Applications are now open for the İstanbul Photo Awards 2026, an international contest where the photos that define the world agenda compete.
Organized by Anadolu Agency (Anadolu Ajansı) for the 12th consecutive year, the contest aims to promote press photography globally.
The contest will distribute $58,000 in prize money in total, with the Photo of the Year awarded to the top image in the Single News category, which comes with a $6,000 prize.
First-place winners in each category will receive $3,000, while second and third places will receive $1,500 and $1,000, respectively.
Professional photographers, regardless of their press affiliation, are eligible to enter the contest provided their newsworthy photos were taken between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2025.
Both published and unpublished work may be submitted in all categories, with the responsibility of providing accurate personal and image details.
The contest features 10 categories including:
- Single News
- Story News
- Single Sports
- Story Sports
- Single Nature and Environment
- Story Nature and Environment
- Single Daily Life
- Story Daily Life
- Single Portrait
- Story Portrait
Each year, around 20,000 images are submitted to the İstanbul Photo Awards, which is widely regarded as among the world’s top photography contests.
A distinguished, star-studded panel of jurors from the photography world will select the winners in March–April 2026, evaluating each entry for technical skill, perspective, motion and emotional impact.
To apply and to find out more details, please visit the official website.
