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
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)
