Xposure International Photography Competition 2026 with Prizes Worth Over USD 60,000
Applicant criteria
- No specific age required
- Both
Opportunity criteria
Opportunity description
Xposure International Photography Awards in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, is accepting entries for its 2026/2027 season. It is one of the leading international photography awards and competitions, welcoming amateur and professional photographers as well as emerging talent from around the world.
The competition celebrates work distinguished by originality, strong visual storytelling, creativity, and technical excellence. Participants have the opportunity to present their work to an international judging panel made up of photographers, editors, curators, and industry experts. Winning and selected works are also exhibited at the Xposure International Photography Festival in Sharjah, reaching an international audience of professionals and visual arts enthusiasts.
Competition Categories
The Xposure International Photography Awards feature nine main categories:
- Architectural Photography.
- Mobile Photography.
- Nature & Landscape.
- Night Photography.
- Photo-manipulation & AI.
- Portraiture.
- Sports Photography.
- Street Photography.
- Visual Storytelling.
Benefits
The main prizes include:
- USD 6,000 for the Overall Winner.
- Airfare and accommodation for the Overall Winner to attend the awards ceremony in Sharjah.
- Exhibition of the Overall Winner’s work at the Xposure Festival.
- USD 3,000 for the winner of each category.
- Airfare and accommodation for category winners to attend the awards ceremony.
- Exhibition of category-winning works as part of the festival.
- USD 1,500 for the runner-up in each category.
- Airfare and accommodation for runners-up to attend the awards ceremony.
- The opportunity for finalists and winners to have their work presented to an international audience.
- Exhibition of nominees’ works through the online gallery and during Xposure events.
- Opportunities for exposure through publications, exhibitions, and professional events associated with the festival.
Eligibility criteria
The competition is:
- Open to photographers of all nationalities.
- Open to amateur and professional photographers at different stages of their careers.
- Available to applicants who are over 18 years old.
- Completely free to enter, with no participation fee required.
Each applicant may submit up to 10 photographs across the different competition categories.
Entries must meet the following requirements:
- Photographs must have been taken or produced within the previous three years.
- Submitted works must be original and created by the applicant.
- The participant must hold all necessary rights to the submitted work.
- Images must not include a watermark or the photographer’s name.
- Each submission must include the image title, description, and location where it was taken.
- All submission information, including titles and descriptions, must be provided in English.
Image Requirements
Images should:
- Be submitted in JPG format.
- Preferably have a resolution of 300 dpi.
- Preferably have a longest side of approximately 5,000 pixels.
- Have a longest side of at least 2,700 pixels.
- Preferably use a 3:2 aspect ratio, except in certain categories such as mobile photography.
- Use either sRGB or Adobe RGB color profiles.