Photography contests are a great way to put your images out into the world. You can share your photos with a wider audience by entering these competitions. And perhaps you get some feedback from professionals or fellow photographers.
You might not win any money. But posting your images on the competition’s website has a lot of benefits. We’ve updated our page for the best daily, monthly, and yearly photo contests. Check back often for updates!
Try our Effortless Editing With Lightroom course to ensure your photos look their best. We provide step-by-step edits for magazine-quality images. Or try one of our many creative photography eBooks or courses to help you submit your best shots!
19 Best Photography Contests to Enter
We have chosen the 19 best contests to enter each year. You can enter a daily and monthly contest as much as you like. And we’ll list photo contests as deadlines come up. We hope you are inspired and have fun with them!
- LensCulture Art Photography Awards 2024
- GuruShots Photography Contests
- Life Framer Competitions
- International Photography Awards (IPA 2024)
- 2024 Aperture Portfolio Prize
- 2024 World Press Photography Awards
- Sony World Photography Award 2024
- Istanbul Photo Awards
- MonoVisions Black & White Photography Awards
- BigPicture Natural World Photography Awards 2024
- Communication Arts Photography Competition 2024
- iPhone Photography Awards 2024
- ND Awards 2024
- Nikon Small World 2024
- Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2024
- Monochrome Photography Award
- International Landscape Photographer of the Year
- LensCulture Portrait Awards
- PhMuseum Photography Grant
Read the fine print for photo submission guidelines. You want to be sure you’re sending photos in the proper size and format. Most contests don’t accept purely AI-generated images but may allow AI edits.
1. LensCulture Art Photography Awards 2024
- Deadline: December 13, 2023
- Fees: Free to $45 (30% discount for students), optional $25 for written review
- Series Award Winners 1st Place Prize: $3,500, exhibition, and more
- Series Award Winners 2nd Place Prize: $2,000, exhibition, and more
- Series Award Winners 3rd Place Prize: $1,000, exhibition, and more
- Single Image Award Winners 1st Place Prize: $2,000, exhibition, and more
- Single Image Award Winners 2nd Place Prize: $1,000, exhibition, and more
- Single Image Award Winners 3rd Place Prize: $500, exhibition, and more
The LensCulture Art Photography Awards recognize creativity. And it pushes the boundaries of traditional photography. It brings attention to diverse and thought-provoking art captured through the camera lens.
Both new and experienced artists can show off their work. You can enter one free image, up to 10 ($45).
They accept all sorts of photography styles. You can submit anything from portraits to experimental photos. This gives artists a chance to share their unique perspectives.
Experts in photography and art judge it. The awards highlight photographers who tell compelling stories through their images. Prizes include exhibitions, projections, and features. They can help kickstart or boost photography careers.
There are benefits for all entrants, including a LensCulture portfolio account. You also have the opportunity to have your work shown to a wider audience through their website and the press.
2. GuruShots Photography Contests
- Deadline: New challenge every day
- Fee: Less than $10
- Prizes: Digital gear from global photo brands, such as action cameras or laptops, and digital exhibitions
GuruShots takes a unique approach when it comes to photography contests. There is a new photo challenge every day. It’s up to each individual how many challenges they want to enter.
Some of the winning artworks are exhibited in galleries all around the world. A fee (less than $10) to enter the exhibition challenge lets you submit four images.
The GuruShots website and application also let you connect with photographers worldwide. Apart from winning prizes, you can get exposure and feedback from other artists. This helps you become a better photographer.
3. Life Framer Competitions
- Deadline: End of each month
- Fees: $20 to $100
- Prizes: $24,000 prize fund, shared between the monthly winners. Each month, the 1st and 2nd prize winners have their images exhibited and published.
Life Framer competitions are suitable for photographers from all photo niches.
Every month, there is a new photo category. These include black and white, street photography, nightlife, world travelers, or animal kingdom. Each of the categories is judged individually by industry leader photographers.
Entering one image costs you $20. Three images are $30, and four are $40. But you can enter up to 10 images when you upgrade to a premium membership ($100).
The membership also allows you to receive detailed feedback on your photos. This can significantly help to improve your photography.
4. International Photography Awards (IPA 2024)
- Deadline: TBD, open for 2024 submissions
- Fee: $20 to $65
- International Photographer of the Year Prize: $10,000, trophy, exhibition, and publication
- Discovery of the Year Prize: $5,000, trophy, exhibition, and publication
- 11 Professional Category Winners: $1,200, exhibition, and publication
- 11 Non-Professional Category Winners: $600, exhibition, and publication
- Prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Prize Winners in Subcategories: Certificate, exhibition, publication, and ticket to the gala
The International Photography Awards is one of the highest-paying photo contests around. It is also the only place you can land a Lucie Statue. This year will see the 21st annual photo contest.
There are 11 categories to choose from for professional and non-professional photographers alike. They cover everything, including advertising, editorial, and sports. A “special” category also covers niche photography like AI.
The top winners receive a travel allowance and accommodation to collect their awards in New York.
This photo contest is the primary funding mechanism for the Lucie Foundation. This is a non-profit, charitable foundation to honor the masters of photography.
ND Entry fees range from $20 to $65 for single or multiple images. All winning images are published in a high-quality International Photography Awards book.
5. 2024 Aperture Portfolio Prize
- Deadline: January 5, 2024
- Fee: An Aperture Magazine subscription (starts at $9.99/month)
- 1st Prize: $3,000 cash prize, $1,000 gift card for camera gear, an exhibition in New York, feature, and publication
- 4 Shortlisted Artists: Feature and online publication
- All 25 Finalists: Virtual portfolio review
This contest is looking for new photography talents. It finds those who deserve recognition in contemporary photography.
After getting a magazine subscription, you must upload 10 to 15 photos you want to enter. What’s unique about this contest is that you must submit a resume, a photographer’s bio, and a statement about your photo work.
The jury looks at consistency, fresh ideas, and technical aspects. They want a unique approach to the subject. The theme is not further specified. It is up to each person how innovative they want to get with their photos.
6. 2024 World Press Photography Awards
- Deadline: January 11, 2024
- Fee: Free (only professional photojournalists and documentary photographers)
- 24 Regional Winners: €1,000, exhibition, publication, and more
- 4 Global Prize Winners (picked from regional winners): €5,000, exhibition, publication, and more
- Honorable Mentions: Exhibition, publication, and more
This is the most famous and internationally recognized press photography award. Its exhibition travels from country to country every year. It showcases over 100 amazing photos.
There are four categories that photographers can enter. The categories are Singles, Stories, Long-Term Projects, and Open Format. Each aims to find the best visual journalist or documentarian in a certain field. It eliminates manipulated and staged photos.
Every category is judged by five professionals in a region with various expertise. After this process, a global jury selects the regional and global winners.
World Press Photography Awards capture the reality of our world. This contest is for exceptional professional press photographers who capture important contemporary topics.
7. Sony World Photography Award 2024
- Deadline: January 12, 2024 (professional and open) and January 5, 2023 (youth), TBA (student)
- Fee: Free, £14.95 to £44.95 (optional multiple youth entries)
- Professional Photographer of the Year: $25,000, Sony digital imaging equipment, exhibition, and more
- Open Photographer of the Year Prize: $5,000, Sony digital imaging equipment, exhibition, and more
- Category Winners: Sony digital imaging equipment, exhibition, and more
- Professional 2nd and 3rd Place: Exhibition, publication, and more
- Student Photographer of the Year Prize: Sony digital imaging equipment, exhibition, and more
- Overall Winning University: Sony digital imaging equipment worth £30,000
- Youth Photographer of the Year: Sony digital imaging equipment, exhibition, publication, and more
- Shortlist: Exhibition, publication (student), and more
The Sony World Photography Award has four simultaneous photo contests. They are Professional, Open, Student, and Youth. Each one has a different prize of cash and Sony imaging equipment.
Who wouldn’t enjoy $25,000 or $5,000 and camera gear? That’s a lot to help you continue to take stunning shots.
One of the other great things about this competition is the traveling exhibition. No matter which country I find myself in, I always notice the Sony World Photography Award image.
The submitted images need to be taken within a year of their entry. There is a minimum of 5 and a max of 10 images that you can send, so don’t be shy.
We love this competition because it is free to enter. That’s right, free. And you choose from 20 different categories. Youth entrants can buy image bundles to submit as many as they want.
8. Istanbul Photo Awards
- Deadline: January 17, 2024
- Fee: Free (professionals only)
- Prizes: $1,000, $1,50o, and 3,000, $6,000, depending on the category, two $1,000 awards for the contest’s 10th anniversary, exhibition, and publication
Anadolu Agency organizes this international news photo contest. The idea came from capturing Istanbul’s diverse culture from different perspectives. Over time, the Istanbul Photo Awards became a widely known news photo contest.
One of the biggest perks of this photo competition is that it’s free. You can participate in 10 categories with single photos or a photo series (consisting of 10 images). The jury comprises nine photographers involved in either photojournalism or news editing.
The winners’ works are published in a photobook and exhibitions in several cities worldwide. These include Istanbul, New York, and Tokyo. If you are a photojournalist, this contest is worth a try!
9. MonoVisions Black & White Photography Awards
- Early Deadline: January 21, 2024
- Final Deadline: May 19, 2024
- Fees: $20 or $25 (single), $25 or $30 (series)
- Black-and-White Series of the Year: $3,000 award
- Black-and-White Photo of the Year: $2,000 award
This photo contest is meant to discover the best black and white photographers. (Only monochromatic submissions are allowed.) You can enter photos taken with both digital and analog cameras.
Apart from the two main categories (single and series), there are 12 subcategories. There is abstract, conceptual, and nude photography along with standard subcategories.
The entry fee for a series is $30, and $25 for a single image. If you apply before January 21, there is an early-bird discount.
10. BigPicture Natural World Photography Awards 2024
- Deadline: March 1, 2024
- Fee: $25 (up to 10 images), $15 (story submissions)
- Winner: $5,000 and is featured in the California Academy of Sciences annual exhibit
- Category Winners: $1,000
This natural photo award focuses on the world’s natural diversity. And it aims to inspire action to conserve it. The contest accepts nature, wildlife, and conservation images from all around the world. They’re organized into seven categories.
This includes abstract expressions of nature, such as photos from under a microscope. Aquatic life, landscapes, wild animals, or even human interactions with nature are also welcome.
You can enter up to 10 single images or six to eight images in the Photo Story category. Entrants are limited to up to 10 photo submissions per email address.
Check out our Wonderful Wildlife eBook to capture those decisive moments in nature.
11. Communication Arts Photography Competition 2024
- Deadline: March 1, 2024
- Fee: $20 to $80
- Category Winners: Personalized award of excellence and award certificate
Most photography contests come with cash prizes. The communication arts photo competition stands out as being one that doesn’t. But don’t let that put you off. It is still a revered photo contest.
Your images must be captured or first published between March 2023 and March 2024 to be eligible. Contest fees range from $20 to $80 for photos, depending on the category (nine total).
A distinguished jury of designers, art directors, and photographers chose the winning images.
Apart from winning a personalized excellence award, your image is distributed worldwide. This takes place in the Communication Arts Photography Annual, in both digital and print.
If you’re looking for one of the most coveted awards in the photo industry, you have found it. Submit today!
12. iPhone Photography Awards 2024
- Deadline: March 31, 2024
- Fee: $5.50 to $75.50
- Grand Prize: TBA
- 1st Place Prize: TBA, one gold bar for each category, publication, and certificates
- 2nd Place Prize: TBA, one platinum bar for each category, publication, and certificates
- 3rd Place Prize: TBA, one platinum bar for each category, publication, and certificates
This is the world’s first and most respected iPhone photo contest. The IPP Awards are the Oscars of the mobile photography world. They have launched the careers of many iPhone photographers globally.
This coming year will be the 17th award since the contest’s start. Last year, they received thousands of entries from more than 140 countries.
There are 18 categories to join, including architecture, portrait, abstract, and travel.
The rules of this photo contest are simple. Every image must be taken from an iPhone or iPad and submitted no larger than 1,000 pixels. You can submit 1, 3, 5, 10, 20, and 25 images for between $5.50 and $75.50.
Check out our Urban Smartphone Mininamilist eBook to help perfect the images you take with your smartphone camera.
13. ND Awards 2024
- Early Deadline: April 28, 2024 (lower fees)
- Final Deadline: September 22, 2024
- Fee: $19 to $34, extra $10 per category
- Professional Grand Prize: $3,000 (and $500 for category winner), magazine feature, and publication
- Non-Professional Grand Prize: $2,000 (and $400 for category winner), magazine feature, and publication
- 6 Professional Category Winners: $500, magazine feature, and publication
- 5 Non-Professional Category Winners: $400, magazine feature, and publication
The Neutral Density (ND) awards aim to promote photography. They do this by presenting photographers to audiences all over the globe.
This award is a melting pot of some of the world’s most outstanding imagery. And it could be yours! The winning image receives recognition, prestige, and publicity.
This photo contest is the perfect place for professional photographers. It allows them to compete across six main categories. These include fine art, nature, and architecture.
For amateur photo submissions, there are five categories. Both competitions go through a respected jury. It consists of acclaimed gallery owners, publishers, editors, and photographers.
These awards have been around since 2014. The ND magazine and its community brought this photo contest to fruition.
14. Nikon Small World 2024
- Deadline: April 30, 2024
- Fee: Free
- 1st Prize: $3,000
- 2nd Prize: $2,000
- 3rd Prize: $1,000
- 4th Prize: $800
- 5th Prize: $600
- 6th Prize: $400
- 7th to 10th Prizes: $300
- 11th to 20th Prizes: $200
- Honorable Mentions: $100
The Nikon Small World photo contest gives you the largest chance of winning a cash prize. You can be 1st or 20th, and you’ll still win money. A video contest (Small World In Motion Video Competition) also exists.
This photo competition is about photomicrography (which differs from macro photography). This is the discipline of photographing through a light microscope.
As a long-standing camera manufacturer, Nikon has run this competition since 1975. That’s longer than I’ve been taking photos, let alone being alive.
Anyone can enter, and they do in droves. They receive submissions from almost every continent on the planet. There are no restrictions. And you don’t have to use Nikon cameras or microscopes.
Each participant can upload three images for free. Check out the previous winners even if you don’t want to enter. The images are stunning, and it might just motivate you to apply.
Maybe you’re not ready to invest in photomicrography. Our Macro Magic course can help you take those first few steps to discover the hidden beauty around you.
15. Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2024
- Deadline: Spring 2024
- Fee: TBA
- Professional Grand Prize: TBA and exhibition
- Non-Professional Grand Prize: TBA and exhibition
- 6 Professional Category Winners: TBA and exhibition
- 6 Non-Professional Category Winners: TBA and exhibition
The Taylor Wessing Photography Portrait Prize is the leading international photo contest. As the name suggests, it focuses on portraiture.
This Prize promotes and celebrates the very best in contemporary portrait photography. It does so through its established reputation.
Talented professionals, amateurs, and emerging artists can submit their work. The jury selects the best images—many of which are being shown for the first time.
They touch on ideas and concepts surrounding portraits. But they also explore other themes. A range of moods, settings, characters, and expressions are present.
All submissions turn into an exhibition. It features 59 images from the winners. In addition to first, second, and third place winners, they have introduced an £8,000 commission.
You can view the photos taken by the 2023 portrait winners. And you can buy the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize book.
16. Monochrome Photography Award
- Early bird Deadline: TBD (cheaper fee)
- Deadline: TBD (November 2024)
- Fees: $17 to $27
- Professional Section Prize: $2,000, certificate, and exhibition
- Non-Professional Grand Prize: $1,000, certificate, and exhibition
- 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Category Winners: Certificate and exhibition
Are black-and-white photos your thing? Then this is the photo competition for you. There are 13 categories to enter, including landscape, fashion, and abstract photos.
If you are in the top three of any of them, you get a certificate alongside an exhibition of your work. All winners and honorable mentions also get in the Monochrome Photography Awards Annual Book.
Each image costs $22 for professionals and $17 for amateurs before the early bird deadline. After that, the submission price jumps by $5.
The only rule is that the image must be black and white in film or digital. Toned images like selenium or sepia are also accepted. So start getting creative. This is your time to shine.
17. International Landscape Photographer of the Year
- Deadline: TBA (November 2024)
- Fee: $25 per image (every 5th one free)
- Photographer 1st Prize: $5,000, trophy, NiSi 100mm V7 Professional Filter Kit and Explorer EX-ACPROKIT Ascent tripod
- Photographer 2nd Prize: $1,000, trophy, NiSi 100mm V7 Advance Filter Kit, and Explorer EX-EXPPRO Expedition Pro tripod
- Photographer 3rd Prize: $500, trophy, NiSi 100mm V7 Starter Filter Kit, and Explorer EX-EXP Expedition tripod
- Photography 1st Prize: $2,000 and a trophy
- Photography 2nd Prize: $1,000 and a trophy
- Photography 3rd Prize: $500 and a trophy
- 5 Category Special Awards: Special photo print
- Top 101: Certificate and PDF of awards book
If you shoot landscapes, enter the International Landscape Photographer of the Year award. This will be their eleventh year, and it’s still going strong.
The limitations are set to four images per applicant. This is so the experience gained from the competition is easily accessible.
The jury rates the images between 1 and 100 from all these submissions. They choose the top 101 images and move to the second round of judging. First, they find the best images and search for the best landscape photographers.
There is a Photographer of the Year, a Photo of the Year, and five special subject awards. The special categories are black and white, aerial, snow and ice, desert, and seascape.
Each section goes through a rigorous selection process. Top winners are published and receive a copy of the Landscape Photographer of the Year publication.
It costs $25 per image, meaning the max you can spend is $125. They also have to be captured within a year of their submission.
The best thing about this photo contest is that you are not restricted in photo manipulation. Just make sure you do it yourself. No AI-generated images are allowed.
Take our Epic Landscape Editing course to ensure your photo entries look stunning.
18. LensCulture Portrait Awards
- Deadline: TBA (2024)
- Series Award Winners 1st Place Prize: $3,500
- Series Award Winners 2nd Place Prize: $2,000
- Series Award Winners 3rd Place Prize: $1,000
- Single Image Award Winners 1st Place Prize: $2,000
- Single Image Award Winners 2nd Place Prize: $1,000
- Single Image Award Winners 3rd Place Prize: $500
LensCulture’s mission is to discover talented photographers. They look for creative photographs from worldwide. You can submit one entry for free and more with various fees. Plus, enrolled students receive a 30% discount.
This photo contest is open to every type of portrait photography. That includes studio, candid, conceptual, or self-portraits. They appreciate every approach to portraiture. But it has to be executed in an imaginative and refined way.
The winners are offered professional visibility. They have their photos featured at international photo festivals and a permanent exhibition.
They also receive press coverage from magazines worldwide. These include The Telegraph, The Guardian, Washington Post, and The British Journal of Photography.
Read our Creative Portrait Concepts eBook to see how to take your portraits to another level.
19. PhMuseum Photography Grant
- Deadline: TBA (2024)
- 1st Prize: $4,000, exhibition, and more
- 2nd Prize: $2,000 and exhibition, and more
- New Generation Prize: $2,000, exhibition, and more
- Other: Various exhibitions, residencies, portfolio reviews, and more
This competition focuses on the importance of visual storytelling. Photographers with both a classic approach and innovative projects are welcome to enter.
You can enter one or more photo projects centered around a specific theme if you want to participate. The entry fee is $39. But you get an early bird discount ($30) if you apply before the early-bird deadline.
An independent jury with various photo backgrounds reviews the submissions. This contest is a great opportunity if you are outstanding in narrative photography. And who wouldn’t be happy about extra cash you can invest in your artwork?
Conclusion: Best Photography Contests
We hope you enjoyed our collection of the best photo competitions for 2024. Entering photography contests is not only fun. It’s a way to test your photos in a competitive environment.
It is also an excellent way to gain recognition and win cash prizes for your art. So enter one yourself! Or, if you don’t want to enter one, check out the winners for inspiration to propel your own work!
If you want to improve your chances to win, master composition with our Intuitive Composition eBook! Or check out our Effortless Editing With Lightroom course to fine-tune your work.
