Photography can capture a moment of time like no other art form. The emotions it can convey, the beauty it can present, and the power it has makes it exceptional. That is the reason it interests people so much. Many take it up as a their profession or just as a hobby. A great way to test one’s skill in this art form is to enter a competition.
Below we present a list of 10 photography competitions that are open to both professionals and non-professionals. They have no entry fee and there is a cash prize waiting for the winners and in some cases for the finalists as well.
LensCulture Street Photography Awards 2021
- Deadline: 25 August 2021
- Entry fee: Free for a single image with $10 for each additional photo; $35 for 5 single images; $45 for 10 images judged as a series
- Prize: $2,000/$1,000/$500 for single image prize winners; $3,500/$2,000/$1,000 for series prize winners
- About: A competition dedicated to the genre of Street Photography. The entries can present anything from bustling cities to empty streets and alleyways, and they can be shot either on film or digitally.
- Website: https://www.lensculture.com/photo-competitions/street-photography-awards-2021
KBr Photo Award
- Deadline: 10 September 2021
- Entry fee: Free
- Prize: 25,000 € as well as an exhibition and an associated catalogue
- About: This is the first edition of the KBr Photo Award. It aims to support and promote artistic creation. It is aimed at photographers who are planning a new project or have just completed one. The winner will receive a cash prize and will go on to create that project. It will then be presented at an exhibition produced and organised by Fundación MAPFRE. There is no central theme of the competition but entries reflecting the tradition of documentary photography are preferred. The participants can send a description of their project with between 10 to 15 images to illustrate it.
- Website: https://kbr.fundacionmapfre.org/en/kbr-photo-award/
SPIE International Day of Light Photo Contest
- Deadline: 16 September 2021
- Entry fee: Free
- Prize: $2,500/$1,000/$500 for the winners
- About: The contest is held annually to raise awareness about the International Day of Light and to show the impact that light and its sources have on all aspects of our lives.
- Website: https://spie.org/about-spie/international-day-of-light/spie-idl-photo-contest?SSO=1
Allard Prize Photography Competition
- Deadline: 1 November 2021
- Entry fee: Free
- Prize: $1,000 for each winning photograph
- About: The competition is open for photographers from all over the world. The central themes are leadership and courage in combating corruption and promoting human rights.
- Website: https://www.allardprize.org/photography-competition
Xposure International Photography & Film Awards 2021
- Deadline: 1 November 2021
- Entry fee: Free
- Prize: $3,000 and digital imaging equipment for the overall winner; $1,500 and digital imaging equipment for category winners; $750 for category runner-up
- About: This competition is organized by the Sharjah Government Media Bureau and is open for anyone above the age of 18. There are 8 categories: Architectural Photography, Drone photography, Landscape Photography, Photojournalism, Portraiture, Short Film & Moving Image, Travel Photography, Wildlife Photography.
- Website: https://awards.xposure.ae/international-photography-awards/
19th Annual Smithsonian Photo Contest 2021
- Deadline: 30 November 2021
- Entry fee: Free
- Prize: $2,500 for the Grand Prize winner; $500 for the Category winners; $500 for the Readers’ Choice winner
- About: There are six categories that contestants can apply their photos to: Natural World, Travel, People, The American Experience, Altered Images, and Mobile. The Smithsonian selects 10 finalists from each category and a Grand Prize winner from these 60 finalists. The winners will be revealed online in spring 2022.
- Website: https://photocontest.smithsonianmag.com/photocontest/
Huawei NEXT-IMAGE Awards 2021
- Deadline: 30 November 2021
- Entry fee: Free
- Prize: $10,000 for Grand prize winners (3 winners); $1,000 for Best-in-Category winners (27 winners)
- About: Submissions for this contest must be created with HUAWEI phones. The participants can upload up to 30 works that can compose of a photo, a group of photos, or a video in these 10 categories: Portrait, Monochrome, Colour, Snapshot, Night, Telephoto, Super Wide Angle, Super Macro, Story Creator, Storyteller.
- Website: https://gallery.consumer.huawei.com/next-image-2021/
2022 Sony World Photography Awards
- Deadline: 14 January 2022
- Entry fee: Free
- Prize: $25,000 and Sony digital imaging equipment for the winner of the Professional competition; $5,000 and Sony digital imaging equipment for the winner of the Open competition
- About: There are numerous categories with topics such as Architecture, Landscape, Portraiture, Object, Street Photography, and more.
- Website: https://www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards
RHS Photographic Competition
- Deadline: 1 February 2022
- Entry fee: Free
- Prize: £5,000 for the Winner of the RHS Photographic Competition; £500/£250/£150 for the winners of the Adult categories; £500 for the winner of the Portfolio category
- About: A multi-category competition for garden lovers of any age. It aims to show the beauty of the outdoors. The categories are: Gardens, Welcoming Wildlife, Plants, Macro, Creative, Indoor Gardening, Social Media, Under 18s, Under 11s, Portfolio.
- Website: https://www.rhs.org.uk/Promotions/rhs-photo-competition
Nikon Small World Competition 2022
- Deadline: 30 April 2022
- Entry fee: Free
- Prize: Up to $3,000 for the winners of the Nikon Small World Contest and up to $3,000 for the winners of the Nikon Small World In Motion Contest
- About: This is a competition for images taken through a microscope. The participants can submit their entries to either Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition with images taken through a light microscope or to Nikon Small World in Motion Video Competition with movies and/or digital time-lapse photography taken through a light microscope. The images and videos do not need to be taken with Nikon equipment and the competition is open to anyone over the age of 18.
- Website: https://enter.nikonsmallworld.com/
