The World Press Photo Foundation invites all professional visual journalists worldwide to participate in its two renowned and free to enter contests: the 61st Photo Contest and the 8th Digital Storytelling Contest.
Nominees revealed first, winners announced at a later date
This year nominees in every category of the two contests, including the World Press Photo of the Year, will be revealed on 14 February 2018. The final category winners will only be announced at the Awards Ceremony in Amsterdam, an exclusive celebration taking place on 12 April 2018.
Lars Boering, Managing Director of the World Press Photo Foundation, emphasizes:
“We need a global, comprehensive and diverse perspective of our world. To all professional visual storytellers around the world, I encourage you to enter these free contests: send us local stories so we can share them globally. Winning a World Press Photo award is not only a career-changing event, it is also a chance to connect with an audience of millions, and an amazing opportunity to highlight your story and subject. If you don’t enter, you can’t win.”
Former winner, Malin Fezehai, Eritrea/Sweden, said:
“2015 was an important turning point in my career and winning a World Press Photo award certainly played a large part in that. Often in photojournalism you produce work on your own initiative, and it's a very solitary profession in many ways. So, when people in the industry take notice of the work you are doing, it means a lot. Winning the award exposes your work to a wider audience, and it encouraged me to continue working personal projects.”
Former winner and jury member Christian Ziegler, Germany, added:
“The World Press Photo Foundation is crucially important for photographic storytelling. This is the one competition that is really aimed at photojournalism; it's about the story behind the images as much as the pictures. World Press Photo is also judged by peers - working photographers and other professionals who know the game.”
How to enter the 2018 Photo Contest
The annual Photo Contest rewards photographers for the best single-exposure pictures contributing to the past year of visual journalism.
Obligatory registration: A username and password are required to enter the contest and must be requested before 4 January 2018, 12.00 (noon) CET.
Submissions: For those registered, the deadline for submissions is 9 January 2018, 12.00 (noon) CET.
Entries may only be submitted online via the World Press Photo contest entry website.
You can find the overview of the juries, category descriptions, and details about the verification process on our website.
How to enter the 2018 Digital Storytelling Contest
The Digital Storytelling Contest rewards those producing the best forms of visual journalism enabled by digital technologies. The contest is open to digital storytellers, visual journalists and producers, with submissions that include the work of a professional visual journalist.
Submissions: Entries can be submitted until 4 January 2018, 12.00 (noon) CET. Entrants must register and submit online at the World Press Photo Digital Storytelling Contest entry website.
The contest has four categories and is judged online. Details of the categories, entry rules, jury and judging process are available on our website.
Recognition
Nominees (or one representative for a team entry) have their travel to Amsterdam and lodging paid for by the World Press Photo Foundation so they can attend the World Press Photo Festival, a public event taking place on 13-14 April 2018 featuring presentations, workshops and meetups. They also receive a Golden Eye Award and a diploma at the Awards Ceremony, an exclusive celebration taking place on 12 April 2018.
The World Press Photo of the Year award carries 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 winner also receives a selection of camera equipment provided by Canon and a Golden Eye Award.
The prize-winning photographs are also assembled into a year-long exhibition that opens in De Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam on 14 April. The exhibition then goes on to visit 45 countries and 100 cities and is seen by more than 4 million people. The winning pictures are also published in an annual yearbook, which is available in multiple languages.
The prize-winning projects of the Digital Storytelling Contest are assembled into an exhibition that travels to select locations around the world.
In addition, prizewinners are often featured in major publications and invited to speak at public events, exhibition openings, and lectures throughout the year.
Photo credit: Antonio Gibotta/ Agenzia Controluce
