Round 1 closes 22nd April 2024

Latest news:

R1 open

10 monthly rounds to enter

1 free entry per round for AP magazine readers

Monthly points count towards your APOY ranking

Amazing monthly prizes, worth £17,500 in total

Free-to-enter Young APOY contest for 13-21 year olds

£2,500 of prizes for the best-performing UK camera club

Buy the latest digital issue of Amateur Photographer magazine to access a FREE entry into the current round of APOY, using an exclusive code. Buy here

10 monthly rounds to enter throughout 2024. Your best-placed image in each round will count towards your Amateur Photographer of the Year 2024 ranking.

The categories in detail

Round 1 open

Black & White

Brief

A black & white image has a certain something that colour photography simply can’t emulate, and the pursuit of a great monochrome picture is something many photographers devote their whole lives to. The joy of this category is that it is completely open – any subject goes, because the medium is equally stunning whether you shoot landscapes, portraits or go down the classic route of street photography. It’s always worth shooting with a conversion to black & white in mind – don’t make it an afterthought. Instead, when taking your images, consider things such as form, tonal range, negative space and shape, as these elements become even more crucial when colour is absent. Try to head out on a shoot with the aim of working only in black & white, and you will start to see images that lend themselves to the medium everywhere.

Round 1 closes 22nd April 2024

'After Party' by Boris Bekelman – Winner in the APOY 2023 Black and White round.

Upcoming

Animal Kingdom

Opens in 24 days

Urban Life

Opens in May 2024

Action

Opens in June 2024

Landscapes

Opens in July 2024

People

Opens in August 2024

Macro

Opens in September 2024

Dusk to Dawn

Opens in October 2024

Travel

Opens in November 2024

Open

Opens in December 2024

We are pleased to once again announce the Young Amateur Photographer of the Year award, and we want to encourage all up-and-coming photographers to take part! Each APOY round has a separate FREE category for photographers who will be aged between 13 and 21 on the final day of submissions (31st December 2024). Simply click the 'Young APOY' links on each round to enter.

The overall winner will earn the title of ‘Young Amateur Photographer of the Year 2024’ and win a £500 voucher to spend at Camera Centre UK, and each round winner will get a one-year subscription to the Adobe Photography plan (worth £120).

See all the categories in detail

Earn points to count towards your APOY ranking

Every image submitted to an APOY2024 round will score points if it’s chosen by the judges.

Your highest ranked image in each round will count towards your year-long APOY2024 ranking. Want to know how you’re getting on, and how far off the lead you are? Rankings will be updated after each round, and anyone who has scored points so far will be included.

You will be able to check the current rankings after the Round 1 results are announced

Placing Score
1 100
2 90
3 80
4 70
5 60
6 50
7 45
8 40
9 35
10 30
Shortlisted 10
Do you belong to a UK camera club?

Do you belong to a UK camera club?

This year we are offering prizing worth £2,500 to the club that amasses the most points after all ten rounds are complete. You can accumulate points for your club when you enter APOY, and the club with the most points will win a fabulous ViewSonic X1-4K projector worth £1,500. In addition the member of the winning club who contributed the most points to their club’s points tally will win a ViewSonic ColorPro VP2786-4K monitor worth £1,000. You’ll have the option to tell us your UK camera club when you fill out the APOY agreement form.

Find your nearest camera club

You will be able to check the Camera Club rankings after the Round 1 results are announced

Learn more

Judging panel

All images submitted to APOY 2024 will be reviewed by our panel of photography experts from Amateur Photographer magazine, joined by some special guest judges for individual rounds.

Read more about our judges
Nigel Atherton

Nigel Atherton

Editor, Amateur Photographer magazine

Amy Davies

Amy Davies

Features Editor, AP magazine

Geoff Harris

Geoff Harris

Deputy Editor, AP magazine

Hollie Latham Hucker

Hollie Latham Hucker

Technique Editor, AP magazine

Ailsa McWhinnie

Ailsa McWhinnie

Project Manager, APOY Awards

Jessica Miller

Jessica Miller

Deputy Online Editor, AP magazine

Dominique Nok

Dominique Nok

Photographer and Curator

David Clark

David Clark

Acting Features Editor, AP magazine

Guest Judge

Guest Judge

Guest Judges Title

Name of Round

Guest Judge

Guest Judge

Guest Judges Title

Name of Round

More than £17,500 worth of prizes up for grabs

Be in with the chance of winning the title of Amateur Photographer of the Year 2024 and other fantastic prizes courtesy of our sponsors Adobe, Camera Centre UK and ViewSonic.

Our grand prize winner will take home a £1,000 voucher for the Camera Centre UK, and round winners will also get over £1,000 of prizing, including a £500 Camera Centre UK voucher and an ‘All Apps’ Adobe subscription worth £660.

The top ten entries from every round will also be published in Amateur Photographer magazine.

The Young APOY grand prize winner will receive a £500 Camera Centre UK voucher, and round winners will win an Adobe Photography subscription worth £120.

This year’s Camera Club prize is better than ever, with £2,500 of ViewSonic prizing to the winning club, comprising a 4k ViewSonic projector worth £1,500, and a ViewSonic monitor worth £1,000 to the club member who contributed the most points to their club’s final points tally.

* Please note that for 2024, the Camera Centre vouchers are available only to winning photographers who are based in the UK.

Explore the full prize details

Explore previous Amateur Photographer of the Year competitions.

Get 4 issues for £4!

Get 4 issues for £4!

Subscribe to Amateur Photographer magazine and get your first 4 issues for just £4 (GBP).

Subscribe here

Amateur Photographer Magazine

Amateur Photographer is the world’s oldest consumer photographic magazine, published every week since October 1884. Since then, AP has been the bible for both amateur and professional photo-enthusiasts around the world. It has helped generations of photographers to improve their skills.

Amateur Photographer magazine is also available in digital format, for your iPad, mobile device or PC.

Keep up to date with APOY 2024

amateurphotographer.co.uk

Frequently asked questions

Can photographers worldwide enter APOY 2024?

Yes, APOY 2024 is open to photographers based anywhere in the world.

What are the APOY 2024 rounds?

There are 10 rounds in APOY 2024. All rounds close to entries at midnight (UK time), and shortlists and results are published at midday (UK time):

1. Black & White
Opens 27th March | Closes 22nd April | Shortlist 8th May | Results on Photocrowd 30th May

2. Animal Kingdom
Opens 23rd April | Closes 20th May | Shortlist 5th June | Results on Photocrowd 27th June

3. Urban Life
Opens 21st May | Closes 17th June | Shortlist 3rd July | Results on Photocrowd 25th July

4. Action
Opens 18th June | Closes 15th July | Shortlist 31st July | Results on Photocrowd 22nd August

5. Landscapes
Opens 16th July | Closes 12th August | Shortlist 28th August | Results on Photocrowd 19th September

6. People
Opens 13th August | Closes 9th September | Shortlist 25th September | Results on Photocrowd 17th October

7. Macro
Opens 10th September | Closes 7th October | Shortlist 23rd October | Results on Photocrowd 14th November

8. Dusk to Dawn
Opens 8th October | Closes 4th November | Shortlist 20th November | Results on Photocrowd 12th December

9. Travel
Opens 5th November | Closes 2nd December | Shortlist 16th December | Results on Photocrowd 9th January 2025

10. Open
Opens 3rd December | Closes 31st December | Shortlist 22nd January 2025 | Results on Photocrowd 6th February 2025

(all dates 2024 unless stated)

Who can enter?

The 10 rounds are open to ‘amateur’ photographers of all ages and nationalities. ‘Amateur’ in this context means photography is your hobby, and not your primary source of income.

Photographers aged between 13 and 21 on 31st December 2024 are welcome to enter the ‘Young Amateur Photographer of the Year’ category in each round, which is free to enter.

Any entrant under 18 on the date when they enter must gain the permission of a parent or guardian to enter the competition. People under the age of 13 are not permitted to register on the Photocrowd platform.

What are the key dates?

The opening date of Round 1 is 27th March, 2024.

The closing date for entries in Round 10 is 31st December 2024.

The overall winners of Amateur Photographer of the Year 2024 will be announced in a future issue of Amateur Photographer magazine, followed by an announcement on Photocrowd.

The results and shortlists for each round will be announced throughout the year.

How many images can I enter?

For the main APOY 2024 award, you can enter up to 5 images in each of the 10 rounds. 1 free entry per round can be obtained via a unique code published in Amateur Photographer magazine during the period in which that round is open. Without the code, you’ll be able to enter a maximum of 4 images per round.

For the Young APOY 2024 award, eligible photographers can enter up to 4 free images per round.

How are the overall winners of the ‘APOY 2024’ and ‘Young APOY 2024’ awards decided?

A leaderboard of photographers for both APOY 2024 and Young APOY 2024 is running throughout the competition, and will be updated after the results of each round are announced. It will be accessible from the main awards portal on Photocrowd.

Any images given a Top 10 place or shortlisted by the judges will be given points, and your highest-placed entry in each round will count towards your overall leaderboard ranking. The photographers who finish top of the leaderboards at the end of all ten rounds will win the titles of ‘Amateur Photographer of the Year 2024’ and ‘Young Amateur Photographer of the Year 2024’ respectively.

Points are allocated in each round as follows:

1st – 100 points
2nd – 90 points
3rd – 80 points
4th – 70 points
5th – 60 points
6th – 50 points
7th – 45 points
8th – 40 points
9th – 35 points
10th – 30 points
Shortlisted – 10 points

What is the UK camera club award?

Over the ten rounds you can accumulate points for your UK camera club. Each of your members’ best-placed images in each round of the main APOY contest (not Young APOY) will count towards your club’s score, with no limit on how many of your members can enter - they’ll all count. After all ten rounds are complete, the club with the most points will win this year's title, and the accompanying prizes.

You'll have the option to tell us your UK camera club when you fill out our simple agreement form before you enter your first image.

How much does it cost to enter?

The cost is based on the number of images you want to enter. Entries are bought in advance and can then be used at any time before midnight (UTC+1) on 31st December 2024. The following entry bundles are available for the main APOY 2024 competition, and entries can be used across any of the 10 rounds:

1 image – £8

4 images - £24 (£6 per image)

12 images - £48 (£4 per image)

40 images - £100 (£2.50 per image) – this image bundle will reduce in size and cost as the rounds progress, to reflect the maximum number of images that can still be submitted at the time of purchase

A discount on the price of entry bundles of 10%, 20% or 30% is available for Photocrowd Challenger, Pro or Master subscribers, respectively. Find out more about Photocrowd subscriptions here.

Multiple bundles can be purchased (eg. 3 x 1 image bundles = 3 total entries) but the maximum number of paid entries that can be made across all 10 main categories is 40 (4 images per category).

A voucher for one free entry per round in the main APOY 2024 competition is printed in Amateur Photographer magazine, which costs £4.25 from most good newsagents and supermarkets (£5.99 for the premium editions). Amateur Photographer is also available in digital format, for your iPad or mobile device, in iTunes, Kindle, Google Play and Zinio, for £2.49. Also available on Readly.

The Young Amateur Photographer of the Year award is free to enter.

Are AI generated images allowed?

No, all images uploaded to APOY must have been shot by the photographer uploading them, and be their copyright. This extends to all the elements within an image, if the image is a composite of any kind.

All winning images, and a selection of other Top 10 and shortlisted images, will be verified for authenticity.

Verification of an image will require the photographer to provide the original, unedited RAW file(s) for the image, as well as a screengrab of their image cataloguing software (such as Lightroom) showing the winning image alongside other images of the same subject from the same shoot.

Photographers unable to verify images will be assumed to have submitted AI or otherwise stolen imagery, and will be eliminated from APOY2024 and all future editions of the awards.

No. The same image can only be entered into one category. And by ‘image’, we mean the same original file – so a manipulated/altered version of the same file can’t be entered in a different category.

Each entry to a category counts as one entry, for the purposes of payment.

Please note, once the submissions period for a round has closed, entries cannot be withdrawn/swapped, and refunds will not be available for images that are ruled out for consideration due to repeated use.

I've entered Young APOY 2024, but can I also enter my images into the main APOY competition?

Yes. Photographers aged between 13 and 21 who have entered Young APOY 2024 can also enter the main APOY competition (standard charges apply). You are also welcome to enter the same images into both Young APOY and APOY.

How many times can I enter the awards?

Each photographer can enter up to 5 images into each of the 10 rounds (4 purchased images + 1 free entry via code in Amateur Photographer magazine), using one Photocrowd account. More than one image bundle can be purchased, but there is a maximum of 40 purchased images that can be entered by each photographer across the competition.

Photographers who are eligible for Young APOY 2024 are also permitted to enter the main competition, but must use the same Photocrowd account.

How recently do submitted images have to have been taken?

There is no rule regarding how recently an image must have been taken.

Can I withdraw or swap an image once I’ve entered it?

If the round in which the image has been entered is still open, then at any time you can remove a submission and enter a different one in its place. Once the deadline for entries has passed in each round, and judging is underway, images cannot be removed or swapped out for other images.

Do I have to sign up to Photocrowd to enter?

Yes, there’s a simple signup process to register on Photocrowd, which will then give you full access to the Amateur Photographer of the Year 2024 awards.

Can images be taken on a phone?

Yes, images can be taken on any device capable of producing a digital image of sufficient size for entry. For full guidelines on minimum image requirements see the ‘How should I prepare my images for submission?’ FAQ, below.

Do images have to be taken in the United Kingdom?

No. The APOY 2024 Awards is an international competition and you may enter photographs taken anywhere in the world.

Can I enter an image that has been submitted into a previous year of APOY?

Maybe. Any image that has finished in the top 10 of any round in a previous year of APOY, is not eligible for entry in APOY 2024, but images that have been previously entered without finishing in the top 10 of any round can be re-submitted this year.

Can I enter a photo that has previously won another photo awards?

Yes, you are allowed to enter photos that have won other photo awards previously.

How should I prepare my images for submission?

File type
Images should be saved as jpegs at the highest quality available, with a colour profile attached. Either the RGB or sRGB colour profiles are recommended. Digital scans from film are also eligible providing they meet these technical guidelines.

Image size and resizing
Whilst no image sizes will be rejected at upload, winning images will be required to be printed, and so must be of sufficient quality to allow this. It is therefore advised that images measure a minimum of 2,500 pixels on the shortest side after any cropping. Where images submitted are smaller than this, it will be assumed that this is the largest image size available to the photographer, and may affect that image’s chances of winning. The submission of larger file sizes is encouraged if available.

There are Photoshop and other image software tutorials online that show you how to best resize an image.

Image Manipulation
There are no restrictions regarding the manipulation of images using software or other techniques in these awards, provided that all imagery is the exclusive work of the submitting photographer and does not include any element that is the copyright of another. That includes not using any image elements such as skies that are available in some image editing software.

Image sharpening, noise reduction and colour saturation
Excessive sharpening, noise reduction and colour saturation techniques should be avoided. We appreciate that entrants will attempt to prepare their entries to optimise appearance and appeal on screen, and this may include these techniques. Excessive use of any or all of them can result in an entry that will be unsuitable for printed media and therefore become invalid as a result.

Image descriptions
Please include a description about your work during the upload process. This is a great way to tell a story or other interesting facts about your image. The panel will be able to read this while judging to give them insight into how you came about the shot.

Metadata
We would advise all entrants to add copyright information in the metadata of all submissions.

Terms and Conditions

The Amateur Photographer of the Year 2024 competition is hosted on Photocrowd.com, and Photocrowd’s Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy apply.

In addition please note the following in relation to these awards:

1. The Promoter

The promoter is Kelsey Media Ltd. which has its registered offices located at Kelsey Media, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent, ME18 6AL, and is a company registered in England and Wales under company number 05822990.

2. Eligibility

The competition is global and open to people of all nationalities.

Any entrant under 18 on the date at which they enter the competition must gain the permission of a parent or guardian. Entrants under the age of 13 at the closing date of the competition (31st December 2024) are not permitted to enter any of the rounds.

The Young Amateur Photographer of the Year 2024 contest is only open to persons aged 13-21 on the date of closure of the competition on 31st December 2024. Entrants aged 13-21 are also eligible to enter the main categories of the competition (standard entry charges will apply).

It is the responsibility of each entrant (and the entrant's parent or guardian) to ensure that they have read and will abide by these rules and Photocrowd’s terms and conditions. By submitting an entry, each entrant (and the entrant's parent or guardian) agrees to these rules, that their entry complies with these rules, and that they will be liable to the Promoter and their licensees in respect of any damages or losses incurred as a breach of the rules.

Employees or agents of Kelsey Media Ltd. and Photocrowd, their families or other persons connected with this promotion (excluding the sponsors) are not eligible to enter.

Proof of eligibility must be provided upon request. Use of a false name or other false details will result in disqualification.

3. Submission Rules

All entries must be submitted via the Photocrowd online platform. No entries will be accepted by email or post.

No AI generated imagery is permitted to be entered into the awards.

All winning images, and a selection of other Top 10 and shortlisted images, will be verified for authenticity.

Verification of an image will require the photographer to provide the original, unedited RAW file(s) for the image, as well as a screengrab of their image cataloguing software (such as Lightroom) showing the winning image alongside other images of the same subject from the same shoot.

Photographers unable to verify images will be assumed to have submitted AI or otherwise stolen imagery, and will be eliminated from APOY2024 and all future editions of the awards.

Full guidelines on permissible image sizes and types, and what image manipulation and retouching is allowed are provided in the FAQs section, above.

The Promoter and Photocrowd reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to disqualify or remove any entry that does not comply with the rules or the spirit of the awards, at any stage of the awards.

4. Prizes

Please refer to the prizes section on this website for details of prizes.

5. Competition Judging

Once the entry period has closed for each round, the panel of judges will convene to determine their prizewinners.

For each round in both APOY 2024 and Young APOY 2024, a shortlist will be announced at the end of the judging period, followed by the announcement of each round's final results.

The grand prize winners will be unveiled after the final round’s winners are announced.

Please refer to our judges page for more information on the judging panel. The judges’ decisions are final and binding in all matters and no correspondence will be entered into regarding the decisions.

6. Copyright and permissions

All imagery MUST be the exclusive work of the submitting photographer and may not include any element that is the copyright of another. The Copyright for each image entered will remain with the submitting photographer. By entering the Competition and submitting your photograph(s), you hereby grant the Promoter, its sponsors and their hosting partner Photocrowd a non-exclusive, irrevocable license to use your photograph(s) for any purpose connected with the Competition, including (but not limited to), promoting the Competition within printed and online media, the inclusion within printed and digital versions of any Competition book, the inclusion within printed and digital versions of any Competition calendar or other merchandise, display at exhibitions, use in press, promotional and marketing materials, social media networks and for the promotion of any future photographic competition in both print and online media.

7. Publicity

You agree to participate in related publicity and to the use of your name and likeness for the purposes of advertising, promotion and publicity without additional compensation.

Any personal information, including without limitation, your name, age, address (including postcode) and/or email address will be used by Kelsey Media Ltd. in accordance with its privacy notice.

8. Liabilities

The promoter is excluded from liability for any loss, damage or injury which might occur to any of the winners arising from their acceptance of the prizes. Entrants indemnify the Promoter for all liabilities, including legal costs, in relation to any action or complaint taken by any third party against the Promoter in relation to the entrant’s photograph(s).

9. General

The promoter and Photocrowd reserve the right to cancel this Competition, in which case any entry fees paid will be refunded.

The promoter and Photocrowd reserve the right to amend these Terms and Conditions. These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by English law. When a photograph is submitted and the entry date has passed, the entry cannot be changed or withdrawn. No refunds will be given. Entry to the Awards shall be deemed full and unconditional acceptance of the terms & conditions.