Created by the World Photography Organisation, the Sony World Photography Awards, one of the most celebrated and diverse photography competitions in the world and an authoritative voice in the industry, has been recently opened for entries for 2021.


The awards offer an unparalleled opportunity for exposure for photographers at all stages of their career and are known worldwide by industry leaders. Now in its 14th year, it aims to showcase the best contemporary photography worldwide.

Categories are:

➜ Professional
➜ Open
➜ Youth
➜ Student


There is a competition and a category for everyone, from Architecture, Documentary, Landscape, Portraiture, Sports, Street Photography, Wildlife, Travel, Culture, and more.

Professional competition

➜ Judged on a body of work across 10 diverse categories
➜ Photographers must submit a minimum of 5 and maximum of 10 images

Open competition

➜ open to anyone submitting single images taken in 2020
➜ Rewarding the best single images across 10 diverse categories

Youth competition

➜ open to all 12-19 year-olds, asked to submit single images taken in 2020
➜ New format for 2020: Monthly competitions with a changing theme running from June 1 to December 31, 2020
➜ Photographers can enter up to 3 single images per month
➜ Judges are looking for good composition, creativity and clear photography.

Student competition

➜ open to anyone undertaking a full-time photography program
➜ Students answer a set brief with 5 to 10 images
➜ The deadline for the Student competition is 30th November, 2021

The images are judged by the World Photography Organisation and a specially selected jury from the World Photographic Academy which is made up of the photographic industry's most esteemed individuals.


All category winners plus many of the shortlisted awards photographers will be exhibited at the annual Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition in London and then toured internationally.


There is no entry fee to partecipate!