The World Photography Organization, in partnership with Sony, has just announced the Sony World Photography Awards 2021. In addition to the entry deadlines, new categories were revealed for the 14th edition of the award.
Sony supports the Awards to help the continued development of photographic culture by giving a global platform to today’s talent.
Entry to the Awards is completely free and photographers are judged anonymously by a panel of industry-leading judges. Photographers are able to register themselves in the competition using their Facebook, Weibo, or Google accounts and upload images via their Instagram.
There are four competitions to join namely Professional, Open, Youth, and Student. The National Awards program will also reward local photographic talent.
The Professional competition recognizes outstanding bodies of work. There are a total of ten categories that include Architecture & Design, Environment, Portraiture, and the new category Portfolio. Photographers are requested to submit 5-10 images in the Portfolio category. These images are not related to each other in subject matter or narrative but showcase the quality and technical skills of the photographer consistently.
The Open competition rewards the world’s best single images across ten categories. Among these include the two new categories – Lifestyle and Object. Lifestyle feature editorial, fashion, or family images of people in situations or events taken in an artistic manner. Object, on the other hand, presents images depicting inanimate subject matters.
The Youth competition celebrates photographers between the ages of 12-19 years old. It is a monthly competition with a changing theme running from July to December 31, 2020. With the monthly being as follows:
- Composition and Design (July)
- Culture (August)
- Natural World and Wildlife (September)
- Street Life (October)
- People (November)
- Show Us Your World (December)
Lastly, the Student showcases the work of students worldwide.
Deadlines for submission across the four competitions are:
- Professional – January 14, 2021
- Open – January 7, 2021
- Youth – Monthly themes will run from the first day of the month to the last
- Student – November 30, 2020
Winners across all competitions will receive digital imaging equipment from Sony. In addition, cash prizes of USD 25,000 will be presented to the Photographer of the Year and USD 5,000 to the Open Photographer of the Year.
All winning and shortlisted photographers’ works will be exhibited at the annual Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition in London and will be toured internationally. The winning images will also be published in the annual Awards book.
For more information on the Sony World Photography Awards 2021, click here.
Ram found his love and appreciation for writing in 2015 having started in the gaming and esports sphere for GG Network. He would then transition to focus more on the world of tech which has also began his journey into learning more about this world. That said though, he still has the mentality of "as long as it works" for his personal gadgets.
