THE INTERNATIONAL
PHOTO CONTESTS DIRECTORY 2026

• Pride Photo • Deadline: December 31st, 2025 • Category: Several Categories • Prize: €500 + Exhibition in Amsterdam + Exposure • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities We are committed to continually widening our horizons—as well as those of our viewers—by presenting a vibrant tapestry of stories that honor the diversity of the global LGBTQIA+ community. The Pride Photo 2026 Contest opens its doors to photographers of all identities and

• Decode Gallery • Deadline: January 2nd, 2026 • Theme: Red • Prize: Exhibition in Tucson + Sales + Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities Decode Gallery proudly announces our upcoming show centered on one bold, unforgettable theme: RED . Few colors carry as much emotional weight or symbolic force. Red pulses with life—it’s the color of passion, fire, and the heartbeat of desire. It can shout a warning, radiate authority, or ign

• PhotoPlace Gallery • Deadline: January 5th, 2026 • Theme: Cut. Paste. Transform. • Prize: Exhibition in Vermont (USA) + Sales • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Today, photo-collage flourishes as an accessible, adaptable, and emotionally powerful artistic practice. Rooted in traditions of experimentation and reinvention, collage continues to evolve through contemporary movements focused on sustainability, nostalgia, archival research, digital manipulation, and co

• Leica • Deadline: January 9th, 2026 • Category: Street Photography • Prize: Leica Camera + Exhibitions • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities The Leica Street Photo Contest is a renowned international photography competition devoted to celebrating exceptional street photography from across the globe. Designed to spotlight powerful visual storytelling, the contest serves as a platform for photographers who are passionate about capturin

• Shoot The Frame • Deadline: December 31st, 2025 • Category: Portrait Photography • Prize: $2,000 + ViewSonic Monitor + Exhibitions • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities 13 years of Shoot The Frame. Launched in 2012, Shoot The Frame evolved into a global suite of photography contests celebrating exceptional portrait, landscape and wildlife photography. In 2025, we’re pausing the monthly contests and launching the inaugural Shoot The Fr

• Dusk Gallery • Deadline: December 19th, 2025 • Category: Color Photography • Prize: Exhibition in Santa Fe (USA) + Sales • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities We are genuinely eager to experience the way you see and interpret color—how it shapes your vision, your emotions, and the stories you choose to tell. Color has a magical ability to shift the atmosphere of an image; one hue can soften a moment, intensify a feeling, or completely

• Decagon Gallery • Deadline: December 18th, 2025 • Theme: The Art of Belonging • Prize: Promotion + Exhibition • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities The concept of home encompasses both a tangible location and an intangible emotional experience. It may refer to the geographical site of one’s birth, the homeland from which one has departed, the childhood spaces that shaped early memory, or simply a place to which one feels an enduring p

• Thin Line Fest • Deadline: January 15th, 2026 • Category: Several Categories • Prize: $500 + Exhibition in Denton, Texas (USA) • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities Step into five days of artistic immersion at Thin Line Fest , returning to Denton, Texas , from March 18–22, 2026 . This one-of-a-kind multi-format festival celebrates the intersection of Film, Music, and Photography , bringing together artists and audiences for a shared

• Budapest International Foto Awards • Deadline: August 5th, 2026 • Category: Several Categories • Prize: €3,000 + Exhibition in Budapest (Hungary) • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The Budapest International Foto Awards (BIFA) serves as a vibrant, global platform where photographers of every skill level, discipline, and artistic background can present their finest work to a dynamic creative community in Hungary and the broader Eastern European region. BIFA celebra

• All About Photo • Deadline: December 16th, 2025 • Theme: Open • Prize: Online Solo Exhibition • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities Maximize Your Exposure: Enter the Solo Exhibition Competition for a Month-Long Online Showcase At All About Photo, we believe in the power of photography to move people—to spark imagination, stir emotion, and provide a window into stories from around the world. Our mission is to bring powerful visuals to

• IPA International Photography Awards • Deadline: June 30th, 2026 • Category: Several Categories • Prize: $10,000 + Exhibition + Publication • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Since 2003, the International Photography Awards™️ has hosted an annual global competition that welcomes professional, amateur, and student photographers from every corner of the world. Over the years, it has grown into one of the most ambitious, respected, and far-reaching photography compet

• MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas 2026 • Deadline: December 15th, 2025 • Theme: Metamorphosis, from Garment to Skin: differently ME • Prize: Exhibition in Milan (Italy) + Professional Photo Shoot • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities The 15th edition of MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas introduces an exciting new opportunity for young creatives: an international open call titled “Metamorphosis, from Garment to Skin: differently ME.” Created in c

• 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 remarkable ability to connect the world. Through a single image, borders dissolve, cultures speak to one another, and distant places feel close. The gentle yet powerful force of photography brings together nations, peoples, and entire continents, reminding us of our shared stories and human exper

• Envision Kindness • Deadline: December 15th, 2025 • Theme: Kind People / Kindness in Nature • Prize: $2,000 + Online Exhibition • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities Across its six previous iterations, the Our World is Kind Photography Contest has received an impressive 12,000+ submissions from more than 2,000 photographers representing upward of 150 countries. This diverse collection of imagery has formed a global tapestry of kindn

• Photo Artfolio • Deadline: January 5th, 2026 • Theme: The Poetry of Light and Shadow • Prize: $1,000 + Online Exhibition + Exposure • Entry Fees: Free Entry Option • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE An image encompasses far more than color alone. It is defined by tone, texture, mood, and contrast—by the delicate conversation between illumination and shadow. These elements become particularly pronounced within the realm of black and white photography, where visual information is di

• Photometria International Photo Festival • Deadline: December 15th, 2025 • Theme: Open • Prize: Exhibition at Photometria Festival in Greece • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities Every photograph carries a voice—sometimes whispering, sometimes echoing through time. To honor this multiplicity of vision, the Photometria International Photography Festival invites artists to participate in the Parallel Voices Portfolio Contest , open for

• World Masters of Photography • Deadline: January 16th, 2026 • Category: Several Categories • Prize: Exhibitions in Austria and Spain + Trophy • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities The World Masters of Photography Open (WMPO) returns in 2026, and with it comes a rare chance to stand among the world’s most celebrated photographers. We invite artists of all ages, backgrounds, and visions to bring forward their best work—images that tell

• Chennai International Photo Biennale • Deadline: December 31st, 202 • Theme: Open • Prize: Exhibition in Chennai (India) + Promotion • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities By sharing your work, you are placing your artistry before an international jury composed of curators, museum and institution directors, and photography industry innovators. These are individuals who champion creativity and support emerging voices, and each submissi

• Rotterdam Photo • Deadline: January 5th, 2026 • Theme: Echoes of Silence, War in the Artist's Soul • Prize: Exhibition in Rotterdam Photo Fest • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities How does war seep into an artist’s being when they have never stood on the battlefield, yet carry its emotional residue? How does violence resonate in the minds of those who survived, escaped, or only heard its distant thunder? “Echoes of Silence” investiga

• All About Photo • Deadline: December 12th, 2025 • Category: Nature Photography • Prize: $1,000 + Publication + Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities The natural world is vast, mysterious, and endlessly inspiring. For its 54th printed issue , AAP Magazine invites photographers worldwide to explore the theme “Nature Unveiled: Capturing the Splendor of Landscapes, Wildlife, Flora & Fauna.” This issue will highlight outstanding

• Boomer Gallery London • Deadline: January 7th, 2026 • Theme: Dreams and Nightmares • Prize: Exhibition in London + Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities For some, inspiration arrives wrapped in the soft glow of dreams. They slip into a state of creative bliss, drifting through an inner world where imagination unfurls without limits. In this dreamspace, reality loosens its grip, allowing visions to expand, shift, and take form

• Black Box Gallery • Deadline: December 12th, 2025 • Theme: Shadow and Light • Prize: Exhibition in Portland (USA) + Sales • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities Black Box Gallery is proud to present a juried exhibition centered on one of photography’s most enduring themes: the dynamic interaction of shadow and light. Since the earliest days of the medium, image-makers have relied on the balance between dark and light areas to build com

• Annual Photography Awards • Deadline: December 14th, 2025 • Category: Several Categories • Prize: $5,000 Prize Pool + Medals+ Certificates • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities Now in its seventh edition, this celebrated global photography competition opens its doors once again to visionaries from around the world. With five core categories, each thoughtfully divided into 25 subcategories, this event offers a vast and dynamic canvas fo

• Dusk Gallery • Deadline: December 19th, 2025 • Category: Color Photography • Prize: Exhibition in Santa Fe (USA) + Sales • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities We are genuinely eager to experience the way you see and interpret color—how it shapes your vision, your emotions, and the stories you choose to tell. Color has a magical ability to shift the atmosphere of an image; one hue can soften a moment, intensify a feeling, or completely