The Sony World Photography Awards is widely recognised as the leading global photographic awards programme in existence today. Launched in 2008, the awards are dedicated to supporting and cultivating photographic culture. Through a range of annual competitions, we hope to discover new talent in the world of photography. Whether you are just starting out or a fully-fledged professional you can enter whichever competition you believe suit your level and experience.
The annual awards gala and ceremony takes place in London, welcoming an international attendance of industry leaders to celebrate the recognition of the best in contemporary photography and each year also pays tribute to one of our masters with the Outstanding Contribution to Photography Award. Supporting the celebration, is a month-long exhibition of the winners and finalists, comprising of hundreds of photographs expertly curated inside the historic London landmark, Somerset House.
These competitions are your opportunity to showcase your skills and work to a global audience. The following competitions are now open:
• Professional Competition - for serious photographers who are in the process of building their professional reputation or have already achieved notoriety in their field. In the Professional competition you can enter a minimum of three and a maximum of 10 images per category.
• Open Competition - for amateurs and enthusiasts. In the Open competition, you can enter up to 3 images for free. These images may be entered across any of the categories. You may enter more images by upgrading your membership - Advanced Members can enter up to 8 images and Premium members can enter up to 20 images.
• Student Focus - for higher education photography students aged 18-28. To enter the Student Focus competition, students must submit their image to their tutor who will enter students' images on their behalf.
• Youth Award - for anyone aged 19 and under. In the Youth Award, you can enter up to 3 images for free. These images may be entered across any of the categories.
• National Award - uncover and honour the best single image from a participating country by an amateur photographer. This special category offers an amazing opportunity for budding photographers to have their work seen globally and be recognised alongside the world’s leading photographers.
Images should be no smaller than 800KB and no larger than 5MB. Images should be either JPEG or TIFF files. All images must be saved in the RGB colour model. All entrants must be able to supply a high resolution image suitable for printing in exhibitions and marketing materials should the image be required.
Submitted photos must be taken during 2013, with the only exception being that entries in the Professional Competition may have been taken prior to this, only if they have been first published in 2013. The author of the image retains full ownership of the copyright in each Entry.
There is no entry fee.
Eligibility
The Sony World Photography Awards are open to anyone worldwide.
Prize
We support photographers beyond just receiving their award; featuring their work across the WPO website and in international exhibitions, offering unparalleled exposure through our annual marketing campaign and international media coverage, and publication inside the annual Sony World Photography Awards book.
Vast majority of winners will be presented with their trophies at a ceremony in London in late April 2014. The winner of the 2014 L’Iris d’Or/Photographer of the Year title will be presented with $25,000 and the Open Photographer of the Year will receive $5,000. All category winners will receive the latest digital imaging equipment from Sony and the Student Focus winner will receive a range of new, cutting edge Sony equipment for their university.
