THE INTERNATIONAL
PHOTO CONTESTS DIRECTORY 2026

• Black Box Gallery • Deadline: March 11th, 2026 • Theme: Color Photography • Prize: Exhibition in Portland (USA) + Sales • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Black Box Gallery announces a juried group exhibition focused on the expansive field of contemporary color photography. This exhibition seeks to examine how photographers engage with color not merely as a descriptive element, but as a conceptual and aesthetic force within their work. Across today’s photographic

• International Aerial Photographer of the Year • Deadline: April 30th, 2026 • Category: Aerial Photography • Prize: $10,000 in Cash Prizes + Publication • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Those wondering whether they have made it into the Top 101 have two straightforward ways to check. They can explore the flipbook featuring all Top 101 entries, available at the bottom of the article, where the selected works are presented in full. Alternatively, they can access t

• National Geographic

• BJC Museum • Deadline: March 15th, 2026 • Category: Documentary Photography • Prize: 30,000€ + Exhibition in France • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Created in 2008 , the musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac Photography Award was designed to support and encourage contemporary photographic creativity from around the world. Since its inception, the award has aimed to provide photographers with the opportunity to develop ambitious artistic projects while bene

• PhotoPlace Gallery • Deadline: March 9th, 2026 • Theme: Water: Element of Change • Prize: Exhibition in Vermont (USA) + Sales • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Water surrounds us and sustains us, flowing through our lives in ways both visible and subtle. It shapes the land beneath our feet, catches and reflects light in ever-changing patterns, and carries a sense of movement, memory, and emotional depth. Sometimes it appears calm and quiet; at other times it fee

• Photometria International Photo Festival • Deadline: March 31st, 2026 • Theme: Open • Prize: Exhibition at Photometria Festival in Greece • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The Photometria International Photography Festival, continuing its commitment to growth, innovation, and the active support of emerging talent, is proud to announce the launch of the “Youth Collective 2026” competition. This new initiative forms part of the festival’s broader vision to cultiva

• Profoto • Deadline: March 15th, 2026 • Category: Best use of Light • Prize: $2,000 in Profoto Gear + Exposure • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE This is your opportunity to demonstrate how you shape, control, and interpret light in your own distinctive way. There are no predefined themes to follow, no conceptual boundaries to stay within, and no stylistic constraints to limit your approach. The only essential element is this: we want to see what you can create u

• Leica • Deadline: March 15th, 2026 • Open: Open • Prize: €10,000 + Leica Camera • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The LOBA Women Grant is designed to empower female photographers by giving them the resources and support needed to bring a new photographic series to life, with the completed work presented within the prestigious LOBA framework. This global initiative grows out of the knowledge and momentum generated by the Leica Women Foto Project Award, establish

• All About Photo • Deadline: March 6th, 2026 • Theme: Women • Prize: $1,000 + Online Exhibition + Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Since photography first emerged as a medium, women have been central to its history. They have appeared frequently as subjects, while also embracing photography as a powerful means of documentation and self-expression. Through the camera, women have explored identity, recorded lived experience, and contributed to the evoluti

• BBA Prizes & Gallery • Deadline: March 30th, 2026 • Theme: Open • Prize: €1,000 + Solo Show in Berlin (Germany) • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Visual excellence, compelling narrative power, original conceptual thinking, refined technical craftsmanship, meaningful subject depth, and an authentic understanding of the medium all stand at the heart of the evaluation process. These core qualities form the foundation upon which our distinguished jury — composed of

• FOTO Bali Festival • Deadline: March 13th, 2026 • Theme: Afterimage • Prize: Exhibition in Bali (Indonesia) • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE This edition shifts its focus toward what persists after the event itself has passed—toward the traces, residues, and quiet continuities that remain once the decisive moment is no longer present. It asks what survives after transformation has already taken root, after the spectacle has faded, after collective attention ha

• PhotoEd Magazine • Deadline: June 15th, 2026 • Theme: Home vs Away • Prize: Publication (Digital & Print) • Entry Fees: Free for Subscribers • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE photoED Magazine continues its commitment to showcasing diverse photographic voices by presenting compelling visual stories in fresh and innovative ways. With each issue, the magazine highlights artists who push creative boundaries while exploring meaningful contemporary themes through lens-based practices. I

• Leica • Deadline: March 15th, 2026 • Open: Open • Prize: €10,000 + Leica Camera • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The LOBA Women Grant has been created to provide female photographers with the opportunity to develop and realise a new photographic image series, which will ultimately be showcased as part of the LOBA platform. This initiative builds upon the experience and success of the earlier Leica Women Foto Project Award, first launched by Leica Camera USA in

• Seeing Happy • Deadline: March 7th, 2026 • Theme: Imagining Well-Being • Prize: $200 + Exposure • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE This initiative is led and curated by SeeingHappy, an international nonprofit organization that employs photography as a tool for reflection, connection, and the advancement of human well-being. Through its programs and exhibitions, SeeingHappy uses visual narratives to promote empathy, deepen understanding, and encourage positive so

• Photo Artfolio • Deadline: March 25th, 2026 • Theme: The Human Portrait • Prize: $1,000 + Online Exhibition + Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE To celebrate our continued commitment to showcasing contemporary photography, Photo Artfolio invites photographers worldwide to participate in The Human Portrait , a global online exhibition exploring portraiture as a deeply human and endlessly evolving form of expression. The portrait has never existed as a sin

• Form Photography • Deadline: March 15th, 2026 • Theme: Open • Prize: Exhibition during Art Basel + Feature • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Supported by photo basel , Picter , and Form. , the Form Photo Award 2026 proudly returns as an annual platform dedicated to contemporary photography and its evolving visual languages. Conceived as a space for discovery and experimentation, the award invites photographers who challenge conventions, propose new narratives,

• Nikon • Deadline: April 30th, 2026 • Category: Micro Photography • Prize: $3,000 + Exhibition + Exposure • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The Nikon Small World Photomicrography Contest (the “Contest”) is available only to individuals who are at least eighteen (18) years old, or who have reached the age of legal adulthood in the place where they reside, as of the date they enter the Contest. Participants must also have access to an optical microscope, which is

• Black Box Gallery • Deadline: March 11th, 2026 • Theme: Color Photography • Prize: Exhibition in Portland (USA) + Sales • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Black Box Gallery is excited to present a juried group exhibition celebrating the creative possibilities of color photography. This show will highlight the many ways photographers use color as a central element in their visual storytelling and artistic exploration. In contemporary photography, color plays an in

• Exposure Photo Gallery • Deadline: June 30th, 2026 • Theme: The Shape of a Moment • Prize: $500 Exhibition in USA and Argentina • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Some moments pass almost unnoticed, lasting no longer than a heartbeat, yet they leave an imprint that stays with us. They exist at the edge of perception, where light, emotion, and time briefly align. This call invites you to observe those quiet intersections and capture the fragile beauty of what is fl

• Festival of Ethical Photography • Deadline: March 3rd, 2026 • Category: Documenting Humanity • Prize: €19,000 in Cash Prizes + Exhibitions • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The World Report Award | Documenting Humanity champions photography as a vital tool for renewed social engagement and collective awareness. Open to professional and amateur photographers from around the globe, the award highlights visual stories that focus on people and the social and cultur

• Belfast Photo Festival • Deadline: March 3rd, 2026 • Category: Several Categories • Prize: £2,000 + Exhibition in Belfast (N.I) • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE We encourage photographers everywhere—emerging artists, seasoned professionals, and passionate image-makers alike—to submit their work to the Open Submission. This platform provides an exceptional chance to present your creative vision to a distinguished international panel composed of some of the most

• All About Photo • Deadline: March 3rd, 2026 • Theme: Women • Prize: $1,000 + Online Exhibition + Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Since the earliest days of photography, women have existed at the heart of the medium—not only as subjects being observed, but as active participants using the camera as a tool for expression, reflection, and change. Photography has offered women a space to document their realities, explore identity, and give visual form to

• Dusk Photo Gallery • Deadline: March 26th, 2026 • Theme: Botanical • Prize: Exhibition in Santa Fe (USA) + Sales • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The theme of this call is Botanical . We are interested in images that move beyond straightforward documentation of plants and natural subjects. Rather than simple representation, we encourage photographers to explore the expressive and imaginative possibilities within the botanical world. We invite you to look closel

• Decode Gallery • Deadline: March 28th, 2026 • Category: Color Photography • Prize: Exhibition in Tucson + Sales + Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Our next theme is COLOR . It can be bold and impossible to ignore, or soft and barely whispered. It can be vibrant and full of energy, or muted and quietly atmospheric. However you choose to use it, color remains one of the most powerful storytelling tools available to photographers. It has the unique abilit