The world's biggest photo competition opens for entries with huge cash prizes up for grabs in its 20th year

Two women in traditional skirts stand in forested areas with drawn outlines of people and musical instruments overlaid around them — (Image credit: © Citlali Fabián, Mexico, Photographer of the Year, Professional Competition, Creative, Sony World Photography Awards 2026)

The Sony World Photo Awards are known for being one of the largest photography competitions, attracting close to half a million entrants each year, but also for serving up some lucrative cash sums to winners.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the competition, with the 2027 awards offering $25,000 (£18,600 / AU$35,340) to the overall Photographer of the Year as well as $5,000 (£3,700 / AU$7,000) to the Single Image Competition and Sustainability Prize winners.

While the 2027 awards bring changes to two of the competition names – the Professional competition has rebranded as the Series competition, and the Open competition is now the Single Image competition – the structure, prizes, and recognition remain the same as in previous years.

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Last year’s overall winner was Citlali Fabián for the series Bilha, Stories of my Sisters. Fabián, a London-based visual artist, hails from the Yalalteca Indigenous community in Mexico and, through her lens, explores themes of identity, migration, and connection.

A woman in traditional dress conducts an invisible orchestra in a forest, with illustrated musicians and musical notes around her — For her series, Fabián worked with activists and artists from Indigenous communities across southern Mexico – especially in Oaxaca – bringing together different voices without flattening them into a single narrative (Image credit: © Citlali Fabián, Mexico, Photographer of the Year, Professional Competition, Creative, Sony World Photography Awards 2026)

She was chosen as the Photographer of the Year from over 430,000 entries across all the award’s competitions and, along with the cash prize, will showcase her winning work at this year’s awards exhibition.

Along with the Single Image and Series competitions, there’s also the Student Competition – for photography students – and the Youth competition – for entrants 19 years of age and under. However, instead of money, the winners of the latter three competitions snag Sony gear.

The Sony World Photo Awards 2027 is now open for submissions and is free to enter for all competitions. These awards are extensive and there are different closing dates for the different competitions, as well as various categories you can enter within each. Head to the awards website for more information.

British photographer Zed Nelson wins Sony World Photography Awards 2025, beating a staggering 419,820 other entries.

I’m a writer, journalist and photographer who joined Digital Camera World in 2026. I started out in editorial in 2021 and my words have spanned sustainability, careers advice, travel and tourism, and photography – the latter two being my passions.

I first picked up a camera in my early twenties having had an interest in photography from a young age. Since then, I’ve worked on a freelance basis, mostly internationally in the travel and tourism sector. You’ll usually find me out on a hike shooting landscapes and adventure shots in my free time.

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