Photography Competition – Sony World Photography Awards – Open for Entries
The Sony World Photography Awards is the world’s biggest photography competition and its aim is simple: to recognise and reward the best contemporary photography in the world.
The awards have brought untold reward and recognition to those involved and each year offers an incredible $30,000 (USD) in cash prizes plus the latest Sony digital imaging equipment.
Free to enter, photographers of all abilities are invited to submit either their best single shots or series of work. The images are judged by the World Photography Organisation and a specially selected jury from the World Photographic Academy which is made up on the photographic industry’s most esteemed individuals.
The awards offer an unparalleled opportunity for exposure for photographers at all stages of their career and are known worldwide by industry leaders.
The annual awards gala and ceremony takes place in London, welcoming an international attendance of industry leaders to celebrate the recognition of the best in contemporary photography and each year also pays tribute to one of our masters with the Outstanding Contribution to Photography Award. Supporting the celebration is an exhibition of the winners and shortlist, comprising of hundreds of photographs expertly curated inside the historic London landmark, Somerset House.
The Competitions
The Sony World Photography Awards has five competitions:
Professional – 15 categories, judged on a series of images, aimed at serious photographers
Open – 10 categories, judged on a single image, open to all
Youth – 3 categories, for photographers aged 12-19
Student Focus – for those studying photography
National Award – finding the best single image taken by a local photographer in over 50 countries
The awards offer categories across all genres of photojournalism, fine art and commercial photography. The categories include: current affairs; nature & wildlife; arts & culture, portraiture; contemporary issues; sport; landscape; still life; lifestyle; architecture, and more.
The 2015 edition attracted over 173,000 entries from 171 countries and winners will be announced on 23 April. In addition to cash prizes for the overall Professional and Open Photographers of the Year, category winners also receive the latest digital imaging equipment from Sony and Sony Mobile.
Exposure and Benefits
Exposure is given to not only the winning but also the shortlisted photographers.
Recognised photographers can receive:
Exhibition at Somerset House, London
Potential to be included in international exhibitions
Inclusion in the Sony World Photography Awards book
Potential to work with Sony on a variety of digital imaging projects