2016 Edition of the World’s Largest Photography Competition Opens for Entries
The 2016 Sony World Photography Awards, the world’s largest photography competition organised by the World Photography Organisation, are open for entries.
Free to enter at www.worldphoto.org, photographers of all abilities are invited to submit work to any of the awards’ five competitions: Professional; Open; Youth; National Awards and Student Focus.
Now in its ninth year, the awards are an authoritative voice in the photographic world. Each year they attract both emerging talent and established artists and presents the world’s best contemporary photography from the last 12 months.
New for 2016, the 14 Professional categories are now divided into two distinct genres – Art and Documentary. The change is to provide a clearer structure in which photographers can be recognised. Both genres also include new category additions, with Art presenting the new Staged and Candid categories and Documentary now including Daily Life and Environment.
Also new this year, British Journal of Photography (BJP), the world’s longest running photography magazine, will partner with the World Photography Organisation and its Student Focus competition. As part of this partnership, the winning Student Focus photographer will receive an online feature showcasing a body of work on BJP website and will also have the opportunity to take over the magazine’s Instagram feed.
The Sony World Photography Awards offer a range of benefits to those who enter. Firstly, all submitted images are seen by juries made of up leading experts from across the photographic industry. Beyond this, awarded shortlisted and winning photographers are given global exposure and recognition and have the opportunity to promote and sell their work via the World Photography Organisation.
The awards’ prizes include: the latest Sony digital imaging equipment; inclusion in the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition at Somerset House, London; inclusion in the 2016 awards’ book and $30,000 (USD) for the overall winners.
The 2015 Sony World Photography Awards attracted 173, 444 entries from 171 countries. The 2015 L’Iris d’Or / Professional Photographer of the Year title was awarded to Getty Images photographer John Moore. The awards’ annual exhibition of the winning and shortlisted works returned to Somerset House, London and saw a record 33,394 visitors.
The Sony World Photography Awards shortlist will be announced on 23 February and overall winners on 21 April, with an exhibition at Somerset House, London running from 22 April – 8 May 2016.
Competition Categories
- Professional – for serious photographers, 14 categories in two genres judged on a series of work
- Art – Architecture, Conceptual, Landscape, Portraiture, Staged, Still Life, Candid
- Documentary – Campaign, Current Affairs, Contemporary Issues, Daily Life, Environment, People, Sport
- Open – open to all, 10 categories judged on a single shot
- Architecture, Arts & Culture, Enhanced, Low Light, Nature & Wildlife, Panoramic, People, Smile, Split Second, Travel
- Youth – for young photographers aged 12-19, three categories judged on a single image
- Culture, Environment, Portraits
- National Awards – looking for the best single shot by a local photographer from over 50 countries
- Student Focus – for emerging photographic talent studying any degree level photography course
- For full list of participating countries see www.worldphoto.org
- Student Focus – for emerging photographic talent studying any degree level photography course
Key Dates
- 4 December 2015 Student Focus competition closes
- 5 January 2016 Open, Youth, National Awards competitions close
- 12 January 2016 Professional competition closes
- 23 February 2016 Shortlist for Professional, Open, National Award and Youth competitions revealed
- 1 March 2016 Student focus shortlist revealed
- 15 March 2016 National Award winners revealed
- 29 March 2016 Open and Youth winners revealed
- 21 April 2016 L’Iris d’Or/Photographer of the Year plus Professional category winners and Open, Youth and Student Focus Photographers of the Year revealed at gala ceremony held in London
- 22 April 8 May 2015 Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition at Somerset House, London
Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter is a British photography journalist, editor, curator, and the founder of *TheAppWhisperer.com*, one of the world’s leading platforms dedicated to mobile photography and art. Since its launch in 2009, TheAppWhisperer has become an international hub for artists of all levels to discover, learn, exhibit, and engage with contemporary photographic practice.Built on principles of inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic excellence, Joanne has spent almost two decades championing mobile photography as a serious artistic medium. Through interviews, critical essays, exhibitions, competitions, and education, she has helped shape and document the evolution of mobile art on a global scale.Her work has taken her internationally, lecturing on photography and mobile art at institutions and events including the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, alongside appearances in the UK and Europe. She has served as a juror for international photography and mobile art awards across Portugal, Canada, the United States, South Korea, Italy, and the UK.Joanne is also the founder of *TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com*, one of the first online galleries dedicated exclusively to collectible mobile art, connecting artists with collectors across Europe, the United States, and Asia.Before founding TheAppWhisperer, Joanne worked extensively in print journalism and photographic publishing, including roles at a paparazzi photo agency and as deputy editor of a leading photography magazine. Her freelance journalism, criticism, and commentary have been published widely in both the UK and the US, with bylines in *The Times*, *The Sunday Times*, *The Guardian*, *Popular Photography*, *NikonPro*, *DPReview*, *Which?*, *Vogue Italia*, *LensCulture*, the *BBC*, and more recently, the *Financial Times*, where her published letters on photography continue to contribute to wider conversations around the medium.Alongside her editorial and curatorial work, Joanne’s own photographic practice has been exhibited internationally across the UK, Europe, South Korea, and the United States. Her work increasingly explores themes of grief, loss, death, memory, and the body.Her current research interests centre on grief, death, and poverty, with forthcoming postgraduate study leading towards doctoral research in these areas.Joanne is currently developing new long-form writing and photographic projects and is available for commissions, editorial projects, speaking engagements, and collaborations.Contact: joannetheappwhisperer@gmail.com)
