Photography competitions to enter

Fact: there have never been so many photography competitions out there.

As well as larger and well-establishes ones, such as Travel Photographer of the Year, a lot of smaller ones have cropped up as organisations, charities and companies realise it’s a great (read cheap) way to get publicity and engage their target audiences.

Chances are you have a quite a few images sitting around, and may indeed be sorting through a lot of them now.

Doing well in a competition brings many benefits: as well as the kudos and prize purse, it can boost your confidence and attract a much wider audience to in your work. Careers have been built on it.

Photo competition tips:

Before going any further, remember the golden rules of entering photographic competitions.

First, read the rules several time over. If you don’t meet the brief of the judges, and supply the wrong kind of image in the wrong format or size, you are wasting your time.

Second, be careful about Photoshopping images: it might be ok to do a bit of ‘gardening’, such as removing stray twigs or a distant van from a landscape, but heavier editing work could get you disqualified – particularly on the stricter, more scientifically orientated contests such as Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

Third, put yourself in the judge’s shoes. You may think your image of your young niece is the cutest image ever, but is it really going to make the cut in an international portrait competition? Getting objective audience from a photographer friend, or the members of a ‘friendly’ photo forum, can help you decide which shots to enter and give you a higher chance of winning.

Fourth, try and provide something original, or at least a bit different. There’s little point entering a similar image to the one which won the last Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year competition for example: chances are it’s the same judging panel and they’ll want a change this year!

Close-up Photographer of the Year

Although many photographers are pretty much housebound, there is nothing to stop you taking close-up and macro shots, and that includes out in the garden.

The entry fee is £10-£40 depending on number of entries and there is a £2,500 cash prize for the winner. The contest is open to anyone using any device, from a mobile phone upwards.

Close Up Photographer of the Year

This previous winning image is called Seeds on Stage by Henri Koskinen

Landscape Photographer of the Year

This is one of the most popular contests in the UK so don’t expect an easy ride but quality work should get shortlisted.

It costs £9.99 to £35 to enter The overall winner gets £10,000, and shortlisted entries are featured in a commemorative coffee-table book.

More info: Landscape Photographer of the Year

This image was taken buy Pete Rowbottom, Landscape Photographer of the Year 2018

Travel Photographer of the Year

Another annual favourite, this competition attracts many thousands of entries and has gone from strength to strength since Chris and Karen Coe set it up in 2003.

While tpp-name pros such as Marsel Van Oosten tend to dominate the winner’s list, amateurs often do well too, and the varied categories mean it’s well worth a shot.

The entry fee is £8-£30 depending on category. Last year’s prizes included a Fujifilm X-T3 camera and £2,000 for the winner. This image was taken by 2018 winner Stefano Pensotti.

More info: Travel Photographer of the Year

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

This is another biggie, and is organised by the Natural History Museum. Although there are lots of categories, you need to be very careful about image editing and manipulation (the most successful shortlisted entrants usually have to provide the original raw file).

It costs £30 for five entries and the overall winner gets £10,000.

This image is called Face of Deception by Ripan Biswas, and won the Animal Portraits category, Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2019.

More info: Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year

There is a lot of misunderstanding about this competition (I speak as a former finalist in one of the categories).

It’s about way more than just styled photos of expensive looking food or celebrity chefs at work; indeed, I’m struggling to remember when one such image actually won the thing.

The contest has many categories, so it’s a very broad church, and an image of people cooking a BBQ or kids enjoying a snack in the developing world is just as likely to win as a shot of posh grub produced by a Michelin-starred chef.

It costs £30 for five images, £6 per additional entry, There is £5,000 for the overall winner, and various prizes for category winners.

This image is called Harvesting Gold by Kazi Mushfiq, Bangladesh from the category Bring Home the Harvest.

More info: Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year

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