This free-to-enter category is part of the Young Amateur Photographer of the Year 2022 awards, open to photographers aged 13-21.

Low light can mean anything from the subtlety of pre-dawn hues to the drama of a spectacular sunset. It also encompasses the hours after dark, when streetlights come on and night life begins. Entries can be anything from landscapes to wildlife to portraits – both studio and environmental – as well as architecture, street or live performance. Images full of atmosphere are guaranteed to catch the attention of our judges, but the light doesn’t have to be wild and over the top – something understated and controlled is just as beautiful in the context of this category. Let your imagination go, and be guided by the light.

This free-to-enter category is part of the Young Amateur Photographer of the Year 2022 awards, open to photographers aged 13-21.

The subject matter for this round is completely open – anything goes, as long as it’s in black & white. But simply desaturating a colour image isn’t enough, because tone, form and light are hugely important. Does the subject matter require high or low contrast? Is the composition enhanced by the monochrome treatment? Did you ‘see’ the image in black & white when you shot it? Take some time to study the experts of the genre – Michael Kenna, Ragnar Axelsson, Cartier-Bresson, Sally Mann, Pentti Sammallahti… the potential for inspiration is almost endless.

This free-to-enter category is part of the Young Amateur Photographer of the Year 2022 awards, open to photographers aged 13-21.

Our options for travel have been severely curtailed in the past couple of years, but there’s still plenty of scope in this round – however near or far the place you are photographing may be from your own home. Visiting somewhere new can really get the creative juices flowing, and photographing the buildings, landmarks, and people you encounter will help to convey the real spirit of a place. Get up early and visit a local market or stay out late and shoot lights reflected in water. Talk to people – a smile can go a long way towards securing willing subjects. Try not to ‘steal’ a shot; be patient and courteous.

This free-to-enter category is part of the Young Amateur Photographer of the Year 2022 awards, open to photographers aged 13-21.

The lure of the outdoors is powerful for the keen photographer, and landscape photography is regularly voted by amateurs as the most popular genre. It’s a subject that is easily accessible for most and there’s a whole world of potential subjects out there. Because this subject is so popular, you will need to work hard to stand out – but we’ve kept the brief fairly loose so you can show us your interpretations of landscape. Whether you prefer grand, sweeping mountain vistas or to concentrate on abstract details, be sure to shoot in the best possible light, as this is the crucial element that will make your images stand out.

This free-to-enter category is part of the Young Amateur Photographer of the Year 2022 awards, open to photographers aged 13-21.

This is the round where you can go all out and have fun. There are so many fantastic things that make Britain British, the biggest problem you’ll have is deciding what to photograph. You might choose to capture one of our stunning landscapes, or our native wildlife. Or there are the characterful people that make up the population, not to mention iconic landmarks that visitors the world over come to see. You might choose to photograph something more local, such as a quirky festival or tradition that’s part of the fabric of where you live. The possibilities are enormous, and we want to see vibrant, distinctive images that capture the uniqueness of these islands.

This free-to-enter category is part of the Young Amateur Photographer of the Year 2022 awards, open to photographers aged 13-21.

The magic of macro photography is that it gives us a view of the world that we never normally see. The intricacies and beauty of a butterfly wing or the alien-like features of a spider all come alive when viewed in close-up. Natural subjects are often the go-to for the macro photographer, with good reason, but the medium offers such huge scope for creativity, you can look almost anywhere and at anything for inspiration. Good technique is crucial in this round, and it’s vital to get the focusing spot on, because a millimetre can make the difference between a shot that’s rejected and a winner.

This free-to-enter category is part of the Young Amateur Photographer of the Year 2022 awards, open to photographers aged 13-21.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to capturing portraits and people shots. From the traditional ¬to the unconventional, inside or outside the studio, anything goes in this round. Whether you choose to make yourself the subject or capture others, we’re looking for a portrait that tells a story and gives us an insight into the person portrayed. Great people pictures can be found in all walks of life – it’s how you capture your subject that draws the viewer in. For inspiration, take a look at the work of David Bailey, Arnold Newman, Mary Ellen Mark, Jane Bown, Rineke Dijkstra and more.

This free-to-enter category is part of the Young Amateur Photographer of the Year 2022 awards, open to photographers aged 13-21.

We want to see your best animal and wildlife shots in this round, and you don’t necessarily need to go far to find inspiration. Whether you find your muse in the local park, a zoo, or the wilds of the Serengeti, research and patience can be the deciding factor between an average shot and an outstanding one. You might choose to fill the frame with the head of a majestic lion, capture the abstract shapes of a starling murmuration, or show an urban fox in an inner-city context. Wildlife is all around us, so make the most of it and capture it in a way we may not have seen before. Please note, this is not the round for domestic animals and pets.

This free-to-enter category is part of the Young Amateur Photographer of the Year 2022 awards, open to photographers aged 13-21.

Although street photography is easily accessible to most, it’s probably one of the most challenging genres to capture. Paying attention to the everyday movements of folk as they go about their business and spotting the extraordinary within the mundane is one thing, but capturing a scene unfold in front of you at the perfect moment is another. It’s this forward-thinking that makes great photographers of this genre stand out. Take a look at the work by like Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau and Vivian Maier or more contemporary photographers, such as Niall McDiarmid and Nick Turpin for inspiration.

This free-to-enter category is part of the Young Amateur Photographer of the Year 2022 awards, open to photographers aged 13-21.

One of the biggest challenges in photography is capturing movement, whether that’s freezing the action unfolding in front of you with fast shutter speeds or flash, or creating an implied sense of movement with long exposures or camera panning. Whichever technique you choose, there are a whole host of potential subjects on offer. We’d like to see your creative interpretations of movement, whether it’s people on the go, animals in motion, the dynamism of sports, or trains, planes and automobiles.