The annual World Press Photo Contest rewards photographers for the best single exposure pictures contributing to the past year of visual journalism. Whether entered as singles or stories, these pictures are judged in terms of their accurate, fair, and visually compelling insights about our world.

Prizes

In addition to the World Press Photo of the Year, we are also recognizing the World Press Photo Story of the Year. Both awards carry a cash prize of 10,000 euros, as well as return airfare and hotel accommodation for travel to Amsterdam during World Press Photo Festival. The winners also receive a World Press Photo of the Year Award/World Press Photo Story of the Year Award, created by Gijs Bakker, a Golden Eye Award and a diploma.

About

The contest is organized into eight categories, and judged by a jury of leading professionals. The membership of the jury changes every year and is led by a chair and supported by secretaries who implement the rigorous judging procedures. The jury, chair, and secretaries are independent of the World Press Photo Foundation. The staff, board, and partners of the World Press Photo Foundation cannot direct the jury’s decisions. For details of the 2020 Photo Contest jury, click HERE.

Before you enter

Make sure you have read the Code of Ethics and Entry Rules. Guidance on how to write captions and to what extent processing is allowed is available at these links:

Categories: https://www.worldpressphoto.org/activities/photo-contest/categories

Code of Ethics: https://www.worldpressphoto.org/activities/photo-contest/code-of-ethics

Entry Rules: https://www.worldpressphoto.org/activities/photo-contest/entry-rules

Captions: https://www.worldpressphoto.org/activities/photo-contest/verification-process/what-is-required-in-captions

Manipulation: https://www.worldpressphoto.org/activities/photo-contest/verification-process/what-counts-as-manipulation

Participants must provide their file(s):

• Upload images with the original pixel size (unless cropped). Do not scale and do not change the resolution.

• ICC profile must be embedded. AdobeRGB, sRGB or grayscale Gamma 2.2 are recommended. No CMYK.

• Must be uploaded in JPEG format with high-quality compression. We will use winning images for high-quality production of the yearbook and exhibitions.

• Participants must provide their file(s) as recorded by the camera for all images that proceed to the final stages of the contest. These file(s) will be requested and studied confidentially between 20 January and 8 February 2020. Failure to provide these files when requested will lead to the elimination of the entry.

• If manipulation is detected in an entry, the photographer(s) will be contacted in the period mentioned above to offer an explanation that will be forwarded to the jury. Once contacted, the photographer(s) will have 24 hours to respond.

• In the same period, participants can be contacted and asked to verify their captions and metadata with the fact-checking team.

How to enter

1. Create your personal Picter account here.

2. On Picter, register for the 2020 World Press Photo Contest (starts on 2 December 2019 12.00 (noon) CET). As an individual photographer, this requires your personal data as well as your proof of professional status. Registration ends on 9 January 2020 12.00 (noon) CET!

3. While your status as a professional is under review, you can already upload your images, add captions, metadata, and other information. We reserve the right to ask for additional information to help clarify the professional status.

4. Until the submission period closes on 14 January 2020 12.00 (noon) CET, you can always log back into your account and edit your submission.

Why you should enter

• It is free to enter
• Open to all professionals around the world
• Your work is presented anonymously to the jury
• Independently judged by leaders in visual journalism
• Winners are showcased in global exhibitions and yearbook
• Winners of the headline awards will receive €10,000 each
• All winners share in prizes totaling more than €130,000 in value

We are a global platform connecting professionals and audiences through trustworthy visual journalism and storytelling, founded in 1955 when a group of Dutch photographers organized a contest (“World Press Photo”) to expose their work to an international audience. Since then the contest has grown into the world’s most prestigious photography competition, and through our successful worldwide exhibition program, we present to millions of people the stories that matter. The World Press Photo Foundation is a creative, independent, nonprofit organization, based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

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Image © Catalina Martin-Chico, Panos