Photographers around the world, take note! The 19th edition of Sony World Photography Awards is now open for submissions and free for all to enter on https://www.worldphoto.org/
The Sony World Photography Awards is a definitive platform for the celebration and discovery of contemporary photography. Since they first started in 2007, the Awards has recognised the seminal images and stories that shape our visual language and is one of the most prestigious photographic awards programmes in the world, providing global exposure and new opportunities for photographers.
Organised by Creo, the Sony World Photography Awards form the core part of Crew’s photography programming strand, the World Photography Organisation. Sony supports the Awards to help the continued development of photographic culture by giving a global platform to today’s talent.
Sony World Photography Awards Competitions
Photographers worldwide, you are invited to submit to the Sony World Photography Awards four competitions:
- Professional: Celebrating outstanding series of work between five to 10 images across 10 categories
- Open: Rewarding the best single images of the year across 10 categories
- Youth: Championing images by emerging talent aged 19 and under
- Student: Highlighting the projects of photography students across the globe
There are also additional photography awards initiatives such as
- National & Regional Awards
- Latin America Professional Award
- Japan National Award
- Alpha Female Award
- Sustainability Prize
Entry to the Sony World Photography Awards is free. Photographers submissions are judged anonymously by a panel of industry leading judges.
Insights
This was introduced in the 2025 Professional competition, it’s back for a second year. Insights is n additional prize element that sees the 10 category winners joining a day of tailored sessions in London with leading industry figures.
From a range of commercial and institutional backgrounds, these experts offer photographers specialised guidance on ways to continue to widen their platform, and to find new opportunities to showcase their photography works. Other areas would be insights into private collectors of photography, to sessions on photo book publishing, and behind the scenes access to the acquisition process of public collections.
Student Competition Brief: Together
For this year’s Student competition, photographers are asked to respond to the brief Together.
Togetherness can take on many different meanings, shapes and forms. This is a subject rich for exploration. Throughout history, photographers have looked at life in communities in both the human and the natural world, taking into consideration the ways individuals exist as members of a group.
For this year’s brief, students are invited to explore the theme of togetherness from any angle that they choose, looking at the concept in the broadest sense. From intimate stories of camaraderie, to big and small communities working towards shared goals, to places and spaces that bring us together, and patterns of connection in the natural world – This brief “Together” invites students of photography to consider the innate need for sociality in all living beings.
Images can be taken on any device, shot in any style, and they can be approached from any angle. While creative responses are encouraged, photographers MUST stick to the brief.
Sony World Photography Awards 2026 Prizes and Deadlines
The Sony World Photography Awards now open for submissions from 1st June 2025. For full competition and category description, please visit https://www.worldphoto.org/
Submission Deadlines
The submission deadlines for the Sony World Photography Awards four competitions are as follows:
- Professional: 13 January 2026, 13:00 GMT
- Open: 6 January 2026, 13:00 GMT
- Student: 28 November 2025, 13:00 GMT
- Youth: 6 January 2026, 13:00 GMT
Prizes
All category winners of the Professional, Open, Youth, and Student competitions will receive digital imaging equipment from Sony.
In addition, cash prizes of USD$25,000 will be presented to the Photographer of the Year, USD$5,000 to the Open Photographer of the Year and USD$5,000 to the winner of Sustainability Prize.
The winner of the Photographer of the Year title will also be rewarded with a solo presentation of their work as part of the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition in London the following year. All winning and shortlisted photographers’ works will be exhibited at the annual Sony World Photography Awards exhibition in London and will toured internationally. The winning images will also be published in the annual Awards’ book.
* Information courtesy of Sony Electronics (Singapore) and Brand Cellar *