• MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas • Deadline: January 15th, 2026 • Category: Contemporary Photography • Prize: Exhibition in MIA Photo Fair + Publication • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Get ready for something extraordinary at the MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas 2026 . For the third year in a row , visionary Dutch artist, curator, and storyteller Erik Kessels returns with an exciting side program devoted to emerging photographers and bold new ideas . Through a global ope

• Top Photo Awards • Deadline: January 16th, 2026 • Theme: Hidden Gems of Earth • Prize: Award Badge + Certificate + Exposure • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE There are moments when the Earth unveils its brilliance, not with restraint but with a vibrant burst of color that transforms the ordinary into something truly sublime. Whether it’s a quiet coastal path suddenly alive with blooms or a dusty desert erupting into color after a rare rain, these are the sights

• World Masters of Photography • Deadline: January 16th, 2026 • Category: Several Categories • Prize: Exhibitions in Austria and Spain + Trophy • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE We warmly invite photographers from every corner of the globe to take part in the 2026 World Masters of Photography Open (WMPO) , an international competition dedicated to showcasing the very best in contemporary photography. Whether you are an emerging talent or an established professiona

• Thin Line Fest • Deadline: January 15th, 2026 • Category: Several Categories • Prize: $500 + Exhibition in Denton, Texas (USA) • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Thin Line Fest 2026 is an acclaimed five-day multi-format arts festival hosted in Denton, Texas , from March 18–22, 2026 . The festival presents three core programs— Film , Music , and Photography —each designed to showcase excellence within its discipline while encouraging cross-disciplinary dialogue

• Zone • Deadline: January 31st, 2026 • Theme: Open • Prize: Publication (Digital & Print) + Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Here we go again. We’re excited to announce the Open Call for ZONE’s fifth collective book. By now, many of you already know how this process unfolds—but if you don’t, here’s what guides us. At the heart of ZONE is an interest in the conversations that arise when images from vastly different contexts are placed together. We’re cur

• Social Documentary Network • Deadline: January 15th, 2026 • Category: Social Documentary / Systemic Change • Prize: $2,500 + Publication + Exhibitions • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Every year, the ZEKE Awards celebrate the power of visual storytelling to reveal truth, spark empathy, and inspire change. The ZEKE Award for Documentary Photography honors one photographer who uses the camera not just to witness, but to interpret the world—translating complex r

• CCP • Deadline: January 26th, 2026 • Category: Research • Prize: Awards up to $5,000 • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Supporting the development of new knowledge in photography, photographic history, and photographic theory. Applications are now open for the 2026–2027 Fellowship cycle and must be submitted by January 26, 2026, at 9pm MST . The CCP Fellowship program is particularly interested in applicants who offer innovative and critical perspectives on ccp’

• Swiss Photo Club (SPC) • Deadline: January 15th, 2026 • Theme: Open • Prize: Exhibition in Vienna + Sales + 300CHF • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE All submitted photographs will be professionally printed and displayed in a stylish, curated gallery space. Over the course of the exhibition, hundreds of visitors will attend to view the work and cast their votes, helping to decide the final winners. Participants will have the opportunity to win exciting prizes, co

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• All About Photo • Deadline: January 20th, 2026 • Theme: Open • Prize: Online Solo Exhibition • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Maximize Your Exposure: Enter the Solo Exhibition Competition for a Month-Long Online Showcase All About Photo is proud to support and celebrate photography that moves us—images that tell stories, spark emotion, and create lasting impact. Our Solo Exhibition Competition is designed to give photographers the space and visibility to share

• SEE:ZEEN Magazine • Deadline: January 20th, 2026 • Category: Contemporary Photography • Prize: Publication + Exposure • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Anyone can submit—no matter where you’re from. see-zeen is an inclusive platform open to all forms of photographic expression. There are no restrictions on subject matter or approach: portrait, landscape, documentary, fashion, abstract, experimental—everything is welcome. We believe photography is more than ima

• PhotoEd Magazine • Deadline: February 13th, 2026 • Theme: Order VS Chaos • Prize: Publication (Digital & Print) • Entry Fees: Free for Subscribers • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Issue #76 will showcase the work of photographers investigating the dynamic relationship between Order and Chaos through unique, lens-based approaches . This issue invites thoughtful visual explorations that consider structure, repetition, control, disruption, and unpredictability as central photogra

• Photo Place Gallery • Deadline: February 9th, 2026 • Theme: Analog - Made by Hand • Prize: Exhibition in Vermont (USA) + Sales • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Analog — Made by Hand is an exhibition devoted to photography as a deliberate, physical, and deeply intentional art form. At a time when images are often produced and consumed instantly, this exhibition honors practices that require patience, attention, and a direct relationship with materials. Analog p

• SEE:ZEEN Magazine • Deadline: January 20th, 2026 • Category: Contemporary Photography • Prize: Publication + Exposure • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE From every corner of the world, submissions are welcome. see-zeen is open to all kinds of photography—every theme, every style, every genre. Portraits, landscapes, documentary work, fashion, abstraction, and everything in between all have a place here. We believe art has the power to change the world by startin

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• Profoto • Deadline: January 15th, 2026 • Category: Lights Like the Perfect Rembrandt • Prize: $2,000 in Profoto Gear + Exposure • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Few lighting styles carry the weight of history and artistry quite like Rembrandt lighting. Instantly identifiable by its delicate triangle of light beneath the eye, this technique transforms a portrait into something both dramatic and intimate. It is a style that speaks in contrasts—bold yet restraine

• Black Box Gallery • Deadline: January 9th, 2026 • Theme: Open • Prize: Exhibition in Portland (USA) + Sales • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Black Box Gallery proudly announces an open-themed juried group photography exhibition that embraces the full spectrum of contemporary photographic expression. This call invites photographers to submit their most successful and meaningful images—work that reflects their personal approach to photography and their dedication

• Siena Photo Awards • Deadline: January 9th, 2026 • Category: Several Categories • Prize: €1,500 + Exhibition + 2-Night Stay in Italy • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The Siena Awards is an autonomous initiative conceived with the vision of establishing Siena and its surrounding territory as a distinguished global hub for photography. Functioning as a major curator of high-level cultural events, the project seeks to attract and engage leading international phot

• New York Center for Photographic Arts • Deadline: February 8th, 2026 • Theme: Water • Prize: $4,000 Prize Pool + Online Exhibition • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE H₂O — the simplest of scientific notations, yet one that defines life on Earth. We encounter water daily, often without pause to appreciate its mystery and versatility. It flows through our landscapes as rivers, lakes, and oceans, and through our daily lives in countless subtle ways — from the morni

• Eurordis • Deadline: January 30th, 2026 • Category: Documentary Photography • Prize: GoPro HERO13 Black + Certificate • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The EURORDIS Photo Award serves as an international platform inviting individuals to visually communicate the lived experience of rare diseases. Each photograph provides a meaningful contribution to public awareness by revealing the realities faced by the rare disease community and sharing these narratives with

• Decagon Gallery • Deadline: January 31st, 2026 • Theme: Human Body: The Art of Seeing Ourselves • Prize: $1,000 Prize Pool + Online Exhibition • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Human Body: The Art of Seeing Ourselves is an invitation to rediscover the familiar. This exhibition encourages photographers to go beyond the external—to see the human form as more than an object of beauty or anatomy. Instead, it becomes a canvas of lived experience, a testament to the

• Boomer Gallery London • Deadline: January 7th, 2026 • Theme: Dreams and Nightmares • Prize: Exhibition in London + Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Some are guided by dreams, drifting into a radiant, otherworldly current of inspiration. In this suspended state, imagination takes flight, constructing surreal terrains where anything seems possible. Their creativity is fueled by wonder—by the pull of the mystical and the unreachable—propelling them toward

• Bob Books • Deadline: January 31st, 2026 • Category: Sport Photography • Prize: Bob Books Voucher + Exposure • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The beginning of a new year brings a renewed sense of energy, motivation, and forward motion, making it the perfect time to celebrate the power of sport. That’s why we’ve selected ‘Sports’ as the theme for our January Photo of the Month competition . From the intensity of competition to the quiet focus before the whistl

• Allora Gallery • Deadline: March 1st, 2026 • Category: Architectural & Street Photography • Prize: Solo Exhibition + Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Allora Gallery invites photographers from across the globe to participate in our international photography competition, “Stone & Stories.” This open call welcomes both architectural and street photography, encouraging artists to explore the built environment and the human presence that animates it. Citie