Need some focus on your photography. Need inspiration, impetus or just a topic idea? Then a competition could be the answer.

So for all of you who fancy giving it a go, and either don’t know what’s open or don’t get around to it, here is a list to help get you started, in order of closing date.
Please let me know of any others you are aware of in the comments below as I update the page regularly. I must just add, that some of them provide feedback on your entered images and they are worth entering just to receive that.

Life Framer
Monthly calls for entries, with winners receiving online exposure and $2000 in cash prizes.  Entry Fees: 1 image $20; 3 images $30; 6 images $40, OR $100 for 12 months membership giving 10 entries to each month’s topic.
closes 31 May 2026: Portrait
30 June: Street Life
31 July: Planet Earth

Independent Photography Award
Monthly award, with cash prizes and display at exhibition.
Entry fees: 1 image $15; 3 images $30; 6 images $40
closes 31 May 2026: Black and White
closes 30 Jun 2026: Portrait
closes 31 Aug 2026: Travel

AAP Magazine: weekly competition
Closes Sunday of every week.
Free entry of up to 10 images. Chosen images will be featured on AAP website, social media and newsletter.

Carlotta Gallery Open Call: Candid
Closes 26 May 2026.
Submission to online gallery. No entry fee, but “hanging” fee if selected.

Monovisions
Closes 17 May 2026
Categories: Abstract; Architecture; Conceptual; Fine Art; Landscapes; Nature and Wildlife; Nude; People; Photojournalism; Portrait; Street Photography; Travel
Single $25, series $30.

Lisbon Street Photo Fest
Closes 31 May 2026
Entry fee: 10€ per image OR €40 per series.
Cash prizes and display at Lisbon Photo Fest in Sep 2026.

Archiphoto
Closes 1 June 2026
Enter series of 5 images
€10 for 5 images.

Carlotta Gallery Open Call: Summer
Closes 10 June 2026.
Submission to online gallery. No entry fee, but “hanging” fee if selected.

Decode Gallery: Square
Closes 13 Jun 2026.
Submission to exhibition, selected images printed and hung by gallery. Fee: 5 images $40; 10 images $45.

Carlotta Gallery Open Call: Landscape
Closes 20 June 2026.
Submission to online gallery. No entry fee, but “hanging” fee if selected.

The Shape of a Moment
Closes 30 Jun 2026.
Exposure Gallery asks you to capture the mystery of the fleeting: those subtle intersections of light, emotion, and time that, for a second, reveal something essential.
Entry fees: 1 photo: USD 5; 3 photos: USD 10; 6 photos: USD 15; 12 photos: USD 20
Awards include exhibit in their galleries in Río Tercero, Argentina and Los Angeles in Sep 2026.

Carlotta Gallery Open Call: Self
Closes 10 July 2026.
Submission to online gallery. No entry fee, but “hanging” fee if selected.

Fotografiska Open Call – Home
Closes 12 July 2026
Entry is free – up to 3 images per person.
Selected works exhibited at the United Nations HQ in New York on Human Rights Day, 10 Dec 2026.

Lauderdale Photographic Competition 2026
Entries open 6-12 July 2026, submit physical prints ready for exhibit
£3 per entry- up to 6 images per person.
Selected works will be part of exhibition at Lauderdale House 29 July – 24 August 2026.

Carlotta Gallery Open Call: Colours
Closes 20 July 2026.
Submission to online gallery. No entry fee, but “hanging” fee if selected.

Architecture Photo Awards 2026
Closes 25 July 2026
23 categories so you’ll definitely find something to suit!
Entry fees: €20 for first photo entry; €10 for each additional category the same image is entered into; 15% off all additional photo entries. 10% off for earlybird (use code “earlybird2026”).

Vincent Van Gogh Photo Award 2027: Spirit of Light
Earlybird closes: 30 Sep 2026. Fully closes: 30 March 2027.
Up to 3 photos per entry. No limit on number of entries.
Entry fees: 1 Photo € 18; 2 Photos € 30; 3 Photos: € 42.

Personal exhibitions and awards

Current and forthcoming exhibitions:
Brussels Street Photography Festival, Brussels, 29 May – 14 June 2026 (festival itself closes 1 June)

Recent exhibitions:
RPS London Members Exhibition at Espacio Gallery, London, 9-14 Apr 2026.
Dublin Street Photography Festival 2026, part of digital display, 1 May 2026.
Focus: Shadow and Light exhibition at Black Box Gallery, Portland, Oregon, 1-25 Jan 2026
37th LIP Annual Exhibition at Espacio Gallery, Bethnal Green Road, London, 5-10 Feb 2026
Diptychs and Triptychs at The Glasgow Gallery of Photography, Glasgow, 5-28 Feb 2026
My Eyes. Our World. at Barbican Library, London, 3-29 October 2025
Solo exhibition – Urban Rhythm at Lauderdale House, London, 20 August – 1 September 2025
Vincent Van Gogh “En Route” Open Air exhibition, Nuenen, Netherlands, 6-28 Sep 2025
International Photography Exhibition of Nature at Glasgow Gallery of Photography, 10 May – 20 June 2025
Black and White exhibition at Black Box Gallery, Portland, Oregon, 1-25 Feb 2025
Construction: Disclosure, LIP’s 35th annual exhibition, at Espacio Gallery, Bethnal Green, London, 23-28 January 2024
Empty Places, Abandoned Spaces at Praxis Gallery, St Paul’s, MN, Dec 2023 – Jan 2024
Gibellina Photoroad Festival 2023, Sicily, as part of Mimi Mollica’s Fracture project
Lauderdale House photographic exhibition 2023, London, 19 July – 14 August 2023
Women in Photography at the Glasgow Gallery for Photography, 3-31 March 2023
Landscape Photography at the Glasgow Gallery for Photography, 3-31 March 2023
BBA One Shot Awards, BBA Gallery, Berlin, 3-18 February 2023
Re:Framed at the Barbican Library, October 2022
Urban Landscapes at the RogArt Street Campus in Glasgow, 19-30 August 2022
World Photography Week exhibition at Glasgow Riverside Campus 15-19 August 2022
Out of the Frame exhibition at RogArt Street Campus in Glasgow, 4-30 August 2022
Lauderdale House photographic exhibition 2022, London, August 2022
International Open Call Exhibition at The Glasgow Gallery for Photography, May-June 2022
She Clicks exhibition, After Nyne Gallery, London, September 2019

Recent awards:
Brussels Street Photography Festival 2026 – finalist
Dublin Street Photography Festival 2026 – short list
British Photography Awards 2025: finalist for Best Architectural Photographer
Vincent Van Gogh Photo Awards 2025– finalist
Lauderdale House Photographic Competition 2025 – Runner Up in Open category
Architectural Photo Awards 2025 – 3 images long listed
New York Center for Photographic Art: Architecture 2024 – Second Prize
Lauderdale House Photographic Competition 2024 – Overall Winner
Travel Photographer of the Year 2023 – finalist
British Photography Awards 2023 – shortlisted in Best Architecture Photographer 2023
BBA One Shot Awards 2023 – longlisted
Lauderdale House photographic competition 2023 – runner up in Open category
Monochrome Awards 2022 – honourable mention in Amateur Architecture Photographer
British Photography Awards 2021 – winner of Best Architectural Photographer 2021
Monochrome Awards 2020 – winner of Best Amateur Street Photographer 2020
Travel Photographer of the Year 2020 – finalist
Landscape Photographer of the Year 2020 – shortlisted

Recent publications:
Docu Special Edition: Debbie Smyth, Issue 171, 2025, ISSN 2984-1135
Portfolio published in AAP Magazine Issue 20 – Travel
– see one of my chosen images