And they will have to wait until the awards ceremony on October 19 to find out what their prizes consist of.
Borren, a Bay of Plenty Times photographer, said the overall winner was undisputed between the judges.
"The overall winner was a stunning image, a standout for all the judges. There wasn't a problem picking a winner," he said.
"There were many good photos but the winner was a standout.
"It was well composed and used light really well.
"Quite honestly, many professionals would have been happy to have said that was their picture."
The competition attracted 118 entries and the winners were selected from across five categories and two age categories - 10-14 year-olds and 15-18 year-olds - with one overall picture selected as the grand winner.
Festival director Greg Latham said the competition was a chance to test the abilities of the region's budding photographers.
"We initiated the student photo competition as we wanted to showcase the talent of young photographers in the Bay," he said.
"With the World Press Photo [exhibition] being presented at this festival, where the very best photojournalist's images from the around the world come to Tauranga, we thought it would be a great reason to present local content.
"And what we have ended up with is a brilliant selection of images taken by young people for our exhibition."
Abbey McCorry-Pratt, 16, from Mount Maunganui College, has been told she is up for an award, but has yet to find out what her prize will be.
She said her photograph in the portrait category had been an unexpected success.
"I'd heard about it [the competition] from the art teachers at my school.
"They told us to enter some of our photos,
"It's pretty exciting for me and my model.
"I'm quite proud of myself. I didn't think I'd have the photography skills to win."
The exhibition will open at Baycourt on Thursday, October 20, with the winners being announced the night before.
