Photography Open Calls
Competitions, awards, and call for entries for photographers worldwide. Submit your work to juried exhibitions, contests, and portfolio reviews.
Close-up Photographer of the Year 2026 (CUPOTY 8)
International macro & close-up competition — 11 categories from insects to intimate landscapes. £2,500 top prize.
Photography 4 Humanity / Fotografiska Global Prize 2026
Theme: HOME. Selected work exhibited at UN Headquarters NYC, curated by James Nachtwey. Free entry.
Home · Photography 4 Humanity
Exploring home — safety, belonging, dignity. Selected works exhibited at the United Nations HQ in New York.
Fotografiska HOME — Global Open Call
Global open call exploring home. Exhibition at UN Headquarters. Guest curator: James Nachtwey. No AI.
APA Awards 2026
American Photographic Artists' annual awards across 14 categories. Winners printed in the APA Awards book; Sony and Adobe prizes.
Guest Room: Sunyoung Kim & Shinwook Kim · Der Greif
Theme: "Hyperobjects: Archipelagic Memories" — how photographs circulate across digital and material networks.
Epson International Pano Awards 2026
World's largest panoramic photography competition. $50K+ prizes incl. $15K cash. New Aerial category. Open, Amateur, VR/360.
Apparently in America — Artist Award 2026
Photography award on American identity. $500 prize. Fee waivers available. Founded by curator Francesca Hummler.
Macadam Awards 2026 · Street Macadam
Street & documentary photo award, 3rd ed. Worldwide; winners show at Rome & Mexico festivals and publish in EPIC magazine.
Monochromatic Awards 2026 · Dodho Magazine
5th edition. All interpretations of monochromatic photography. Finalists in a 30×30 cm annual printed book.
Dek Unu Magazine — Tuŝis: Altered States (Annual Contest 2026)
Dek Unu's annual contest for experimental, alt-process, light-and-lens photography. $250 top prize plus August magazine publication.
IVI 4th International Photo Contest
Free global contest on vaccination and health equity from the Seoul-based International Vaccine Institute — $2,000 grand prize.
Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize — MPB Photography Award 2026
Representational photography. $3,000 first prize + exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco. No AI.
Underwater Awards Australasia 2026
Underwater imaging competition with ~AU$70,000 in prizes across 9 categories, for images shot in Australasia. Winners shown at Go Diving Show ANZ, Sydney.
Grand Prix de la Photographie Paris Match 2026
Paris Match's first national photo Grand Prix for the Bicentenary of Photography — submit a 4-image series capturing contemporary France.
Art Shapes the Future · Fotografiska Emerging
Fotografiska Emerging × IFA Berlin × Volkswagen R call on the future. €1,500 each to 3 artists + IFA Berlin show. Free; video/AI eligible.
AOP Emerging Talent Award 2026 · Association of Photographers
AOP award for image-makers working professionally under 3 years. Gold prize: membership package, mentorship + £8,520 London billboard.
PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris 2026
One of Europe's most prestigious awards. Categories from Analog to Advertising. Exhibited in Paris.
Black & White Spider Awards 2026
Leading international B&W photography award. 21st edition. 235+ title awards. Jury announced annually.
ProfiFoto New Talent Award 26/2
German photo magazine's open call for emerging talent. Winners published in ProfiFoto, WhiteWall print exhibition, €3,000 cash pool.
Wild · Photo Artfolio
Photo Artfolio's nature cycle — wildlife to experimental. $1,000 in cash prizes across three awards; online exhibit; no AI.
PERSPA 2026 — Prix de la Perspective Architecturale
Architectural photography prize — €1,000 grand prize, physical exhibition in France, and annual publication. €25 per entry.
Form Photo Award / SCOPE Miami 2026
Contemporary photo prize; top 4 winners exhibit at SCOPE Art Fair Miami during Art Week, Dec 2026, plus a Form Magazine feature.
The Illume Awards 2026
Adventure and action sports photography awards (formerly Red Bull Illume). Free entry, 16 categories, camera gear, photobook, exhibition tour.
Analog Sparks — International Film Photography Awards 2026
Discovering and promoting analog photographers. Exhibited at House of Lucie in Athens and Ostuni.
Camera Clara Photo Award 2026
Exclusively for large-format camera photographers. Unpublished series of 5-10 images. Prize money + exhibition.
Roma E'Festival — Street Photography Awards 2026 · Effe4.0 Street Photography
Five categories including Smartphone and AI-Generated. Finalists exhibited in Rome. Ricoh GR & partner prizes.
Life Framer — Planet Earth
Monthly competition judged by Myrtille Delamarche (GEO Magazine). Winners exhibited in New York, Tokyo, Milan, and Arles.
Source Writing Prize 2026
£500 + publication in Source for a 700-word piece of new writing on photography. Free; open to anyone who hasn't written for Source.
AFC Nature Photography Contest 2026
Free Southern California nature contest from a Pasadena land trust — 7 categories, winners printed and shown at a public awards event.
Tokyo International Foto Award 2026
International competition introducing photographers to Tokyo's creative community. Winners exhibited in Tokyo.
BBA One Shot Award - Autumn 2026
Single-image photo prize; 20 images exhibited at BBA Gallery Berlin. €300 + Artsy listing; production costs covered.
Source Graduate Photography Online 2026 — MA/MFA
MA/MFA graduate showcase from Source magazine for UK/Ireland 2026 grads. 8 images. Featured online + in printed supplement.
OD Photo Prize 2026 · Open Doors Gallery
Open-themed prize for emerging photographers. £2,000, London group show, mentorship, InCadaqués solo presentation. 6–15 images.
One in Eight · Fotografiska Emerging
Fotografiska Emerging × Estée Lauder call: emerging image-makers on the breast-cancer experience. €1,500 + exhibition in Berlin & Stockholm.
Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition 2026
£1,000 top prize for photography by working scientists — free entry, five science categories, open at graduate level and above.
12th International Phone-ography Competition · FotoFoto Gallery
Phone-camera images only: ~30 works exhibited at this Long Island cooperative photo gallery, with $600 in cash awards.
Preus Museum Open Call 2026 — Passion
Preus Museum's themed open call with Oslo Negativ. Theme: Passion. Winner gets NOK 20,000, exhibition, and collection acquisition.
Milano Photo Awards 2026 · TheStreetSoup
Exhibition and contest in Milan. Street, portraits, reportage, nature. Lead judge Estevan Oriol; Nikon Italia.
F/262 Photography Awards 2026
Single-image awards from the inaugural F/262 Festival in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. Public outdoor installations + 2028 solo show.
Brian Black Memorial Award 2026 — Adult Photo Competition · Yachting Monthly
Yachting Monthly + Coppercoat marine environmental photo award on 'Our Inspiring Seas'. UK only. £750 camera equipment prize.
Nature in Gaudí — Ángeles Omedas Millán Prize 2026 · Antonio Gaudí Foundation
Antonio Gaudí Foundation's centenary contest on nature in Gaudí's architecture. €5,000 top prize, free, open to all.
Gaze – The Queer Photo Award 2026
Queer photo award (theme 'HOW TO / GATHER') for LGBTQIA+ artists in Germany, EU & UK. Two €1,000 MPB vouchers plus a Berlin exhibition.
Life Framer — Humans
Monthly competition judged by documentary photographer GMB Akash. Winners exhibited in New York, Tokyo, Milan, and Arles.
Willet Art Prize 2026
Free national art prize from the 1898 stained glass studio — $7,000 top prize ($10,000 pool) for work on the theme Quest for Gold, any medium.
2026 Travel Award · The Independent Photographer
Travel photography competition. $2,700 prize pool, London exhibition and feature to 970k+ followers. Tiered $15–$45 entry.
Exposure One Awards - Photographer of the Year 2026
Exposure One's annual contest across 20 categories. Single images or 2–5 series; $4,000+ in prizes. International, AI not accepted.
PhotoVogue Global Open Call 2026 — Brave New Visions
PhotoVogue's 2026 global open call. $12,000 in three grants, festival exhibition, Vogue publication. Free; deadline 11 September 2026.
Martin Parr Foundation Awards 2026
MPF's annual 'Street Fashion' open call, judged by Niall McDiarmid. Win a Martin Parr print & exhibition. £10 inc. membership.
1839 Awards Photographer of the Year Contest
Open-genre flagship contest across 22 categories. $4,000 in cash prizes, digital gallery, artist directory. Final deadline Sep 16.
ND Awards 2026
International competition across Architecture, Editorial, Fine Art, Nature, People, and Special categories.
Photo of the Season — You Can't Be Serious · The Image Flow
Seasonal competition for off-kilter, playful images. $150 first prize. The Image Flow gallery, San Anselmo, CA.
Eurostars Valladolid Photography Award — Valladolid Unveiled
€1,500 for images that unveil the city of Valladolid — free entry, up to 3 photos, from the Eurostars hotel group's award series.
PhotoVogue Regional Open Call — MENA Panorama
Free Condé Nast call for MENA artists and diaspora. $8,000 in grants, 2027 PhotoVogue Festival feature, regional Vogue publication.
Nature and Humans Photo Competition 2026 · DESEA Foundation
Spanish foundation's international nature & conservation photo competition — 15 categories, €17,000 in prizes. €25 entry, open worldwide.
Real And Wild — RAW Photography Awards 2026
Inaugural nature award with one rule: every image shot within 100 km of home. $1,000 Photographer of the Year; AI banned.
The Keller Prize 2026
International all-media prize juried by Aspen gallerist Mia Valley — $9,000 in cash awards, photography welcome. $55 for 5 images.
CitiesToBe Photo Award 2026
Free urban-photography award by Anteverti on the theme 'Third Places'. Series of 10–20 images; €1,500 winner plus five €500 finalists.
World Cyanotype Day · AlternativePhotography.com
Annual international celebration of the cyanotype process. Submit your cyanotype work to be featured.
Earth Partner Prize 2026
Free climate-art prize for creatives 14–30 with GEF and Re:wild. Eight finalists win $10K, $5K or $2K; jury incl. Hans Ulrich Obrist.
VI Barcelona Human Rights International Photo Festival
Más Retina's 6th Barcelona festival on human-rights & justice photography. 15-image projects; €3,000 prize plus outdoor street exhibitions.
Fine Art Photography Awards 2026/2027
13th edition — 20 categories from landscape to street. $3K professional / $2K amateur grand prizes. 15 international jurors.
Raccont'Arti: Contemporary Photography Award 2026 · Castelfiorentino Prize for the Arts
Free call on 'the image of absence' — €3,000 Open and €500 Student awards plus a fully produced group exhibition in Tuscany.
Street Photography Barcelona Contest 2026 — 2nd Edition
25 finalists exhibited at Galerie Art Nomade with production covered. €1,000 in cash prizes; screenings at Ibizacinefest 2027.
Exibart Street Photography Contest — 5th Edition
International street contest by Italy's leading art magazine. Leica Q3 grand prize. Two sections: Best Single Image and Best Series.
XXIV Eurostars Grand Marina Photography Award — Josep Juanpere 2026
24th edition. Theme: Barcelona, World Capital of Architecture. €5,000 first prize. Submit photographic triptychs.
reFocus Awards - World Photo Annual 2026
reFocus flagship annual across 22 categories — $5,000+ in cash, NYT/FT/Condé Nast jury, Photographer of the Year title.
Numéro+ Flux et Forma
Numéro Switzerland's themed call on flow and transformation. Winner gets a print article and cover feature in Numéro.
Chromatic Photography Awards 2026
International color competition across 20 categories. Separate Professional and Amateur divisions.
Lake Garda Photo Challenge · Comune di Sirmione
Photograph Sirmione and Lake Garda — €1,500 top prizes per theme plus hospitality awards. €10 flat fee, open until October 31.
Form Photo Award x UNSEEN
Open-theme award from Paris-based Form. Selected photographers present their projects at the UNSEEN 2027 photography fair.
World Anthotype Day · AlternativePhotography.com
Annual celebration of plant-based photographic printing processes. Entries open August through October.
Monochrome Awards 2026
International B&W competition with 13 categories. Professional and amateur divisions. Annual book.
The Nature Photography Contest 2026 · The Nature Photography Contest
Ten-category nature competition — €1,000 top prize, a tree planted per entrant, originals verified. Open worldwide, 18+.
Annual Photography Awards 2026
8th edition. Five main categories, 25 subcategories. Looking for bold and innovative approaches.
Mobile Photography Awards 2026
15th annual awards for photos shot & edited on mobile devices — $3,000 grand prize, $10,000+ pool, 12 categories + Photo Essay. From $15. Deadline Dec 18.
ADEX Dugong Photo of the Year 2027
Free dugong-conservation photo campaign. Winner hosted at ADEX 2027 Singapore; shortlist exhibited at the expo.
Sony World Photography Awards 2027
Free-to-enter global awards from the World Photography Organisation — Series ($25k + solo show, Jan 12) and Single Image ($5k, Jan 5) competitions plus Student & Youth.
13th Eurostars Madrid Tower Photography Award — Madrid's Facades
€5,000 for photographs of Madrid's facades — free entry, up to 3 photos, from the Eurostars hotel group's award series.
Fotografiska Emerging Artist Platform
Multiple open calls for emerging photographers. Exhibitions at Fotografiska museums and the UN Headquarters.
Open Doors Takeovers
Discovery account featuring artist takeovers. Connected to UNSEEN art fair and Approche.