APA Awards 2026 Call for Entries

APA Awards 2026 Call for Entries - Photo Competition 

•     Juried by industry creatives and art producers
•     14 Categories - target your specialty 
•     Valuable prizes from APA partners   
•     Discounted rates for APA Members
•     View Past Winners  https://apanational.org/awards for all APA contests

Awards Call for Entries Deadline: June 29, 2026 - noon Pacific time

 ENTER  the contest on this website

TO Enter a Series from any Project-  GO to the Picter website 

Awards Entry Fees Based on APA Membership Level - Single Image 
    $20: APA members (above Contributor level) per image
    $30: APA Contributor level members per image 
    $50: Non-APA member entry fee per image  - QUICK - Join first for member rate
Have a question or need to upgrade your membership level?  membershiprep@apanational.org

Entering a Series of photos on one subject 
    $50: One rate per project (2-6 images) same rate for member/non-member 
The series is not on the APA site - go here to submit a series

Top Reasons to Enter

1.     An acclaimed panel of Judges will view your work.
2.     All winners appear in a beautifully printed book 
3.     An impressive gallery showcasing the winning images will be viewable online 
4.     Entering is quick, easy, reliable, and secure.
5.     Proceeds help advance APA’s core mission of protecting photographers’ rights.

Awards Categories
    Architecture / Interiors
    Beauty / Fashion
    Celebrity / Musicians
    Conceptual / Altered
    Corporate / Industrial
    Documentary / Street Photography
    Food / Still Life
    Lifestyle
    Nature / Animals
    Personal Projects
    Portrait
    Sports / Adventure
    Travel / Landscape
    FRESH / New work 
    SERIES - A dedicated project on any subject (2-6 photos) note; to enter a series for a flat rate, go to Picter

LOOK HERE - ALL ABOUT SERIES- 
To enter a series (also called a Project) you will need to create a free account on the Picter website 
The jurors assigned to view the Series category will see the names of all photographers who enter.
It is not judged blindly. The same jurors will not view the single image categories (which do not show the photographer's name)
The same work can be submitted in both single and series and will be viewed by different jurors. 
Jurors viewing the series will read about the photographer and the project.
Jurors can link to the websites and social media of all photographers who submit work in the series. 

You can enter up to 5 series/projects, each is $50. Once you hit "submit" you can not add more projects. 

    $50: Series/flat rate per project (2-6 images) Enter series

PRIZES

The APA Awards celebrates photographers, showcasing winning images online and in printed book editions.

Select winners may also receive valuable prizes from APA partners: 

Sony alpha 7r v & lens
Sony a7RV (a7R5) Mirrorless Camera | ILCE7RM5
Sony - FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS Standard Zoom Lens | SEL24105G/2
State-of-the-art AI processing uses detailed information about human forms and postures to dramatically improve the camera's subject recognition accuracy

Adobe  
12 Month Creative Cloud subscription 
The Adobe Creative Cloud Pro Plan unlocks all of Adobe’s premium creative apps (including Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere Pro), cloud collaboration, and generative AI tools designed to help creators work smarter and create more.

Agency Access  
One-year Membership North American Database
Powerful Directory Search — designed specifically for creative industry prospecting — allows you to find and target over 100,000 contacts with laser precision.

Blazing Editions   
24”x36” Dye Sub Aluminum Print with an Inset Backing of the winning image
Blazing Editions has become a leader in the Fine Art Printmaking industry offering unique custom solutions for professional photographers.
Dye Sublimation is an innovative archival process that produces incredible image quality without needing protective acrylic or glazing.

Capture One 
One-year subscription
Capture One is professional photo editing software trusted by photographers across every genre. It gives you easy-to-use tools to refine your images with precision, collaborate directly in-app, and deliver exceptional quality images. Whether you're working solo or as part of a team, Capture One supports your creative process from start to finish.

Cradoc fotoSoftware
fotobiz business software 
Developed by photographers for photographers, Cradoc fotoSoftware has been helping photographers streamline business and simplify workflow for over 30 years and is considered the industry standard for freelance photographers. Programs provide pricing, quoting, invoicing, keywording, and complete, end-to-end business management and workflow.

Found
One year portfolio membership Found Artists 
Connecting advertising agencies, magazines and brands to the very best photographers, illustrators and production artists working today.

ImageRights 
Search and Copyright Enforcement 
ImageRights International provides intelligent image search and copyright enforcement services to photo agencies and professional photographers worldwide.

PhotoShelter 
Two-year Pro Account
More than 80,000 photographers worldwide use PhotoShelter to power their photography business. Offering websites with e-commerce, searchable galleries, client log-in, reliable cloud storage and essential Internet marketing tools; PhotoShelter is the industry's leading resource for serious photographers looking to have their images found, sold and delivered online.

Tether Tools
 AeroTrac Workstation System ($300 value)
Tether Tools helps simplify digital photography workflow by offering modular workstation solutions and elegant connection tools to create a seamless tethered workflow. With versatile gear designed to improve your process, you can worry less about your tech and focus more on capturing the perfect images.

Think Tank
$50, $100, $200 certificates to various winners to purchase products online
Think Tank designs and creates high-quality travel gear for the world’s venturing observers. Our sophisticated travel gear raises the bar in carrying solutions — durable across the miles and versatile in every situation. Armed with insights from our community of photographers, Think Tank’s product designers meld form with function so that what you carry is a help, not a hindrance.

All winning photographs are included in the APA Awards printed edition. 

Interested in making a purchase from one of our APA partners? 
Take a look at APA benefits page and check for an APA member discount. 

Awards Fundamentals

Anyone can enter the APA Awards:

•     APA members receive a discount based on their APA membership level
•     Images in the 14 categories are assigned an arbitrary ID for "blind" judging
•     Images in the SERIES are not judged blind and do include the name and social media links of the photographers
•     There is no limit on the number of entries you can submit in the 14 Categories
•     In the Series, there is a limit of 5 projects 
•     The same image can be entered in more than one category, but can only win once
•     An image that has previously won in the APA Awards is not eligible to win again
•     An image that has won previously in any other photo competition, including any other APA contest is eligible 
•     Only images in the "Fresh / New Work" category have a creation date requirement 2026 (as in new images)
•     All other submissions do not require a creation date (dig in your archives)
•     The decision of the judges of the competition shall be final and binding
•     Entry fees are non-refundable
•     Judging takes place in July, and winners are notified by August
•     Winners must supply the hi-res files to appear in the printed APA Awards book
•     APA does not accept responsibility for or warrant any product being delivered by a sponsor
•     Any applicable tax due on the awarding of prizes is the sole responsibility of each winner
•     Prizes and the APA Awards book are shipped to U.S. addresses only

Image Entry Guidelines

    File size limit: 2 MB
    Image size no smaller than 1200 pixels
    Image size no longer than 1800 pixels
    The color profile is sRGB, image resolution: 72 ppi
    All files must be in JPG format
    Images must not contain any text that is not part of the image
    
    FILE NAME - Do not include characters (©, ®, •, $, #) as these can corrupt the file
    Note- the jurors do not see the file names, so you can use your name on the file name - just not # or ©
    

Submission Guidelines

•     APA members log in to apanational.org using your APA credentials.
•     Non-APA members can enter by creating a guest account.
•     The system will automatically charge based on APA membership level.
•     The same image can be submitted in more than one category by paying the additional fee(s).
•     Please keep file size small and upload in batches of no more than ten (10) entries at a time
•     Once your transaction is complete, your submission is final.
•     You may submit additional images until the final deadline.
•     To enter a series, you must create an account on the Picter website 

    Terms    By entering the APA Awards Annual Photo Competition, Entrants:

•     Warrant that the whole copyright and any other form of intellectual property right in the work is vested in them.
•     Warrant that they have not in any way assigned, licensed, disposed of, or otherwise encumbered any of their rights which allow them to deal freely with the work and the copyright therein.
•     Warrant that they have obtained model or property releases from any persons and/or property owners requiring such, featured in their submitted photographs, allowing publication in any media forms.
•     Acknowledge that APA relies fully upon the warranties and licenses given by Entrants when submitting their entries for consideration to the APA Awards Annual Photo Competition.
•     Entrants indemnify and hold APA harmless from any claims, actions, proceedings, costs, and expenses arising as a result of any allegation that the relevant Entrant did not own or is not wholly entitled and authorized to allow publication and reproduction of the work by APA.
• No work that has been created solely by AI will be accepted. This is a lens-based photo competition for photographers; use your camera. 

Reproduction

•     APA reserves the right to disqualify any winner not providing the required winning photo in the requested file format and size within two weeks of APA’s request via the contact information supplied by the entrant. Replacement winners will be selected at the judge’s discretion.
•     Entrants retain full copyright to their images and grant no usage to APA other than that granted herein. APA shall not be liable for any loss or damage or exclusion of any entry. It also acknowledges the right of APA and the APA Awards sponsors to use the photographer's likeness and information, as well as the winning images, in exhibitions and promotions, in any form of print, electronic, and digital media, and any promotional materials related to the APA Awards Annual Photo Competitions following the Competition winners’ announcement.

    Submission of an entry to the competition automatically constitutes the contestant's acceptance of all conditions outlined in the above rules.