If your New Year’s resolutions embrace “finally enter that photo competition”, contemplate this your pleasant, mildly bossy reminder that point waits for no photographer – and deadlines actually don’t.
Whether you are chasing a career-changing accolade, eyeing a shiny exhibition slot or just hoping to justify the quantity you’ve spent on lenses this yr, 2026 is positively bursting with competitions price throwing your finest pictures at. Some provide beneficiant money prizes, others promise worldwide publicity, and some merely provide the fun of claiming “I’m an award-winning photographer” at events. Best of all, a number of are free to enter.
To help you plot your year (and avoid that panicked, last-minute image export at 11:58pm), we’ve ranked the best photography awards to enter in 2026 by their submission deadlines. Scroll through, pick your targets, and get submitting, because your next big win might just be one upload away.
1. Underwater Photographer of the Year
- Deadline: 4 January at 23:59 hrs GMT
- Entry cost: Mobile and marine conversation categories free; other categories from $15/ £20
- Enter here
Based within the UK, Underwater Photographer of the Year is an annual competitors open to photographers of all ranges and nationalities. It affords category-specific awards and an in depth prize pool, together with journey, dive packages, gear and money. Photos might be taken in in oceans, lakes and even swimming swimming pools.
2. Sony World Photography Awards
- Deadline: 6 January for the Open and Youth competitions, and 13 January for the Professional competition. Student deadline has already passed.
- Entry cost: Free
- Enter here
The Sony World Photography Awards 2026 is a free-to-enter international competitors with 4 classes: Professional, Open, Youth and Student (observe: the latter’s deadline has already handed). Winners can obtain as much as $25,000, Sony Digital Imaging tools, and can see their work featured within the annual exhibition at Somerset House, London.
3. Siena International Photo Awards (SIPA)
- Deadline: 9 January
- Entry cost: 1 image is free. Paid entries: €30 for 3 images
- Enter here
Founded in 2014, the Siena International Photo Awards (SIPA) is open to each professionals and amateurs with classes together with wildlife, nature and photojournalism. The awards ceremony is held yearly in Siena, Italy and is usually accompanied by exhibitions, workshops and conferences.
4. Aperture Portfolio Prize
- Deadline: 9 January
- Entry cost: Included with an Aperture magazine subscription
- Enter here
The Aperture Portfolio Prize seeks to establish modern traits and spotlight rising photographers. It’s open solely to subscribers to Aperture journal. There are money prizes for the winner and shortlisted artists, together with alternatives for exhibition and promotion by Aperture, PhMuseum and the AIPAD Photography Show in New York.
5. World Press Photo Contest
- Deadline: 17 January
- Entry cost: Free
- Enter here
This annual contest is open to skilled photojournalists and documentary photographers. It’s free to enter and options three classes: Singles, Stories, and Long-Term Projects. Prizes embrace a world exhibition, on-line promotion, inclusion in an annual yearbook, an invite to a winners’ occasion in Amsterdam and money prizes of as much as €11,000.
6. LCE Photographer of the Year
- Deadline: 21 January
- Entry cost: Free
- Enter here
This annual, free-to-enter competitors is open to photographers of all ability ranges worldwide, with classes together with motion, panorama, wildlife and drone images. The competitors features a People’s Choice Award voted on by the general public, and an Emerging Talent Award for images college students. Winners might be on present at The Photography & Video Show, which returns to the NEC in Birmingham, March 14-17, 2026.
7. Applied Arts Photography Awards
- Deadline: 30 January
- Entry cost: $40 (single Image) / $65 (series)
- Enter here
This long-running Canadian competitors accepts submissions throughout greater than 75 classes, together with promoting, structure and nature/wildlife. Entries are judged based mostly on inventive advantage, technical execution and suitability for finish use. Winners obtain in depth publicity and publication within the annual awards concern.
8. International Photography Awards (IPA)
- Deadline: 31 January (early bird), 30 June (final)
- Entry cost: From $40 for professionals, from $30 for amateurs
- Enter here
The IPA’s objective is to salute the achievements of high-quality photographers, uncover new and rising expertise, and promote the appreciation of the craft. This contest is open to photographers aged 18 or older, from any nation. Entries are judged individually inside skilled, non-professional and pupil classes.
9. World Food Photography Awards
- Deadline: 8 February
- Entry cost: Free for students and under-18s. Adults: £35 for up to 6 images for adult entrants, with further entries costing £7 each.
- Enter here
These specialist awards intention to focus on meals tales worldwide, from meals manufacturing to elaborate meals, by the work of a various judging panel. Open to each professionals and amateurs, there is a £5,000 high prize. This yr brings a brand new ‘Food as Home’ class and finalist exhibitions at London’s Mall Galleries and Fortnum & Mason.
10. Fine Art Photography Awards
- Deadline: 15 February
- Entry cost: Amateurs: $24 for a single entry, $29 for an amateur series. Professionals: $29 for a single entry, $34 for an amateur series
- Enter here
The Fine Art Photography Awards serves as a platform for photographers to showcase their inventive imaginative and prescient throughout classes corresponding to summary, conceptual and panorama, based mostly on originality, creative voice and technical ability. This yr’s grand prize is $3,000.
11. MUSE Photography Awards
- Deadline: 26 February
- Entry cost: From $40 (professional) / $30 (amateur/student)
- Enter here
The MUSE Photography Awards honor a broad vary of inventive work throughout classes like Abstract, Architecture and Fine Art. The competitors rewards its high winners with $3,000 (Professional) and $2,000 (Amateur) money prizes, together with the coveted MUSE statuette and international publicity.
12. iPhone Photography Awards (IPPAWARDS)
- Deadline: 31 March
- Entry cost: From $7.50 for a single image
- Enter here
Founded in 2007, the identical yr the primary iPhone was launched, the iPhone Photography Awards (IPPAWARDS) is the primary and longest-running worldwide images competitors particularly for photographs captured utilizing an iPhone or iPad. Note that the usage of any iOS app for modifying is permissible, however desktop picture processing packages like Photoshop usually are not.
13. Monovisions
- Deadline: 18 Jan (early bird), 17 May (final)
- Entry cost: From $20 for a single image; from $25 for a series
- Enter here
The MonoVisions Photography Awards 2026 celebrates black and white images worldwide. This yr the competition celebrates its tenth anniversary by providing $5,000 in money prizes, together with $3,000 for the Series of the Year and $2,000 for the Photo of the Year, throughout varied classes like Street Photography, Fine Art and Nature.
14. Le Prix de la Photographie de Paris (PX3)
- Deadline: 18 February (early bird), 13 May (regular), 22 July (final)
- Entry cost: $30 for single images (professionals), $20 for amateurs and students. Discounts for multiple categories.
- Enter here
Established in 2007 to advertise images and uncover expertise, this contest open to each skilled and novice photographers, in classes like Architecture, Fine Art and Portraiture. Winners are exhibited in Paris and printed within the annual PX3 e-book. Cash prizes embrace $5,000 for Professional Photographer of the Year and $2,000 for Best New Talent.
15. ND Awards
- Deadline: 26 April (early bird), 20 September (final)
- Entry cost: From $19 for a non-professional single image; from $29 for a professional series entry
- Enter here
The ND Awards rejoice creative achievement in classes corresponding to Fine Art, Portrait and Wildlife. With whole money prizes of $10,000, this competitors affords international publicity and is open to professionals and amateurs.