Open competition

The Open competition rewards outstanding single images across ten (10) categories. Photographers should consider the category description when entering their work.  Judges are looking for good composition, creativity and clear photographs.

Please note that if you enter the Open competition you cannot enter the Professional or Youth competitions.

1.1 By entering the Competition You hereby accept these Competition Rules and the Terms and Conditions.

1.2.1 The Competition is free to enter.

1.2.2 The Open competition is open to all members of the public.

1.3 Entries must be submitted by 3 January, 2025 - 13.00 GMT.

1.4 By entering the Competition, You agree and acknowledge that the World Photography Organisation  is permitted to receive Your registration data. All personal information will be used by the World Photography Organisation  in accordance with its Privacy Policy.

2. To enter, you must upload your image via the World Photography Organisation Website (www.worldphoto.org) or any of the official Sony World Photography Awards’ websites and follow the on-screen instructions carefully.

2.1 Images must be taken in 2024 and entries should be based on the Categories outlined, information on which can be found on the Website. Entrants can submit a photograph that has been taken, entered in another competition, won an award, or been published in books, magazines, newspapers, online and printed editorials, self-published websites, and gallery exhibitions between 1 January 2024 and 3 January 2025. 

2.2  Images should be no smaller than 1MB and no larger than 5MB. Images should be JPEG files. All images must be saved in the sRGB colour model.

3.1 Entries will be judged between January 6, 2025 and January 31, 2025.

3.2 A shortlist of up to fifteen (15) photographers from each category and category winners will be selected and announced prior to April 2025; the overall winner will be announced in April 2025.

3.3 The individual category winners and the Open Photographer of the Year of the Sony World Photography Awards, will be voted for by the Judges and notified by email. 

3.4 The decision of the Judges and the World Photography Organisation  is final and no negotiation will be entered into with respect to any such decision.

3.5 Each Entrant can submit up to three images for free. The images entered can be entered in different categories or all images can be entered into a single category. Judging will be based on the single image and not the series of images.

4. Your Entry may feature manipulation, but where Entries are manipulated, the extent of which must be described in the image description section when submitting. For the avoidance of doubt, all Entries must originally be from either an analogue or digital photograph which may have then been manipulated. Computer generated content cannot be the origin of the Entry. Should a question arise through the judging process regarding the extent of your Entry’s manipulation you may be requested to submit the original photograph and image file to verify.

4.1 The World Photography Organisation reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify and remove any entry that does not comply with the following requirements, even after the entry is submitted on the Website. You warrant and represent, in respect of each entry submitted by You (“Entry”), as follows:

4.1.1 You are the sole owner and author of each Entry

4.1.2 You have the right to make Your Entry available to the Competition

4.1.3 Each Entry does not contain personally identifiable information about You or any other person(s)

4.1.4 Each Entry does not contain any infringing, threatening, false, misleading, abusive, harassing, libellous-, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, scandalous, inflammatory, pornographic or profane content

4.1.5 Each Entry does not contain any material that could constitute or encourage conduct which would be considered a criminal offence, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any law

4.1.6 Each Entry does not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, contract rights, or any other intellectual property rights of any third person or entity, or violate any person’s rights of privacy or publicity, including:

4.1.6.1 trademarks owned by third parties

4.1.6.2 copyrighted materials owned by third parties (including movie dialogue or musical compositions)

4.1.6.3 names, likenesses, voices or other characteristics identifying celebrities or other public figures, living or dead

4.1.7 Entries which contain any commercial content that promotes any product or service other than that of the World Photography Organisation .

4.1.8 Entries containing screen credits

4.1.9 No animals were harmed or manipulated in the making of the image

4.2 You agree to fully indemnify the World Photography Organisation  in respect of all royalties, fees and any other monies owing to any person by reason of Your breaching any of the foregoing.

4.3 You confirm that each person depicted in the Entry has granted permission to be portrayed as shown. Any costumes, props or other materials used must be rented or borrowed with the permission of the owner, and all other relevant permissions must have been obtained.

4.4 In accordance with clause 3.2 and 3.3 all shortlisted and winning photographers will be contacted by email. If the World Photography Organisation does not hear from the entrant by the date specified in any correspondence and is therefore not able to ratify the entry that entrant will be disqualified and replaced by another photographer. 

5.1 If you are under 16, you have Your parent’s or legal guardian’s consent to participate in the Competition.

5.2 If the World Photography Organisation does not receive a valid signed parental or legal guardian consent form for any winner under the age of 16 within 7 clear days of the Entrant being declared a winner (excluding the day on which such declaration is made by the World Photography Organisation ) the World Photography Organisation  will be entitled to select an alternative winner from among the Entrants.

6. The World Photography Organisation may run an online rating process whereby members of the public may vote for a favourite photograph. If there is sufficient evidence (in the World Photography Organisation’s sole discretion) to suggest malpractice and manipulation of the rating process, then the World Photography Organisation  has the right to remove the relevant Entry or Entries and, if necessary, award the prize to a different Entrant. the World Photography Organisation’s decisions are final.

7.1 The World Photography Organisation  recognises You, the author of the image, retain full ownership of the copyright in each Entry.

7.2 All Entrants understand that any image submitted to the competition may be used by the World Photography Organisation, and its Event Partners, for marketing and promotional purposes of You the author and the event only, for a maximum of three years after the announcement in April 2025. You hereby grant the World Photography Organisation a non-exclusive, irrevocable licence in each Entry throughout the world for three years in all media for any use connected to the promotion of You the author and the Sony World Photography Awards event and/or competition, including, but not limited too:

(a) judging the Competition

(b) displaying the winning entries and runners up at public exhibitions promoting the World Photography Organisation and organised by the World Photography Organisation

(c) inclusion within the Website, a World Photography Awards book, magazine or similar

(d) inclusion within any materials promoting of the Competition and / or any exhibition organised by the World Photography Organisation , in the promotion of the World Photography Organisation

(e) inclusion on Competition- and exhibition-related products to be sold by the World Photography Organisation or any third party following the individual agreement by the author

(f) sub-licensing the Entries to the press for reproduction in connection with the Competition and any exhibition

(g) allowing viewers of the Website and/or Sony World Photography Awards Application to view images on a computer screen, PDA or mobile telephone and store such pages in electronic form on disk or on a PDA or mobile telephone (but not on any server or other storage device connected to a network) for their personal, non-commercial use only. Please also refer to clause 9.

(h) incorporation by the World Photography Organisation  and Sony World Photography Awards Event Partners in Sony World Photography Awards Galleries and or Sony World Photography Awards Gallery Applications on Event Partner devices for a period of three (3) years after the applicable announcement date.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, You hereby acknowledge and agree if Your image is included in such Sony World Photography Awards Galleries or Sony World Photography Awards Gallery Applications Your image will remain perpetually in the device royalty free.  

7.3 All Entrants understand that the image information, including image name and description, may be shared with Event partners and media as per clause 7.1, 7.2 and 8. For the avoidance of doubt the “image information” does not include any personal information of You the author.

7.3.1 Should entrants elect to opt-in to sharing data, the email data and name will be shared with our event partners.

7.4 All entrants are required to enter under their correct names, and all entrants are responsible for providing this information accurately. The Awards programme is structured around providing opportunities and exposure to individual photographers and as such we do not award anonymously or accept pseudonyms.

8. Any photograph used by the World Photography Organisation shall carry a credit line. Any failure to provide such credit line shall not be deemed to be a breach, as long as the World Photography Organisation uses its reasonable endeavours to rectify such failure within a reasonable period from the date of notice of such failure.

 

9. The World Photography Organisation assumes no responsibility for any incorrect, inaccurate or incomplete information, whether caused by website users or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilised in the Competition, and the World Photography Organisation  assumes no responsibility for technical, hardware or software failures of any kind, for lost network connections, garbled computer transmissions, other problems or technical malfunctions with regard to the Competition. The World Photography Organisation assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, corruption, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alteration of Entries. the World Photography Organisation  is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer on-line systems, servers, computer equipment, software, failure of any e-mail addressed to the World Photography Organisation on account of technical problems, human error or traffic congestion on the internet or any website, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to Your or any other person's computer related to or resulting from participation or downloading any materials in the Competition. If for any reason a contestant’s entry cannot be viewed or is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer viruses, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud or technical failures, the World Photography Organisation  assumes no responsibility.

 

10. In no event will the World Photography Organisation , its parents, affiliates, subsidiaries and related companies, Event Partners, its advertising or promotion agencies, or its officers, directors, employees, shareholders, representatives or agents be responsible or liable for any damages or losses of any kind, including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special or punitive damages arising out of any Entrant’s access to and use of the Website. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, everything on the Website is provided "as is"without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to, the implied warranty of merchantability, fitness for purpose or use or non-infringement.

 

11. You agree to participate in related publicity and to the use of Your name and likeness for the purposes of advertising, promotion and publicity without additional compensation.

 

12. All Entrants must be able to supply a high resolution image suitable for printing in media and an exhibition should the image be required.

 

13. There are no cash alternatives available for prize winners.

13.1 Prize winners may receive digital imaging equipment as part of their prize and in such cases equipment may be sent to them. In some countries income tax may be applicable to prizes. It is the winner’s responsibility to pay any income taxes related to the prize in compliance with their own country’s law. In such cases the Winner agrees to indemnify and keep the World Photography Organisation, its parents, affiliates or partners indemnified against any tax liability, charges, fines, penalties or interest or any other liability incurred by the winner which liability arose as a result of prizes provided to the Winner.

14. Winners will be announced online and at a black-tie ceremony in London.

Promoter: Creo Arts Group 9 Manchester Square, London.