Worlds largest photography competition celebrates its 10th anniversaryNew categories in Professional, Open and Youth competitions
We are committed to challenging photographers to push their creative boundaries in the years to come. Scott Gray, CEO, World Photography Organisation
June 1, 2016: The Sony World Photography Awards, the worlds largest photography competition, opens for entries today. Created by the World Photography Organisation, 2017 marks the awards' 10th anniversary.
The Sony World Photography Awards annually recognizes the world's best photography. Open to all photographers, the awards are an authoritative voice in the photographic industry that has the power to shape the careers of its winning and shortlisted photographers.Each year the competition attracts both emerging talent and established artists and presents the world's best photography from the last 12 months to a global audience.
Winning the Portrait category was life-changing. Professionally, winning the award helped kick-start my career Sophie Gamand, Winner, Professional Portrait category 2015
Winning brought more attention to my work and I started receiving more collaboration proposals and job opportunities Kylli Sparre, Winner, Open Enhanced category 2014
The award changed my life and beyond the great visibility obtained allowed me to create solid relations of friendships and professional collaborations that I otherwise would not have been able to obtain Andrea Roseate, 3rd Place, Professional Candid category 2016
Photographers are welcome to enter their work for free into any of the awards' four competitions: Professional, Open, Youth and Student Focus via www.worldphoto.org. The newly re-launched website gives a greater visual platform to the awards' photographers and makes the entry process simpler than ever before.
The 2017 edition also sees new categories introduced across the all competitions challenging photographers to push their creative boundaries. Please see notes to editors for competition definitions and categories or click here.
The Sony World Photography Awards offer a wide range of benefits for its winning photographers, including:
The latest Sony digital imaging equipment
Inclusion in the Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition in London
Inclusion in the annual Sony World Photography Awards winners book
$25,000 (USD) for the winner of the Photographer of the Year title
$5,000 (USD) for the winner of the Open competition
Worldwide media exposure and increased recognition
Scott Gray, CEO of World Photography Organisation, comments: We are extremely proud to reach our 10th anniversary. Since launching in 2007 the Sony World Photography Awards has grown consistently in both size and credibility. Across the years the awards have discovered and celebrated a huge variety of photography. I am honored that emerging photographers across the word have been able to use the awards to launch their careers, and established photographers can use us to extend their networks. We are committed to challenging photographers to push their creative boundaries in the years to come.
The 2016 Sony World Photography Awards attracted a record-breaking 230,103 entries to from 186 countries. The 2016 Professional Photographer of the Year title was awarded to Iranian photojournalist Asghar Khamseh for his series Fire of Hatred.
The Sony World Photography Awards shortlist will be announced on February 28, Open and National Awards winners revealed on March 28 and overall winners announced on April 20, 2017, with an exhibition at Somerset House, London, running from April 21 - May 7 2017.
Winning and shortlisted images from the 2016 awards are available to download at www.worldphoto.org/press
For all press enquiries please contact
Press department, World Photography Organisation
+ 44 (0) 20 7886 3043 / press@worldphoto.org
Notes to Editors
2017 COMPETITION CATEGORIES - see full category descriptions here
Professional - Judged on a body of work
Art categories: Architecture / Conceptual / Landscape / Natural World / Portraiture / Still LifeDocumentary categories:Current Affairs & News / Contemporary Issues / Daily Life / Sport
Open - Judged on a single shot
Categories: Architecture / Culture / Enhanced / Motion / Nature / Wildlife / Portraits / Still Life / Street Photography / Travel
Youth - For photographers aged 12-19, judged on a single image responding to the brief of Beauty
Student Focus - For photography students, judged on a single image responding to a brief
KEY DATES
December 5 2016 - Student Focus competition closes
January 5, 2017 - Open and Youth competitions close
January 10, 2017 - Professional competition closes
February 28, 2017 - Shortlist for Professional, Open, Youth and Student Focus competitions revealed
March 28, 2017 - Open, Youth and National Award winners revealed
April 20, 2017 - Photographer of the Year plus Professional category winners and Open, Youth and Student competition winners revealed at ceremony held in London
April 21 - May 7, 2017 - Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition at Somerset House, London
About World Photography Organisation The World Photography Organisation is a center point for global photography initiatives. We are a platform on which individual photographers are given worldwide exposure, and forge links across the photographic industry. Our aim is to raise the level of conversation around photography. In doing this we increase awareness and appreciation of the art form and celebrate the art of the photographer.
The World Photography Organisation hosts a year-round portfolio of events including the Sony World Photography Awards, the worlds largest photography competition, and international art fairs dedicated to photography, PHOTOFAIRS | Shanghai and PHOTOFAIRS | San Francisco. For more
