LensCulture Portrait Awards 2020

Seeking new visions in portraiture

  • Deadline: 19 February 2020
  • Entry fee: Free Single Entry until 29 January 2020 $20 Single image. $35 5+ Singles. $45 for 10 photographs, judged as a series. Receive a written review of your work for an additional $15.
  • Website: https://lensculture.co/2Nd5ze0
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Portraiture and photography have been linked since the medium’s inception. What started with formal family Daguerreotype portraits in the 1840s developed into a centuries-old fascination with making and looking at photographs of people — a love that we see translated in the popularity of this award every year.

The LensCulture Portrait Awards are open to photographers at all levels of experience and all interpretations of portraiture. Your work may be made in the studio with professional lighting or snapped on a smart-phone during your travels, what matters is not your method but your ability to move your audience. From quirky self-portraits to candid portrayals of family and friends, from staged and conceptual photographs of public figures to environmental portraits, we want to see your work! Winners will enjoy career-changing opportunities including an exhibition in New York in April 2020, extensive media coverage, projection at international photography festivals, cash prizes and more.

Prizes:

SERIES AWARD WINNERS
1st Place: $5000
2nd Place: $3000
3rd Place: $1500

SINGLE IMAGE AWARD WINNERS
1st Place: $3000
2nd Place: $1500
3rd Place: $1000

JURORS’ PICKS
Each juror will select an individual Juror’s Pick to receive special distinction.

All winning photographers for this award will be exhibited in April, 2020 at Caelum Gallery in Chelsea, New York City’s vibrant art and gallery district. The exhibition will be our first of 2020 and we’re thrilled to present the work of LensCulture photographers alongside another first, the inaugural Paris Photo New York! This brand new fair dedicated to photography will bring many international experts and professionals to the city, presenting a unique opportunity for your work to be seen by influential people in the industry. Exhibiting artists, media, photo editors and industry insiders will be invited to join us at an opening reception for a night of art appreciation and networking.

FEATURED AT INTERNATIONAL PHOTO FESTIVALS

Selected works will be screened at photo festivals and events worldwide. Over the past year, our winners and finalists were screened at festivals in the UK, Greece, Croatia, Italy, Japan, Australia, Spain, France, the US, and more.
LensCulture is continually forging new partnerships with leading photo festivals around the world (like Voies Off, FORMAT, Tokyo International Photography Festival, and more) to increase exposure and showcase opportunities for the winners and finalists of our competitions.

VISIBILITY WITH INDUSTRY INSIDERS & CREATIVE PROFESSIONALS

All it takes is one set of eyes to change the course of your career. Share your work with us for industry-wide exposure and opportunities. If our jury ranks your submission highly through the judging process, you will be included in LensCulture Discoveries, our directory of top-rated photographers. We provide this directory to photography industry insiders and creative professionals to showcase photographers and their work to key decision makers including editors, book publishers, gallery owners, festival directors, creative directors, curators, and online media publishers.

PERMANENT EXHIBITION ON LENSCULTURE ONLINE GALLERY

LensCulture has become a key resource for discovering new photography work all over the world.
All winners, finalists and juror’s picks for this award will be prominently featured in the permanent online gallery on our site.
This is a wonderful opportunity to have your work seen by thousands of people around the world with a true love and appreciation for photography.

PUBLISHED IN THE BEST OF LENSCULTURE, VOLUME 4

In partnership with Schilt Publishing, we’re thrilled to be planning our fourth book, featuring the work of LensCulture’s award-winning photographers. This beautifully printed and unique collection of photographic work will be available for purchase and distributed to influential industry members worldwide.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS EXPOSURE

Award winners receive press coverage from publications and media outlets around the world — the kind of exposure that can lead to viral, global recognition of your work. Winners, finalists and selected entrants have been featured in major publications including BBC, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Internazionale, VICE, The Times of London, Huffington Post, Spiegel Online, The British Journal of Photography, and The Telegraph. Share your work with the world.

Eligibility:

Open to all, worldwide

Copyrights & Usage Rights:

All photographers retain full copyright for their work. Winners, Jurors’ Picks and Finalists grant LensCulture limited, restricted use of winning photos only to promote the photographers themselves and in connection with marketing the Awards competition itself.
All entrants agree that all photograph(s) submitted to the competition may be reproduced (with photographer copyright credit) and used to conduct and promote LensCulture competitions. You hereby grant LensCulture with a right to use submitted photographs in the framework of such promotional activities.

Theme:

Portrait Self-Portrait