THE INTERNATIONAL
PHOTO CONTESTS DIRECTORY 2026

• RSEA • Deadline: November 14th, 2025 • Theme: Mountain and all Activities Practiced • Prize: €500 + Exhibition in Spain • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE For over a century, RSEA Peñalara has been dedicated to sharing the wonder of the mountains—their stories, their light, and their enduring mystery. Continuing this mission, the organization proudly presents the Historic Mountain Photography Contest , a celebration of both nature’s majesty and the human gaze t

• Street Photographers Foundation • Deadline: November 10th, 2025 • Category: Street Photography • Prize: €1,000 Cash Awards + Global Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE No two people see the world in exactly the same way. Each set of eyes tells a different story, finding beauty and meaning in unique details. That’s what makes every single day different — our individual perspectives color every experience. Still, something unites us all: the desire to captu

• Black Box Gallery • Deadline: November 12th, 2025 • Theme: Black and White • Prize: Exhibition in Portland (USA) + Sales • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Black Box Gallery is thrilled to announce a new Black and White Juried Group Photography Exhibition , celebrating the artistry, drama, and timeless appeal of monochrome photography. Black and white has long been a cornerstone of the photographic medium — a way of seeing that distills the world into pure form,

• OPPO • Deadline: November 20th, 2025 • Prize: $25,000 + Oppo Smartphone • Category: Mobile Phone Photography • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities OPPO has announced the return of its Photography Awards for 2025 , a global initiative that continues to redefine how we think about mobile photography, visual culture, and digital storytelling. First launched to celebrate the artistic potential of smartphone imagery, the awards have quick

• The Hopper Prize • Deadline: November 11th, 2025 • Theme: Open • Prize: $4,500 X4 Artists/Photographers + Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities Artists, take note — The Hopper Prize is officially accepting entries for the Fall 2025 artist grants , and this year’s awards are bigger than ever. For this open call, the grant amounts have been raised to $4,500 , giving artists an even greater opportunity to fund their creative pr

• PhotoPlace Gallery • Deadline: November 10th, 2025 • Theme: Filling the Frame • Prize: Exhibition in Vermont (USA) + Sales • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities “The more stuff in the picture, the better. . . . In a sense it’s more fun to add more stuff if you can, and still make the picture.” — Lee Friedlander FILLING THE FRAME challenges photographers to go beyond simplicity — to capture the pulse and rhythm of visual excess. We’re

• MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas 2026 • Deadline: January 15th, 2026 • Category: Contemporary Photography • Prize: Exhibition in Milan + Publication + Residency in Italy • 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 . Thr

• 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 is a five-day, multi-format celebration of the arts taking place March 18–22, 2026 , in the vibrant and creative city of Denton, Texas . More than just a single event, it brings together three distinct but interconnected festivals— Film, Music, and Photography —into one immersive cultural

• Rotterdam Photo • Deadline: December 1st, 2025 • Theme: Echoes of Silence – War in the Artist's Soul • Prize: Exhibition at the Rotterdam Photo Festival • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities What happens to an artist when war is not witnessed, but felt? When the noise of violence turns inward—into echoes, fragments, and quiet reflections? “Echoes of Silence” delves into the ways war, conflict, and collective trauma resound within arti

• Street Photographers Foundation • Deadline: November 10th, 2025 • Category: Street Photography • Prize: €1,000 Cash Awards + Global Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Perspective defines everything. Each individual views the world differently, and that diversity of vision transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary. No two days are the same because every person experiences life through their own distinct frame of reference. Still, there are shared thr

• Profoto • Deadline: November 15th, 2025 • Category: High Key Lighting • Prize: $2,000 USD in Profoto Gear + Exposure • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities High key lighting is a style defined by its brilliance and clarity — a world bathed in light where brightness dominates and shadows take a subtle step back. Characterized by its soft tones, delicate highlights, and minimal contrast, this approach produces images that feel open, fre

• Swiss Photo Club • Deadline: November 7th, 2025 • Theme: Open • Prize: Exhibition in Berlin + Sales + 300CHF • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities The much-loved SPC PHOTO AWARDS are making their return to Berlin , now hosted in a modern and centrally located space designed to bring together photographers and art lovers from all around. This exciting photography competition welcomes everyone— no matter your experience level . Partic

• All About Photo • Deadline: November 7th, 2025 • Category: Travel Photography • Prize: $1,000 + Publication + Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities The 53rd printed edition of AAP Magazine will be devoted to one of the most universal and enduring themes in photography: “TRAVELS.” This issue aims to showcase a diverse collection of photographic projects that interpret the idea of travel in its many dimensions — geographic, e

• New York Center for Photographic Arts • Deadline: January 4th, 2026 • Theme: Urban, Suburban, Rural • Prize: $4,000 Prize Pool + Online Exhibition • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Urban, suburban, and rural settings: these are the landscapes we choose to call home, to work within, or to escape to on vacation. Each environment carries its own visual rhythm, its own atmosphere, and its own defining characteristics that set it apart. Together, they tell the story

• Los Angeles Times • Deadline: November 15th, 2025 • Category: Photo Editing • Prize: Interns at the Los Angeles Times • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities If you’ve ever dreamed of working in a bustling newsroom where breaking stories are the norm and storytelling takes many forms, the Los Angeles Times internship program could be your gateway. Over the course of 10 immersive weeks , interns collaborate directly with some of the nat

• World Street Photo Awards • Deadline: November 29th, 2025 • Category: Street Photography • Prize: €2,000 Total Prize Pool + Certificate • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities Step into the rhythm of the streets. The World Street Photo Awards celebrates the raw, the real, and the beautifully human side of photography — where unposed moments tell the greatest stories. Open to photographers of all backgrounds and experience levels, this

• Boomer Gallery London • Deadline: November 5th, 2025 • Theme: Open • Prize: Exhibition in London + Exposure • Entry Fees: Free Submission (Pay if Selected) • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities In the last hundred years, the world has undergone a revolution unlike any other in human history. We have reshaped the skyline with skyscrapers, extended our reach beyond Earth through space exploration, and changed the way we connect with each other through so

• Decagon Gallery • Deadline: November 30th, 2025 • Theme: Sanctuary (Spaces of refuge, renewal) • Prize: $1,000 + Online Solo Exhibition • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities Across cultures and throughout history, human beings have sought out sanctuaries—places of rest, renewal, and protection. In this spirit, we warmly invite photographers worldwide to submit images for Sanctuary , an online exhibition that reflects on the diverse wa

• Getxophoto International Image Festival • Deadline: November 6th, 2025 • Theme: Reset • Prize: €500 + Exhibition in Spain + Accommodation • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities Get ready — in June 2026 , the Getxophoto International Image Festival turns 20 ! Over the past few years, we’ve hit PAUSE , PLAY , and REC , reflecting on how we stop, move, and capture moments. Now, as we step into this milestone year, it’s time to press the

• Street Photographers Foundation • Deadline: November 10th, 2025 • Category: Street Photography • Prize: €1,000 Cash Awards + Global Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities Every pair of eyes perceives the world through its own unique lens. What one person sees as ordinary, another may find extraordinary. Each day unfolds differently for each of us, shaped by our distinct perspectives and emotions. Yet despite these differences,

• Revela’t Contemporary Analog Festival • Deadline: November 16th, 2025 • Category: Analog Photography • Prize: €1,000 + Exhibition at Revela’t Festival • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities We live in an era saturated by images and overwhelmed by the promises of technology. Our vision is constantly mediated, filtered, and redirected. In such a context, to continue looking with curiosity, to sustain a sense of wonder, becomes an act of

• All About Photo • Deadline: November 4th, 2025 • Category: Travel Photography • Prize: $1,000 + Publication + Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities The 53rd issue of AAP Magazine is your ticket to adventure! This edition will celebrate “TRAVELS” in all its forms — from bold expeditions to remote corners of the globe to spontaneous moments captured just around the corner. As Steve McCurry once said, “My life is shaped by th

• PhotoPlace Gallery • Deadline: November 10th, 2025 • Theme: Filling the Frame • Prize: Exhibition in Vermont (USA) + Sales • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE “The more stuff in the picture, the better. . . . In a sense it’s more fun to add more stuff if you can, and still make the picture.” — Lee Friedlander What happens when you dare to fill every corner of your frame? When you embrace density, clutter, movement, and contradiction — and transform it into art? FI

• The Chateau Gallery • Deadline: November 17th, 2025 • Theme: The Art of Landscape • Prize: Online Exhibition + Sales • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities The Art of Landscape , hosted by The Chateau Gallery , invites photographers worldwide to rethink what a landscape truly is. Beyond the familiar fields and mountains, landscapes can live in the urban sprawl, in forgotten industrial zones, in dreamlike horizons, or in abstract forms