The annual World Press Photo Contest is at the core of World Press Photo's activities and it has come to be regarded as the most prestigious international award for photojournalism in the world. It offers an overview of how press photographers tackle their work worldwide and how the press gives us the news, bringing together pictures from all parts of the globe to reflect trends and developments in photojournalism.
The main overall prize, the World Press Photo of the Year, is awarded for the single photograph that is not only the photo-journalistic encapsulation the year, but represents an issue, situation or event of great journalistic importance, and does so in a way that demonstrates an outstanding level of visual perception and creativity.
The contest jury comprises 19 picture editors, photographers and representatives of press agencies from different parts of the world, with widely divergent backgrounds. This brings to the process a breadth of experience, a variety of perception and a contrast in viewpoint that keeps judging dynamic and bolsters objectivity.
There are eight categories:
• Contemporary Issues
• Daily Life
• General News
• LongÂTerm Projects
• Nature
• People
• Sports
• Spot News
Please note, a username and password are required to enter and can be requested until 6 January 2017. The final deadline for submitting entries is 11 January 2017.
There is no entry fee
Eligibility
All professional press photographers, photo agencies, newspapers and magazines from anywhere in the world are invited to submit their best news-related pictures from the previous year.
Prize
All prizewinning photographers of the photo contest receive:
• Inclusion in the World Press Photo year-long exhibition, which travels to 45 countries and is seen by more than 4 million people each year
• Inclusion in the annual collectible yearbook, available in multiple languages with a worldwide distribution of more than 30,000
• Invitation, return airfare, and hotel accommodation for the annual networking event, the World Press Photo Festival of Visual Journalism, in Amsterdam
• A diploma and Golden Eye Award, presented at the annual Awards Ceremony during the Festival of Visual Journalism in Amsterdam
In addition, prizewinners are often featured in major publications and invited to speak at public events, exhibition openings, and lectures throughout the year.