Now in their 33rd year, the Canon APPAs received 2,459 submissions from 655 professional photographers, each vying for the highly coveted and esteemed title of Canon AIPP Australian Professional Photographer of the Year 2009.

Photographs are individually critiqued and scored via a rigorous peer-review judging process to determine the highest-scoring prints across the different categories of Advertising/Fashion, Editorial, Commercial/Industrial, Illustrative, Portrait, Wedding, Environment, Science & Nature, Landscape, Photo Illustrator and an Open Award. From the 10 category winners, one photographer is chosen as the major winner.