marketed between January 1, 2025 and October 31, 2026 |
| Entry portal | Opened September 8, 2026 at georgie.awardsplatform.com |
| Entry deadline | 8:00 p.m., Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Payment due at the same time. No extensions. |
| Entry fee | $399 + GST per entry (categories 1–45); $499 + GST for Grand Georgie categories (46–52) |
| Finalists | Announced January 2027 |
| Gala | March 2027; venue to be announced |
| Who can enter | CHBA BC member companies only. Every company listed must be a member in good standing. Joining a local association such as HAVAN includes provincial membership. |
Source: 2027 Georgie Awards Call for Entries (October 20, 2026 version).
The image rules
The Call for Entries says images that break the specifications “will not be judged”, and CHBA BC can withdraw an entry that does not meet them.
- File: high-quality JPEG only, saved at 300 DPI, 10 MB maximum. No PDF, TIFF, GIF or PSD. Horizontal, vertical or square.
- Colour only, including “before” photos for renovations. Black-and-white or greyscale images are not judged.
- No people, unless the category requires them. The exception may not apply to renovation “before” images.
- Anonymous: no company names or logos in the images, plans or text. Entries that include them are not judged. Sales and marketing categories are exempt.
- No renderings, virtual staging or “digitally enhanced images”. The rules do not define “digitally enhanced”. Our reading: honest exposure, colour and perspective correction is how every architectural photograph is finished, while added furniture, replaced skies, composited windows or heavy retouching are what the rule is aimed at. If an image depends on an edit you would hesitate to describe to the judges, leave it out.
- Night exteriors are not judged. Dusk images are “fine (but not recommended)” as long as the judges can see the exterior features. This is stricter than HAVAN, so the hero exterior should be a daylight frame.
- No borders, frames or layered composites.
- Exact counts: the portal will not accept more images than the category asks for.
How many images each category takes
| Categories (2027) | Images |
|---|---|
| Production, small-scale, multiplex and custom homes (1–3, 5–9) | 12: 2 exterior, 6 interior, 4 of your choice |
| Developments (4, 10–12, 14) | 12: 4 setting, architecture or entrance; 4 principal living areas; 4 of your choice |
| New kitchens (15–17) | 8 |
| Renovations (18–26) | Up to 14: up to 4 “before” and up to 10 “after” |
| Kitchen renovations (27–28) | 8: 2 “before” and 6 “after” |
| Primary suites, bathroom, any room (29–32) | 10 |
| Interior design (33–34) | 10 interior images |
| Environmental and energy-labelled homes (42–43) | 12 |
Grand Georgie awards for builder and renovator of the year reuse images from your other entries, so every category entry also feeds the bigger award. Interior categories 29–37 do not need “before” photos.
File naming
Complete the online registration first: it generates the entry ID you need before labelling anything. Then name every file with the category number and entry ID, followed by the project name and the image number. The Call for Entries example is a category 20 entry with ID 1204: 20-1204-Hudson-1, 20-1204-Hudson-2, and so on. CHBA BC asks for a project name rather than a street address, and warns that incorrect labelling can disqualify a submission.
How the judging works
The panel comes from outside British Columbia and is monitored by an accounting firm. Nobody visits the projects: entries are judged “based solely on entry materials provided.” The project description is read aloud while the judges look at the images, and each criterion is scored from one to six. Up to five top-scoring entries per category become finalists.
Two practical consequences:
- Sequence the images to follow the text. If the description moves from arrival to kitchen to the principal suite, the images should too. The judges are listening and looking at the same time.
- Show what the criteria score. New-construction criteria include “architectural character, curb appeal and integration of the project into its setting”. One frame that shows the house in its street or landscape earns its place.
When to photograph
The Georgie deadline falls in early November, and the eligibility window closes at the end of October. That makes it the first of the three BC-relevant programmes each season. Working back:
- Before demolition: photograph “before” conditions in colour, from the angles the finished photos will use.
- Summer to early fall: shoot finished projects while the light and landscaping are at their best. Daylight exteriors matter more here than at HAVAN because night shots are not judged.
- By mid-October: final images in hand, so the text can be written against them. My standard turnaround is a gallery within 3 business days and final images 10 business days after you choose.
- Next year: the 2027 portal opened on September 8, 2026. If the next call follows a similar schedule, the projects to photograph for it are the ones finishing now.
A project shot for the Georgies usually also suits HAVAN (January deadline) and the CHBA National Awards (early December). Keep one full-resolution master set and export a copy to each programme’s rules.
Credit and usage
Unlike HAVAN, the Georgie Call for Entries does not ask for a photographer credit. Because entries must be anonymous, nothing identifying should appear in the images. Submitted materials become CHBA BC’s to use for promotion. Make sure your licence with the photographer covers awards entries and the publicity that follows. Mine includes it as part of the client’s own marketing use, at published prices: CA$1,100 for a half day with 12 images, or CA$2,000 for a full day with 20 images, plus GST. See the cost guide.
Frequently asked questions
Are twilight photos allowed in the Georgie Awards?
Night-time exterior images are not judged. The 2027 Call for Entries says dusk images are fine but not recommended, as long as judges can see the features of the exterior. Lead with daylight exteriors and treat a dusk image as an extra, not the hero.
How many photos does a Georgie Awards entry need?
It depends on the category. In 2027 most new homes take 12 images (for custom homes: 2 exterior, 6 interior, 4 of your choice), renovations take up to 14 (up to 4 before and up to 10 after), kitchens take 8 and single rooms take 10. The upload form will not accept more than the category allows.
Who can enter the Georgie Awards?
Only CHBA BC member companies, and every company listed on the entry must be a member in good standing. Joining a local association such as HAVAN makes a company a provincial member as well. The builder is the primary entrant for most construction and renovation categories.
When is the Georgie Awards deadline?
For the 2027 Georgie Awards, the online entry form closes at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, with no extensions. Eligible projects were completed between January 1, 2025 and October 31, 2026. The 2027 portal opened on September 8, 2026.
This guide summarises CHBA BC’s published 2027 Call for Entries and is not affiliated with CHBA BC or the Georgie Awards. The official documents take precedence; questions go to [email protected].