London Camera Exchange Photographer Of The Year 2026

Deadline:

21 January 2026

Entry:

Free to Enter

Age Limit:

Over 18 Only

Experience:

Any Experience

Open to Entries:

Worldwide

Opportunity Type:

Photo Contests & Awards | Publications & Features

Detail Prize License

Competition Details

The London Camera Exchange Photographer of The Year 2026 competition is now accepting free entries and boasts a substantial £10,000 prize fund. This is an excellent opportunity for photographers of all experience levels to gain national recognition and compete for major prizes. The competition features 14 diverse categories, ensuring a place for nearly every genre of photography, from Landscape to Street.

Unique elements include the People’s Choice award, decided by public vote, and the Emerging Talent award, which offers photography students the chance to win prizes for both themselves and their university. By joining, you get to showcase your talent on a national stage and celebrate creativity, skill, and inspiration.

LCE Photographer of the Year 2026 is open to photographers based anywhere in the world, but please note that prizes can only be given to photographers based in the UK.

Any photographer based elsewhere is eligible to enter, and if they have winning images then they will receive the same exposure as all other winning images, but due to unavoidable logistical issues prizes will not be given, and no other compensation will be given in lieu of the advertised prizes.

The overall winners will be announced at a special event at The Photography & Video Show 2026 and will be announced via social channels and through National and Specialist media.

Categories:

Action
After Dark
Birds
Creative
Emerging Talent
Events
Landscape
Macro
Peoples Choice
Pets
Portrait
Street
Travel
Wildlife

Entry Requirements:

Please include a short description (max 280 characters) about your work during the upload process. This is a great way to tell a story or other interesting facts about your image. The panel will be able to read this while judging to give them insight into how you came about the shot.

JPEG at a maximum size of 2,500px on its longest edge. If shortlisted, entrants must be able to supply images as original JPEG or RAW files.

Either RGB or sRGB colour profiles are recommended. Digital scans from film are also eligible providing they meet these technical guidelines.

The same image can only be entered into one category.

Winners Are:

Judged & Voted

Judging Process Published:

Partially

Judging Anonymous:

Yes

Winners Announced:

March 2026

Prize & Judging Details

The overall winner will receive £2,500 worth of LCE vouchers.

The winner of each of the 14 categories will be awarded £500 worth of LCE vouchers.

An additional £500 will be awarded to the photography department where the winner of the Emerging Talent category studies.

Winners of each category and the overall prize will also receive a trophy, and shortlisted entries will be included in an awards book, which all shortlisted entrants will receive free of charge.

The awards ceremony will be held at The Photography & Video Show at the NEC in Birmingham during March 2026

Judging Process

A shortlist of submissions will be drawn including a selection of favourites from votes cast in the gallery. This will be judged by our panel of experts based on composition, lighting, subject matter and technical skill. We do not discriminate on the equipment used to take the image and view the photos anonymously to avoid any potential bias.

The voting section will be activated approximately one month after the competition begins and we will advertise this feature when it is available. The People’s Choice category winner will be based solely on votes received.

The overall winner will be chosen from the 14 category winners by the judging panel.

Retain Copyright:

Yes

Retain Moral Rights:

Credit Only

License Duration:

Perpetual

Photo Use Term:

Promotional Only

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Usage Rights, Copyright & Moral Rights

All imagery MUST be the exclusive work of the submitting photographer and may not include any element that is the copyright of another.

The Copyright for each image entered will remain with the submitting photographer.

Usage License

By entering the Competition and submitting your photograph(s), you hereby grant the Promoter, its partners and sponsors a non-exclusive, irrevocable license to use your photograph(s) for any purpose connected with the Competition, including (but not limited to), promoting the Competition within printed and online media, the inclusion within printed and digital versions of any Competition book, the inclusion within printed and digital versions of any Competition calendar or other merchandise, display at exhibitions, use in press, promotional and marketing materials, social media networks and for the promotion of any future photographic competition in both print and online media.

Images submitted in the Competition will be credited wherever possible, when used by the Promoter, its partners and sponsors.

Disclaimer: Although we make every effort to provide accurate information, we advise a thorough review of the competitions rules and details to ensure your understanding and acceptance before proceeding with your entry.