Photography Awards

There are now a great many photography competitions worldwide. Many of them are international. Some are very specific, while others cover every category of photography. Why do people enter photography competitions? Amateur photographers want to see where they stand and how well they measure up internationally in their chosen passion. For professional photographers, taking part and possibly receiving a placement or an Honorable Mention is part of their reputation, which they can use to promote themselves and build trust with potential clients. Photography competitions can also bring visibility and press coverage. There are many different competitions, and it is important to pay close attention to which ones you choose to enter.

One of the photographs from the James-Simon-Gallery series, Berlin.

An international directory lists 322 active photography competitions/Open Calls for 2026 alone. In addition, there are local and national competitions, photo club salons, recurring monthly competitions, museum and institutional awards, newcomer awards, and so on. But is a placement in all these competitions worth the same?

Not every competition is right for every photographer. That is simply the nature of things when you consider the different categories: wildlife, architecture, street, fine art, to name just a few. There are competitions specifically dedicated to one of these categories, with corresponding subcategories, such as the OPY Award (Ocean Photographer of the Year), one of the most renowned and prestigious competitions for marine and underwater photography. So how do you choose?

First of all, it really depends on your goal. You should be honest with yourself here, because simply entering a competition means paying money to submit an image. For semi-professional or professional photographers, it means submitting a series on a particular subject. The definition of a "series" differs from one competition to another. It can consist of as few as three photographs; Sony, for example, defines a series as between five and ten images.

As a rule, each organiser puts together a renowned expert jury for its competition.

Source: Google, 2026. Gemini. [Computer program]. Version of November 1, 2026. Available at: google.com [Accessed: Nov. 1, 2026].

The jury members can be viewed on the organiser's website, ideally including short biographies. The jury does not consist of amateurs or semi-professionals, but of highly regarded photography experts, museum curators, specialists in the relevant genre and art directors. For example, the large jury of the Architecture MasterPrize (AMP) includes an architect, an architecture professor and directors of design centres. If the jury is not listed on a competition's website, I would advise against entering.

Another important factor is the entry fee and what the competition offers finalists and winners. This is something you should read very carefully. This year, I have

won various awards and Honorable Mentions, but the only benefit has been a virtual badge that I use on my website. Winning a category does not make you an "Overall" winner. The latter usually receive cash prizes, high-quality equipment or vouchers, and, of course, more media attention. There are also competitions that organise exhibitions featuring the winning images, as well as a photography festival in the host city. I would like to mention the Siena Awards Photo Festival as an example. The city hosts a seven-week exhibition festival once a year, with talks and other events. The award ceremony, however, takes place on just one day, when the winners who are present (including second- and third-place winners) are awarded trophies. However, these trophies are not sent out; they are only handed over to winners who attend the festival in person. Those travelling to the festival receive a contribution towards their accommodation, but this does not cover the full cost of travel.

The most successful photograph I've taken so far.

Most competitions charge an entry fee. Personally, I only know two competitions that do not. The first is the CEWE Photography Competition. In 2023, I created an account there and spent a few days looking through the submissions. I then came to the conclusion that – with apologies to CEWE in advance – I would not throw my pearls before swine there. In 2025, a total of 656,738 photographs were submitted from 153 countries. A record. That is great for CEWE, but you also have to ask yourself: can they still find the good photographs among all those entries, or do some get overlooked simply because of the sheer volume? The competition takes place every two years, and in 2025 a photographer from Cyprus won with a fantastic macro photograph showing two praying mantises in a dancing pose. The prize offered by CEWE is excellent.

In conclusion, my advice is to be absolutely clear in advance about why you want to enter a photography competition and then strategically select the competitions that are genuinely suitable for that purpose. Please always make sure to check the terms and conditions of entry, because there are some dubious competitions out there, but sometimes there are simply unexpected surprises. All in all, I wish everyone who is aiming for it the very best of luck!