Competition rules
World Art Photo competition rules
Last updated: 6 November 2026
Below are the conditions of entry, eligible work, and how we review and publish results. Version in force for the Monthly Selection — November 2026 edition.
1. Who may enter
Any person of legal age may enter, regardless of country of residence. Minors may submit work only with written consent of a legal guardian. By submitting, a minor declares that they have written consent from their legal guardian to participate and publish their image. A single author may submit up to three photographs per monthly edition. An account is tied to an email address.
2. What may be submitted
Original photographs in JPG, PNG or WebP format, up to 10 MB per file. Work must be created by the submitting author and must not infringe third-party rights. Photographic editing is allowed: cropping, exposure, contrast, colour, retouching. Any use of artificial intelligence to generate or significantly modify the photograph is prohibited. The submitter declares that they hold full copyright to the work. Disallowed content (resulting in immediate rejection): pornographic and obscene content, content depicting violence, cruelty and suffering, vulgar and offensive content, content inciting violence or aggression, content discriminating on the basis of race, ethnic origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability, defamatory content and violations of personal rights, content promoting criminal activity, and misleading content.
3. Categories
Black & White — black and white photography, form, light, contrast, narrative. Color — colour photography, a creative interpretation of reality. Creative & Conceptual — creative photography, experiment, concept, individual artistic language. Each submission is assigned to a single category chosen by the author.
4. Fees
The first photograph in every monthly edition is free. A fee is charged for the second and third photograph in accordance with the price list provided in the submission form. Submission fees are non-refundable. If a photograph is rejected due to a breach of these rules (including disallowed content), the fee will not be refunded as it covers the operational and administrative costs of processing the submission.
5. How we review work
Photographs are reviewed by photographers using anonymous pairwise comparisons. Participants and viewers compare two photographs, selecting the one they find stronger. Each comparison awards a point to the winning photograph. The ranking is based on the win rate. The Organizer appoints a jury of 1 to 20 experts. Each month we select the best Top 10, who receive the laureate title and enter the main gallery. The Public Choice Award is also given to photographs with the highest number of public votes. Public votes do not affect the main Top 10 ranking.
7. Fairness and revocation
Payment for a submission never increases any photograph’s chance. We do not offer paid awards, paid priority or points for inviting voters. A participant who reviews other work receives no additional points for their own photographs as a result. The Organizer reserves the right to revoke a laureate's title and invalidate their certificate if, after the results are announced, it is revealed that the work violated the rules or the rights of third parties.
8. Copyright and licence
The author retains full copyright in the submitted photographs. By submitting work, the author grants World Art Photo a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to publish the photograph in the platform’s galleries, competition promotional materials and results communication, for an indefinite term, with the author’s name or pseudonym credited. The licence does not include selling photographs to third parties or commercial use beyond competition promotion. The author may withdraw consent to further publication at any time by contacting the organiser.
9. Personal data
We collect only the data needed to run the competition: email address, name or pseudonym, country and the photograph file. Data is not sold or shared with third parties for marketing purposes. The email address is used for results notifications and — with separate consent — for information about future editions. A participant may request deletion of their data by contacting the organiser. Data is stored for the duration of the competition and for the period required by tax regulations.
10. Reporting violations
Anyone whose rights may be infringed by a submitted work may report it to the organiser by email. A report should include a description of the infringement, a link to the challenged work and the reporter’s contact details. The organiser reviews reports promptly and may temporarily hide the challenged work pending clarification.
13. Changes to these rules
These rules may change to the extent necessary for the proper conduct of the competition. Changes do not apply to rules of an edition already in progress. Every change is published with an effective date. The version in force is always available on this page.
Contact
Questions about the rules, submissions and results: contact@worldartphoto.org