THE INTERNATIONAL
PHOTO CONTESTS DIRECTORY 2026

• KH Fund • Deadline: July 13th, 2026 • Category: Women Documentary Photography • Prize: $5,000 Grant + Exposure • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities Kari Howard devoted her career to the belief that stories matter most when they illuminate the humanity hidden within everyday life. As a storytelling editor, she sought out writing that captured the fragile, beautiful, and often contradictory moments that define people: acts of resilience

• Castelfiorentino For the Arts • Deadline: October 15th, 2026 • Theme: Contemporary Photography • Prize: €3,000 + Exhibition in Italy + Publication • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE "Raccont'arti" is a free international open call for photographers and visual artists dedicated to exploring the evolving landscape of contemporary image-making. Conceived as a platform for artistic research and discovery, the initiative aims to identify and promote emerging and estab

• The Epson Pano Award • Deadline: July 13th, 2026 • Category: Panoramic Photography • Prize: Total Prize Package $11,100 + Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities The 15th Epson International Pano Awards continues its mission to spotlight the very best in panoramic photography, celebrating the skill, creativity, and vision behind the world’s most compelling wide-format images. As the largest competition of its kind anywhere in the

• Form Photography • Deadline: October 31st, 2026 • Category: Contemporary Photography • Prize: Exhibition @ UNSEEN during Art Rotterdam • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE With the valued support of UNSEEN, Picter, and Form Magazine, we are delighted to announce the launch of the Form Photo Award x UNSEEN 2027, an international award dedicated to celebrating excellence and innovation in contemporary photography. Established as an annual initiative, the award is desi

• Black Box Gallery • Deadline: July 10th, 2026 • Theme: Trees and Water • Prize: Exhibition in Portland (USA) + Sales • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities Black Box Gallery invites photographers from around the world to submit work for a juried group exhibition focused on the themes of Trees and Water. This exhibition will celebrate the remarkable diversity of contemporary photography while examining two of the most visually compelling

• Duckling • Deadline: July 31st, 2026 • Category: Documentary Photography • Prize: €1,300 + Publication • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Duckling is a new media platform dedicated to documentary photography and visual storytelling, created to support photographers, journalists, and storytellers at every stage of their creative journey. More than simply a publishing platform, Duckling is a growing ecosystem where emerging and established image-makers can connect w

• All About Photo • Deadline: July 10th, 2026 • Theme: Shapes • Prize: $1,000 + Online Exhibition + Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities Shape is everywhere. It exists in the curves of the human body, the rigid geometry of architecture, the patterns found in nature, and the fleeting arrangements of light and shadow that appear for only a moment. Often overlooked, shape has the ability to transform the way we experience a photogr

• Decagon Gallery • Deadline: September 15th, 2026 • Theme: Something Like Joy • Prize: $1,000 Prize Pool + Online Exhibition • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Not every photograph of joy is filled with laughter or celebration. Sometimes joy arrives quietly, unexpectedly, and without fanfare. It can be found in a fleeting glance between strangers, the warmth of afternoon sunlight spilling across an empty room, a child discovering something new, or the peaceful comf

• Dusk Photo Gallery • Deadline: August 20th, 2026 • Theme: Creatures • Prize: Exhibition in Santa Fe (USA) + Sales • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Dusk Gallery is pleased to announce that submissions are now open for CREATURES, an exhibition dedicated to the remarkable diversity of the animal kingdom. This open call invites photographers to explore the lives of animals in the environments they call home, capturing authentic moments that reveal their beauty, beha

• Decagon Gallery • Deadline: July 8th, 2026 • Theme: Seen/Unseen • Prize: $1,000 Prize Pool + Online Exhibition • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities With Seen / Unseen, we invite photographers to engage with the nuanced relationship between visibility and invisibility, exploring how images can simultaneously reveal and conceal. The theme encourages a deeper reflection on what lies within the photograph—not only in terms of what is clear

• PhotoED Magazine • Deadline: September 9th, 2026 • Theme: Real VS Imagined • Prize: Publication (Digital & Print) • Entry Fees: Free for Subscribers • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Issue #78 will showcase the work of photographers who explore the relationship between the real and the imagined through original, lens-based photographic practices. We are seeking projects that challenge perception, blur boundaries, and invite viewers to question what is authentic, constructed, remem

• All About Photo • Deadline: July 7th, 2026 • Theme: Shapes • Prize: $1,000 + Online Exhibition + Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities Look beyond the subject. Look beyond the story. Look at the shapes. Every photograph is built from a combination of light, shadow, texture, line, and form. Among these elements, shape remains one of the most powerful tools available to photographers. It can simplify complexity, create visual imp

• Analog Sparks • Deadline: July 31st, 2026 • Category: Several Categories • Prize: €1,000 + Exhibition in Athens (Greece) • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The AS International Film Photography Awards is an international competition held twice each year, inviting professional photographers, passionate amateurs, and photography students from around the world to celebrate the enduring art of analog photography. Dedicated to recognizing excellence in film-based image

• Nikon • Deadline: July 15th, 2026 • Theme: Open • Prize: $3,000 + Nikon Camera + 2 Exhibitions • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities Since its founding in 1953, the Nikkor Photo Contest has inspired photographers across generations and around the world, and this year it proudly celebrates its 74th edition. Built on a rich history of creativity and visual storytelling, the contest continues to evolve with the changing landscape of photo

• KH Fund • Deadline: July 13th, 2026 • Category: Women Documentary Photography • Prize: $5,000 Grant + Exposure • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities Kari Howard believed that the best stories were often found in life's smallest moments. As a storytelling editor, she was drawn not to spectacle or grand declarations but to the quiet details that reveal who people truly are. She championed stories of resilience, dignity, absurdity, laught

• BBA Prizes & Gallery • Deadline: August 3rd, 2026 • Theme: Open • Prize: Cash Prizes + Exhibition in Berlin (Germany) • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE We are looking for work that goes beyond technical excellence to communicate ideas, emotions, and unique perspectives. Storytelling, strong visual concepts, imaginative creativity, thoughtful composition, abstraction, and artistic sensitivity are among the qualities we value most. We encourage artists to experimen

• PhotoPlace Gallery • Deadline: July 6th, 2026 • Category: Cyanotype Photography • Prize: Exhibition in Vermont (USA) + Sales • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities PhotoPlace Gallery announces an open call for entries to Cyanotype: A Celebration of Process and Possibility, a juried exhibition examining the enduring significance and contemporary vitality of the cyanotype process. Since its introduction in the mid-nineteenth century, cyano

• Action Contre la Faim • Deadline: August 31st, 2026 • Category: Social / Documentary Photography • Prize: €5,000 Grant + Exhibitions • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Action Against Hunger is proud to announce the launch of the fourth edition of its Grant for a New Humanitarian Perspective, an initiative designed to support visual storytelling that brings fresh, thoughtful, and respectful perspectives to humanitarian issues. For this new edition, one selected pr

• Photo Artfolio • Deadline: July 29th, 2026 • Theme: Wild • Prize: $1,000 + Online Exhibition + Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE "Nature is not a place to visit. It is home." — Gary Snyder Photo Artfolio is delighted to announce Wild, an international online exhibition celebrating the extraordinary beauty, diversity, and resilience of the natural world. Photographers from around the globe are invited to share images that reveal the countless forms of lif

• PERSPA • Deadline: July 31st, 2026 • Category: Architectural Photography • Prize: €1,000 + Exhibition in Bourges (France) • Entry Fees: Yes (Free Options) • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Association PERSPA, a registered cultural association based in Bourges, France, proudly invites photographers from around the world to submit their finest architectural photography to its international competition. The competition celebrates the creativity, technical excellence, and artistic vis

• Global Lens • Deadline: September 30th, 2026 • Category: Several Categories • Prize: $1,000 + Exhibition + Publication • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Global Lens Photography Awards 2026 welcomes photographers from around the world to submit work across an extensive range of categories that reflect the diversity of contemporary photography. Whether your practice focuses on documentary storytelling, commercial imagery, conceptual projects, or artistic experiment

• Click Live & Click Masters • Deadline: July 31st, 2026 • Category: Several Categories • Prize: Fujifilm XT-5 Camera Kit (Worth £2,000) • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE All competition entries must be submitted digitally by 31 July 2026. Following the closing date, the judging panel will review all submissions, and shortlisted finalists will be notified within one week. Finalists will then be invited to produce and submit a printed version of their selected image

• Capri Foundation • Deadline: July 5th, 2026 • Theme: Journeys and Mirages • Prize: Exhibitions in Capri (Italy) + Accommodation • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities In March 2026, Fondazione Capri launched an international open call through its official platforms, inviting photographers of all levels to engage with the theme VIAGGI E MIRAGGI. Whether professional or amateur, participants are encouraged to bring their unique vision to

• Delta Birding Festival • Deadline: July 31st, 2026 • Category: Bird Photography • Prize: €1,000 Nikon Camera + Exhibition in Spain • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Every year, the Ebro Delta, recognised as one of the most significant natural areas in the Western Mediterranean, becomes the meeting point for birdwatchers, wildlife photographers, conservationists, and nature enthusiasts from around the world during the Delta Birding Festival. This internationally r