THE INTERNATIONAL
PHOTO CONTESTS DIRECTORY 2026

• Decagon Gallery • Deadline: June 3rd, 2026 • Category: Portals • Prize: $1,000 Prize Pool + Online Exhibition • Entry Fee: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Some photographs function as thresholds—spaces of transition rather than resolution. They position the viewer at a boundary: between here and elsewhere, before and after, known and unknown. These images hold a sense of suspension, where meaning is not fixed but in the process of becoming. PORTAL seeks works that engage wit

• Lost Artists • Deadline: June 10th, 2026 • Theme: Open • Prize: Residency Spot in Capri • Entry Fees: Apply for Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Welcome to Lost Artists, a photography residency program located in the heart of Capri, created for artists seeking more than just time away to produce work. Launching in 2025, the residency will bring together photographers and visual artists from different backgrounds and experiences in an environment dedicated to creativity, refl

• Working Assumptions • Deadline: June 1st, 2026 • Category: Visual Storytelling • Prize: 6 x $10,000 Project Grants • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Working Assumptions is committed to supporting visual storytelling projects that explore the complexity, diversity, and emotional realities of family life. Each year, the organization awards six unrestricted Project Grants of $10,000 to photographers and artists whose work invites audiences and participants to engag

• All About Photo • Deadline: June 2nd, 2026 • Theme: Black and White Photography • Prize: $1,000 + Online Exhibition + Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Black and white photography continues to captivate audiences with its ability to distill imagery down to its most fundamental elements. Without the presence of color, the viewer becomes more attuned to nuances such as contrast, tonal range, light dynamics, and structural composition. This stripped-back ap

• Travel Tales Award • Deadline: June 14th, 2026 • Category: Travel Photography • Prize: Exhibition at the SCOPE Art Fair in Miami • Entry Fees: 2 Solo Exhibitions + Publications • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The Travel Tales Award is an internationally recognized photography competition devoted to celebrating the art of travel photography and the power of visual storytelling. Designed for both amateur and professional photographers, the award provides a platform for artists fro

• BBA Prizes & Gallery • Deadline: June 1st, 2026 • Theme: Open • Prize: €300 + Exhibition in Berlin (Germany) • Entry Fee: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE They invite submissions that distill vision into a single, compelling image—one that has the power to arrest attention and resonate beyond the moment of viewing. The 2026 Spring Edition has been developed as their most inclusive global open call, offering a streamlined pathway for photographers to engage with Berlin’s conte

• Deloitte • Deadline: June 14th, 2026 • Theme: Proximities • Prize: €25,000 + Solo Exhibition in Milan (Italy) • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE A total of ten reporters have been appointed for this section, each recognized for their contribution to the international cultural and photographic landscape. The selected individuals—Alberto Negrin, Stephen Bulger, Brendan McCleary, Dimitri Beck, Pancho Saula, Karin Kauffman, Davide Monteleone, Arianna Rinaldo, Eric R.

• The Mangrove Action Project • Deadline: June 1st, 2026 • Category: Several Categories • Prize: $1,000 + Worldwide Exposure • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The Mangrove Photography Awards 2026, hosted by the Mangrove Action Project, is a worldwide photography competition that shines a spotlight on one of the planet’s most remarkable yet fragile ecosystems—mangroves. Found along coastlines around the globe, these environments are teeming with life and play a cru

• VIEPA • Deadline: May 31st, 2026 • Category: Several Categories • Prize: €10,000 in Prizes + Exhibition in Austria • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Photography has the extraordinary power to connect the world. With every click of a shutter, stories are shared, cultures meet, and people from all walks of life find a common ground. The peaceful and transformative nature of photography unites nations, communities, and entire continents, creating a global dialogue t

• Photometria International Photo Festival • Deadline: May 31st, 2026 • Judge: Alec Soth • Prize: Nikon Z30 Kit + Exhibition in Greece • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE As the festival reaches its eighteenth edition, it marks an important symbolic milestone, suggesting a moment of maturity and self-awareness. This occasion provides an opportunity to explore the idea of transition in a thoughtful and nuanced way. Coming of Age (18+) focuses on growing up not simply

• Narwhal Rainbow Alliance • Deadline: May 31st, 2026 • Theme: Queer Nature (non-human) • Prize: €1000 + Exhibitions + Publication • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Welcome to the Queer Nature Photography Awards, an initiative that explores and celebrates the inspiring connections between queerness and the immense diversity of life on our planet. Nature is a tapestry of variation—an ever-evolving network of species, behaviors, and ecosystems that constantly reshap

• Australian Photographic Prize • Deadline: May 31st, 2026 • Category: Several Categories • Prize: AUD $5,000 + Trophy + Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The Australian Photographic Prize welcomes photographers from all walks of life—whether you are a seasoned professional, a passionate amateur, or a student just beginning your creative journey. Open to entrants from Australia and around the world, the competition brings together a dynamic and diverse glo

• Duckling • Deadline: June 30th, 2026 • Category: Documentary Photography • Prize: €1,300 + Publication • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Duckling is a new media platform dedicated to the art of documentary photography and the power of visual storytelling. It was created as a space where photographers, journalists, and storytellers can come together to share ideas, develop projects, and engage with a global community driven by curiosity and human connection. Throu

• Natural Landscape Photography Awards • Deadline: May 31st, 2026 • Category: Landscape / Natural Photography • Prize: $5,000 + Exposure + Publication • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The Natural Landscape Photography Awards (NLPA) were established to celebrate the artistry and dedication of photographers who capture the natural world with honesty, skill, and creativity. The competition brings together photographers from across the globe who share a passion for la

• Form Photography • Deadline: July 31st, 2026 • Theme: Open • Prize: Exhibition at the SCOPE Art Fair in Miami • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE With the support of SCOPE Miami Beach, Picter, and Form Magazine, we are proud to present the Form Photo Award / SCOPE MIAMI, an annual international competition dedicated to contemporary photography and the discovery of emerging artistic voices. Created to celebrate innovation in visual storytelling, the award seeks phot

• PhotoPlace Gallery • Deadline: June 8th, 2026 • Category: Contemporary Photography • Prize: Exhibition in Vermont (USA) + Sales • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Photographers across the globe are invited to take part in OPEN CALL: A Celebration of Contemporary Photography, an international juried exhibition presented by PhotoPlace Gallery. This special exhibition celebrates the ever-evolving language of photography and the countless ways artists use the medium t

• Dusk Photo Gallery • Deadline: June 25th, 2026 • Theme: Red • Prize: Exhibition in Santa Fe (USA) + Sales • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE We invite photographers from around the world to submit their work for RED, a juried exhibition exploring the emotional, symbolic, and visual power of one of the most arresting colors in the spectrum. Bold, visceral, and impossible to ignore, red has long carried layered meanings across cultures and histories: desire and dang

• Boomer Gallery London • Deadline: June 5th, 2026 • Theme: New Voices • Prize: Exhibition in London + Exposure • Entry Fees: Free Submission (Pay If Selected) • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE A new era in the art world is beginning to unfold. After decades in which institutions, galleries, and established systems largely dictated visibility and value, power is slowly returning to the artists themselves. Through social media and digital platforms, creators now have unprecedented fr

• All About Photo • Deadline: June 2nd, 2026 • Theme: Black and White Photography • Prize: $1,000 + Online Exhibition + Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Monochrome photography possesses a unique and enduring charm, often described as timeless and poetic. By eliminating the distraction of color, black and white imagery allows photographers to focus on the essential visual elements that define a photograph—contrast, lighting, texture, shape, and composition

• Allora Gallery • Deadline: June 27th, 2026 • Category: Black & White Photography • Prize: Solo Exhibition + Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Colour captures attention instantly, but black and white photography invites a slower, more contemplative form of looking. When colour is removed, the image is stripped down to its essential elements — light, shadow, texture, shape, gesture, and atmosphere. What remains is often more intimate and emotionally direct

• Point Pleasant Publishing • Deadline: June 22nd, 2026 • Category: Photo / Moving-Image / Performance • Prize: Publication (Print + Digital) + Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Point Pleasant Publishing was founded in 2014 in Jersey City, New Jersey (currently based in the New Jersey Shore as well as beyond) and is an international contemporary art publisher specializing in writing critical essays. Selected artists are featured with detailed curatorial re

• SEE:ZEEN Magazine • Deadline: May 27th, 2026 • Category: Contemporary Photography • Prize: Publication + Exposure • Entry Fee: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE This open call welcomes participants from all corners of the world. Regardless of where you are based, your perspective is valuable, and we invite you to contribute to this shared creative space. see-zeen is intentionally inclusive in its approach to photography. We do not define strict boundaries around genre, style,

• Decagon Gallery • Deadline: June 3rd, 2026 • Category: Portals • Prize: $1,000 Prize Pool + Online Exhibition • Entry Fee: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Some photographs have a way of stopping us right at the edge of something. They place us in between—between spaces, between moments, or between emotional states. There’s a sense that we are witnessing a transition, or that something just happened or is about to happen, even if we can’t fully define it. With PORTAL, we are

• Decode Gallery • Deadline: May 23rd, 2026 • Category: Black and White • Prize: Exhibition in Tucson + Sales + Exposure • Entry Fee: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Decode Gallery announces its upcoming theme: Black and White—a return to the foundational language of photography. Long before the introduction of color, photographers relied on the interplay of light and shadow to construct meaning, atmosphere, and narrative. In this spectrum of grayscale, images find their essen