Call for Entries
Seeking the New Photographic Portrait!
We’re thrilled to announce the LensCulture Portrait Awards! For the first time ever, we’re offering two exceptional exhibition opportunities: our winners, jurors’ picks, and finalists will show their work at Photo London in May and during the opening week in Arles this July. These are two of the world’s most important photo events—don’t miss this incredible opportunity to be seen alongside the biggest names in photography!
Our esteemed jurors are seeking compelling portraits from all over the world. Benefits include projection of your work at international festivals, written feedback, worldwide media coverage, and exposure to our audience of 2.8 million. Participate in our global photography community—enter today!
Closed for new entries.
Portrait Awards
International
Jury
Rebecca Morse
Curator
Wallis Annenberg Photography Department, LACMA
Los Angeles, United States
www.lacma.org
More about Rebecca »

Rebecca Morse is Curator in the Wallis Annenberg Photography Department at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art where she recently organized the exhibitions Sarah Charlesworth: Doubleworld and Larry Sultan: Here and Home. Previous exhibitions include Amanda Ross Ho: Teeny Tiny Woman, Cai Guo-Qiang: Ladder to the Sky, Rodarte: States of Matter, The Artist’s Museum, and Florian Maier-Aichen organized for The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) where she was Associate Curator through 2013. She has written about the evolving relationship between photography and sculpture, contemporary photography in Los Angeles, and photography’s changing role in contemporary art beginning in the 1980s.

Elena Boille
Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Photo Editor
Internazionale
Rome, Italy
www.internazionale.it
More about Elena »

Elena Boille is deputy editor-in-chief and photo editor of the magazine Internazionale. Boille graduated with a degree in history of art and she co-founded, in 1993, the Italian news magazine Internazionale. She has judged many photo competitions and participated in portfolio reviews; Boille also teaches photo editing workshops and taught a photo editing class at Luiss Business School in Rome.

Sacha Lecca
Deputy Photo Editor
Rolling Stone
New York City, United States
www.rollingstone.com
More about Sacha »

Sacha Lecca is the Deputy Photo Editor at Rolling Stone magazine, as well as a photographer with over 20 years experience in magazine publishing. Lecca was a photo researcher and then photo editor at Newsweek as well as a photo editor for multiple titles at CMP Media before taking his current position at Rolling Stone.

Nadav Kander
Award-Winning Photographerwww.nadavkander.com
More about Nadav »

Nadav Kander is a London-based photographer, artist and director, known for his portraiture and landscapes. His work is included in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum and other galleries and museums. Kander’s work has been published on the cover of The New York Times Magazine, TIME and many other publications. In 2009, he was honored to publish the largest portfolio of work by the same photographer The New York Times Magazine has ever showcased in one single issue.

Kander published his first monograph, Beauty’s Nothing (Arena Editions) in 2001. He followed up the book with numerous catalogues of his work that accompanied exhibitions at Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York; Shine Gallery, London; and Flowers Gallery, London. In October 2009 Kander was announced as the winner of the prestigious Prix Pictet Earth, 2009 for his “Yangtze—The Long River” series. He was chosen from a shortlist of 12 nominees that included Ed Kashi, Andreas Gursky and Naoya Hatakeyama. The award was presented by Kofi Annan, Honorary President of the Prix Pictet.

Siobhán Bohnacker
Senior Photo Editor
The New Yorker
New York City, United States
www.newyorker.com
More about Siobhán »

Siobhán Bohnacker is a Senior Photo Editor at The New Yorker, where she commissions original photography for the magazine, and curates on photography for newyorker.com. Prior to joining The New Yorker, she worked as a Photo Editor at The New York Times Magazine and from 2009-2012, worked with NGOs and non-profits, as well as advertising clients, on the production of high-profile portfolios and campaigns. She has served as on-set producer on over 200 photo shoots, most notably, at The White House, for “Going The Distance”, David Remnick’s profile of President Barack Obama (2014), and “Portraits Of Power”, an ASME-winning portfolio of 56 heads of state, photographed at the United Nations and published in The New Yorker in 2009. A Fellow of The Royal Society of The Arts, Siobhán has been a guest lecturer at such institutions as Yale, The Cooper Union, the School of Visual Arts, and has served on the jury for numerous international photo contests.

Kaycee Olsen
Director
Von Lintel Gallery
Los Angeles, United States
www.vonlintel.com
More about Kaycee »

Kaycee Olsen is a gallery director and appraiser based in Los Angeles, California. Currently she is the director of Von Lintel Gallery in Los Angeles. Olsen has more than a decade of experience in the art business, having served as the owner of Kaycee Olsen Gallery, as well as working at Christie’s, and as a modern and contemporary art dealer. Olsen’s academic training includes a BA in Art History from the University of Southern California and a BA in Liberal Arts, Art History study abroad at the London Metropolitan University as well as MA studies in Art History. Her affiliations include Art Table, and the Photographic Arts Council, with past affiliations at LACMA, the Modern and Contemporary Art Council, and Words Without Pictures.

Christophe Laloi
Co-Founder and Artistic Director
Voies Off Festival
Arles, France
www.voies-off.com
More about Christophe »

Christophe Laloi graduated from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de la photographie d’Arles, France, in 1996 with a master’s degree in the history of art. After graduation, he founded the Voies Off Festival at the Rencontres d’Arles. He continues to act as artistic director and director of programming at the festival, where he selects more than 60 artists each year from five continents. He organizes portfolio reviews, as well as a variety of exhibitions, and he has been a lecturer at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie d’Arles for ten years. He has also been a reviewer for many festivals in France, Denmark, Turkey, Spain, and England. In 2007, Mr. Laloi opened the Galerie Voies Off, an exhibition space that presents emerging and established photographers throughout the year.

Jim Casper
Editor-in-Chief
LensCulture
www.lensculture.com
More about Jim »

Jim Casper is the editor-in-chief of LensCulture, one of the leading online destinations to discover contemporary photography from around the world. As an active member in the contemporary photography world, Casper organizes annual international photography events, travels around the world to meet with photographers and review their portfolios, curates art exhibitions, writes about photography and culture, lectures, conducts workshops, serves as an international juror and nominator for key awards, and is an advisor to arts and education organizations.

Photo © Owen Harvey
Winning the LensCulture Portrait Awards was a great part of 2017 and a nice opportunity to get my work in front of the judging panel. The prize money I received was a great help and went towards making new work and my first full scale solo exhibition in London.
Since winning the award, I also won the Royal Photographic Society U30 Gold Award and have been fortunate enough to have two images included in this year’s Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery.
— Owen Harvey
Winner, LensCulture Portrait Awards 2017
Competition
Gallery
Just by entering, your work will be reviewed by our editors for a chance at immediate exposure in our Competition Gallery and across all our online channels, reaching a combined audience of over 2.8 million. Entrants to our Awards receive massive online exposure throughout the competition, so enter your work early and take advantage of this opportunity!
You can click on the photos to learn more about the photographer. If you like someone’s work, share their submission on Facebook or favorite their image! Your support help increases the exposure for every participating photographer.
Note: While our editors review entries for inclusion on a daily basis, not every submission can be shown here.
Career Changing
Awards
Benefits for All
Who Enter
6 Winners &
8 Jurors‘ picks
25 FinalistsEditors‘ Picks**Every Entrant
$22,000 in Grant Awards
Exhibition in Arles and Photo London
Visibility with LensCulture Insiders
Portrait Awards 2018 Online Exhibition
A Series of International Photo Festival Projections
Published in The Best of LensCulture, Volume 3
International Press Exposure
Opportunity for LensCulture Instagram Takeover
Feature Article on LensCulture
LensCulture Network Membership
Massive Exposure to our Global Audience of 2.8 Million
Submission Review by Photo Industry Professional*
Engage with the Global Photography Community
Opportunities for Immediate Exposure
LensCulture Portfolio Account***
*Submission Review: Available for all Series entries and 5+ Single entries
**Editors’ Picks: During the competition, LensCulture’s editors will curate hundreds of entries for immediate exposure to our global audience through the competition gallery and our Facebook page.
***LensCulture Portfolio Account: Available for all Series entries and 5+ Single entries
= Jury selected = LensCulture
Awards & Benefits

Cash Awards
Series Award Winners
1st Place: $5000
2nd Place: $2500
3rd Place: $1500
Single Image Award Winners
1st Place: $2500
2nd Place: $1500
3rd Place: $1000
Jurors’ Picks
Each juror will select an individual Juror’s Pick
to receive special distinction and $1,000.
Exhibition at Photo London
All of the winners, jurors’ picks, and finalists will have their work seen by thousands of photography professionals at the world-renowned Photo London, being held at Somerset House this spring. Images by the selected photographers will be exhibited to gallerists, collectors, and publishers in an exhibition running from May 17-20, 2018.
Exhibition During the Opening Week in Arles
All selected photographers will be exhibited in the heart of Arles, France this July. Hosted by our partner Voies Off, part of the longest-running festival in Europe, the exhibition will be displayed on a dynamic video wall throughout the busy opening week of the world-renowned Les Rencontres d’Arles. Arles attracts more than 17,000 photo industry professionals from around the world during this week—we hope to meet many of you there this summer!
La Cour de l’Archevêché, one of Voies Off’s exhibition spaces in the heart of Arles
A Series of Projections at International Photo Festivals
Throughout 2018, the jury’s selected works will be screened at photo festivals and events worldwide. Over the past year, our winners and finalists were screened at festivals in Britain, Greece, Croatia, Italy, Japan, Australia, Spain, France, Georgia, the US, and more. LensCulture continues to partner with international photo festivals (like Voies Off, FORMAT, Tokyo International Photography Festival, and more) to showcase more of our competitions’ winners & finalists.
Top: A screening of photographs from “The LensCulture Exposure Awards 2017” at HeadOn Festival in Sydney, Australia, May 2017. Right: Our growing list of festival partners.

Angkor Photo Festival, Siem Reap Cambodia

Athens Photo Festival, Athens, Greece

Atlanta Celebrates Photography Festival, Atlanta, GA, United States

Backlight Photo Festival, Tampere, Finland

Balkan Photo Festival, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Belfast Photo Festival, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Belgrade Photo Month, Belgrade, Serbia

Biennial of the Possible Image, Liège, Belgium

BredaPhoto International Photo Festival, Breda, Netherlands

Brighton Photo Biennial, Brighton, United Kingdom

Brighton Photo Fringe, Brighton, United Kingdom

Budapest Photo Festival, Budapest, Hungary

Chania International Photo Festival, Chania, Greece

Circulation(s), Paris, France

Copenhagen Photo Festival, Copenhagen, Denmark

Cortona on the Move, Cortona, Italy

DarmStadt Days of Photography, Darmstadt, Germany

Emerging Talents Festival, Rome, Italy

Encontros da Imagem Photography Festival, Braga, Portugal

FestFoto, Porto Alegre, Brazil

Festival de Fotografia de Tiradentes, Tiradentes, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Festival della Fotografia Etica, Lodi, Italy

Festival Images Vevey, Vevey, Switzerland

Festival Internacional Fotografia Valparaiso, Valparaiso, Chile

Filter Photo Festival, Chicago, IL, United States

Focus on the Story International Photo Festival, Washington, D.C., USA

FOCUS Photography Festival, Mumbai, India

FORMAT, Derby, United Kingdom

FOTO SOLO, New York, NY, United States

Fotobok Festival Oslo 2020, Oslo, Norway

FOTOFESTIWAL - International Festival of Photography, Lodz, Poland

FotoLeggendo, Rome, Italy

Fotopub Portfolio Review, Novo Mesto, Slovenia

Gazebook: Sicily Photobook Festival, Punta Secca, Italy/Sicily

GETXOPHOTO International Photography Festival, Getxo, Spain

Head On Photo Festival, Bondi Beach - Sydney, Australia

Helsinki Photo Festival, Helsinki, Finland

Indian Photo Fest, Hyderabad, India

Indian Photo Fest, Madhapur, India

Internationaal Fotofestival Overpelt, Overpelt, Belgium

Jimei x Arles International Photo Festival Xiamen, China

Kaunas Photo Festival, Kaunas, Lithuania

Krakow Photomonth Festival, Krakow, Poland

Lagos Photo Festival, Lagos, Nigeria

Landskrona Foto Festival, Landskrona, Sweden

Liège Photobook Festival, Liège, Belgium

Los Angeles Festival of Photography, LA, CA, United States

LuganoPhotoDays, Lugano, Switzerland

Medium Festival of Photography, San Diego, CA, United States

MedPhoto Festival, Rethymno, Crete, Greece

Month of Photography Denver, Denver, CO, United States

Mostra São Paulo de Fotografia, São Paulo, Brazil

Obscura Festival, Penang, Malaysia

Odessa Photo Days Festival, Odessa, Ukraine

OFF_festival Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia

Organ Vida - International Photography Festival, Zagreb, Croatia

PHOTO IS:RAEL, Tel Aviv, Israel

Photo Kyiv, the International Art Fair, Kyiv, Ukraine

Photo Romania Festival, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Photography Festival Bialystok INTERPHOTO, Bialystok, Poland

Photolux Festival. International Biennial of Photography, Lucca, Italy

Photomed, Sanary-sur-mer, France

PHOTOMONTH East London, London, United Kingdom

PhotOn Festival, Valencia, Spain

PhotoVisa, Krasnodar, Russia

PondyPHOTO 2016, Pondicherry, India

Porto Photo Festival, Porto, Portugal

Rotterdam Photo, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

San Jose Foto Festival, San Jose, Uruguay

SCAN Tarragona, International Photography Festival, Tarragona, Spain

Street Photo San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States

Tbilisi Photo Festival, Tbilisi, Georgia

Tokyo International Photography Festival, Tokyo, Japan

Valongo, Valongo, Santos, Brazil

Verzasca Foto Festival, Valle Verzasca, Switzerland

Vienna PhotoBook Festival, Vienna, Austria

Warsaw Photo Days, Warsaw, Poland

Published in
The Best of LensCulture, Vol 3
We will once again be partnering with Schilt Publishing to produce a beautifully printed book of our award-winning photographers. This unique collection of photographic work will be available for purchase and distributed to industry members worldwide.
“Award-winning photographs that defy belief”
— The Telegraph
Visibility With Industry Insiders & Galleries
We are connected to over 3,000 photography industry insiders around the world including top photo editors, book publishers, gallery owners, festival directors, agents, curators, online media publishers, and many more. LensCulture has become a key resource for these professionals to discover new work from photographers all over the world. This kind of industry-wide exposure is critical for both emerging and established photographers—all it takes is one set of eyes to change the course of your career.

Aaron Schuman, Director/Editor, SeeSaw Magazine, UK

Ada Takahashi, Director, Robert Koch Gallery, USA

Afton Almaraz, Senior Picture Editor, Getty Images, USA

Aida Muluneh, Founder and General Manager, Desta for Africa Creative Consulting PLC, Ethiopia

Alan Taylor, Senior Editor, The Atlantic, USA

Alessandra Capodacqua, Instructor, Photographer and Independent Curator, NYU, Italy

Alessia Glaviano, Senior Photo Editor, Vogue Italia and L'Uomo Vogue, Italy

Alex Webb, Photographer, Magnum

Alexa Becker, Acquisitions Editor, Kehrer Verlag Publishers, Germany

Alona Pardo, Curator, Barbican Art Gallery, UK

Amy Feitelberg, Photo Art Director, Square, USA

Amy Pereira, Photography Director, Curator and Consultant, USA

Amy Wolff, Photo Director, Hearst Digital Media, USA

Andy Greenacre, Director of Photography, Telegraph Magazine, UK

Ángel Luis González Fernández, Founder and CEO, PhotoIreland Foundation, Ireland

Anna Dickson, Visual Lead, Image Search, Google, USA

Anna Goldwater Alexander, Director of Photography, WIRED, USA

Anna Gripp, Editor-in-Chief, Photonews, Germany

Anna Walker Skillman, Owner/Director, Jackson Fine Arts, USA

Anne Bourgeois-Vignon, Executive Creative Director, Culture Trip, UK

Anne Farrar, Director of Photography, National Geographic Traveler, USA

Anne McNeill, Director, Impressions Gallery, UK

Anne Morin, Director, diChroma Photography, Spain

Anne Wilkes-Tucker, Curator, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA

Antony Dickson, Features Photo Editor, South China Morning Post, Hong Kong

Arianna Rinaldo, Artistic Director, Cortona On The Move, Spain

Ariel Shanberg, Executive Director, Delaware Valley Arts Alliance, USA

Azu Nwagbogu, Director, African Artists’ Foundation, Nigeria

Barbara Čeferin, Owner, Galerija Fotografija, Slovenia

Barbara Tannenbaum, Curator of Photography, The Cleveland Museum of Art, USA

Bernadette Tuazon, Director of Photography, CNN Digital, USA

Bevin Bering Dubrowski, Curator, Photography Specialist, BBD Photography, USA

Bisi Silva, Founder and Director, Centre for Contemporary Art, Nigeria

Bonnie Rubenstein, Artistic Director, CONTACT Photography Festival, Canada

Brett Roegiers, Photo Editor, CNN.com, USA

Brian Paul Clamp, Owner/Director, ClampArt Gallery, USA

Brian Storm, Founder & Executive Producer, MediaStorm, USA

Bronwen Latimer, Senior Photo Editor, The Washington Post, USA

Bruno Ceschel, Director, Self Publish, Be Happy, UK

Carlos Carvalho, Director, FestFoto de Porto Allegre, Brazil

Caroline Hunter, Picture Editor, Guardian Weekend Magazine, UK

Caroline Wall, Director, Robert Mann Gallery, USA

Catherine Edelman, Owner, Catherine Edelman Gallery, USA

Celia Davies, Curator, Arts Council England, UK

Celina Lunsford, Artistic Director & Chief Curator, Fotografie Forum Frankfurt, Germany

Charles Guice, Founder/Director, Charles Guice Contemporary, USA

Charlotte Cotton, Curator & Writer, USA

Charlotte van Lingen, Head of Presentation, Museum Het Valkhof, Netherlands

Chelsea Matiash, Senior Editor, Digiital Storytelling, The New York Times, USA

Chris Littlewood, Independent Curator, Christopher Littlewood, UK

Chris Pichler, Founder & Publisher, Nazraeli Press, USA

Christopher McCall, Director, Pier 24 Photography, USA

Christopher Rauschenberg, Founding Member, Blue Sky Photographers' Collective and Gallery, USA

Christy Havranek, Photo Director, Huffington Post, USA

Clare Grafik, Head of Exhibitions, The Photographer's Gallery, UK

Claude Bussac, Director, PHotoEspaña International Festival, Spain

Corey Keller, Curator, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, USA

Corinne Tapia, Director, Sous Les Etoiles Gallery, USA

Cristina De Middel, Artist, Juana de Aizpuru, UK

Daphné Anglès, Journalist, The New York Times Paris, France

Daphne Palmer, Director, Fraenkel Gallery

Darius Himes, International Head of Photographs, Christie's, USA

Darren Ching, Owner, Klompching Gallery, USA

David Alan Harvey, Photographer, Magnum Photos, USA

David Campbell, Director, Programs, World Press Photo, Netherlands

David Chickey, Publisher, Radius Books, USA

David Drake, Director, Ffotogallery, UK

David Hurn, Photographer, Magnum Photos, UK

Deborah Klochko, Director, Museum of Photographic Arts, USA

Debra Klomp, Ching Owner/Director, Klompching Gallery, USA

Denise Wolff, Senior Editor, Aperture, USA

Dewi Lewis, Owner, Dewi Lewis Publishing, UK

Dimitri Beck, Director of Photography, Polka Magazine, France

Dina Mitrani, Gallery Owner, Dina Mitrani Gallery, USA

Donna Cohen, Photo Director, Bloomberg LP, USA

Dr. Shahidul Alam, Director, Chobi Mela Festival of Photography, Bangladesh

Ed Carey, Director, Gallery 291, USA

Eder Chiodetto, Independent Photography Curator, Brazil

Elena Boille, Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Photo Editor, Internazionale, Italy

Elena Firsova, Managing Editor, Foto&Video Magazine Moscow Russian Federation

Elie Domit, Director, East Wing Gallery, Qatar

Elinor Carucci, Photographer, USA

Elisa Medde, Editor, FOAM Magazine, Netherlands

Elissa Curtis, Deputy Photo Director, The Wall Street Journal, USA

Elizabeth Avedon, Independent Curator, Photo Editor, USA

Els Barents, Photo Historian, Writer & Researcher, Els Barents, Netherlands

Emilia van Lynden, Art Consultant, Emilia Van Lynden Art Consultancy, Netherlands

Emma Bowkett, Director of Photography, FT Weekend Magazine, UK

Enrico Bossan, Project Head, Galerrie delle prigioni, Italy

Enrico Stefanelli, Founder, President and Artistic Director, Photolux Festival, Italy

Erik Vroons, Chief Editor, GUP Magazine, Netherlands

Evan Pricco, Editor-in-Chief and Web Editor, Juxtapoz Magazine, USA

Evgeny Berezner, Deputy General Director, ROSIZO State Museum & Exhibition Center, Russia

Felicia Anastasia, Founder & Creative Director, Anastasia Photo Gallery, USA

Fiona Rogers, Chief Operating Officer, Magnum Photos, UK

Fiona Shields, Head of Photography, The Guardian, UK

Francesca Morisini, Photo Editor at Condé Nast Italia

Francis Hodgson, Professor of Photography, University of Brighton, UK

Francoise Callier, Program Coordinator, Angkor Photo Festival, France

Fred Ritchin, Dean of the School, International Center of Photography, USA

Frits Gierstberg, Curator, Nederlands Fotomuseum, Netherlands

Gaia Tripoli, Photo Editor, The New York Times, UK

Gail Marowitz, Creative Director, The Visual Strategist, USA

Genevieve Fussell, Senior Photo Editor, The New Yorker, USA

Gilles Steinmann, Photo Editor, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Switzerland

Giulia Ticozzi, Photo Editor, La Repubblica, Italy

Greg Hobson, Curator of Photographs, National Media Museum, UK

Gunther Dietrich, Director, Photo Edition Gallery, Germany

Hamidah Glasgow, Executive Director/Curator, The Center for Fine Art Photography, USA

Hannah Watson, Director, TJ Boulting Gallery and Trolley Books, UK

Hideko Kataoka, Director of Photography, Newsweek, Japan

Ian Shive, CEO & Founder, Tandem Stills + Motion, USA

Iata Cannabrava, Photographer & Festival Organizer, Estudio Madalena, Brazil

Ihiro Hayami, Director, Tokyo Institute of Photography, Japan

Ishida Tetsuro, Curator, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Japan

Jacob Aue Sobol, Photographer, Magnum Photos, Denmark

James Estrin, Photographer/Lens Blog Editor, The New York Times, USA

Jean-Jacques Viau, Digital Marketing Manager, Leica Camera, Germany

Jeff Gates, Lead Producer, Smithsonian American Art Museum, USA

Jeff Moorfoot, Editor, BETA Developments in Photography, Australia

Jennifer Blessing, Senior Curator of Photography, Guggenheim, USA

Jennifer Murray, Executive Director, Filter Photo, USA

Jennifer Pastore, Executive Photography Director, WSJ Magazine, USA

Jenny Smets, Director of Photography, Vrij Nederland, Netherlands

Jessica Lim, Director, Angkor Photo Festival & Workshops, Cambodia

Jessie Wender, Photo Editor, The New York Times, USA

Joanna Milter, Director of Photography, THE NEW YORKER

Joanne Junga Yang, Director, Y&G Art, South Korea

Johan Sjöström, Curator of Exhibitions, Gothenburg Museum of Art, Sweden

John Duncan, Editor, Source Photographic Review, UK

Jolene Hanson, Director, The G2 Gallery, USA

Jon Jones, Head of Photography, Tortoise Media, UK

Jorge de la Torriente, Owner / Photographer, De La Gallery, USA

Juli Lowe, Director, Catherine Edelman Gallery, USA

Julien Jourdes, Co-Founder and COO, Blink.la, USA

Kacy Burdette, Photo Editor, Adweek, USA

Karen Davis, Director/Co-owner, Davis Orton Gallery,USA

Karen McQuaid, Curator, The Photographers’ Gallery, UK

Karol Hordziej, Artistic Director, Krakow Photomonth, Poland

Kathy Moran, Senior Editor, National Geographic Magazine, USA

Kathy Ryan, Director of Photography, The New York Times Magazine, USA

Kaycee Olsen, Art Consultant & Fine Art Appraiser, Kevin Barry Fine Art, USA

Kenneth Dickerman, Photo Editor, The Washington Post, USA

Kottie Gaydos, Curator & Editor in Chief, Detroit Center for Contemporary Photography, USA

Kristen Gresh, Curator of Photographs, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, USA

Lars Boering, Managing Director, World Press Photo, Netherlands

Laura Moya, Director, Photolucida, USA

Laura Pressley, Executive Director, CENTER, USA

Lauren Ford, Commissioning Director and Producer, Dazed Magazine, UK

Lekgetho Makola, Director, Market Photo Workshop, South Africa

Lesley Martin, Creative Director, Aperture Foundation, USA

Linda Benedict-Jones, Executive Director, Silver Eye Center for Photography, USA

Lisa J. Sutcliffe, Curator of Photography and Media Arts, Milwaukee Art Museum, USA

Louise Clements, Artistic Director, Derby QUAD Limited and FORMAT International Photography Festival, UK

Luc Rabaey, Owner, 44 Gallery, Belgium

Lucy Bell, Director, Lucy Bell Fine Art, UK

Lucy Conticello, Director of Photography, M Magazine, Le Monde, France

Maarten Schilt, Publisher & Gallerist, Schilt Publishing & Gallery, Netherlands

Magdalena Herrera, Director of Photography, GEO France, France

Manila Camarini, Photo Editor, D La Repubblica, Italy

Manuel Rivera-Ortiz, President & Founder, Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation for Documentary Photography & Film, USA

Marc Prüst, Artistic Director, Photography Consultant and Curator, Netherlands

Marcel Feil, Artistic Deputy Director, FOAM, Netherlands

Marcia Allert, Director of Photography, The Dallas Morning News, USA

Margaret Kelly, Director, Exhibition and Art Fairs, Pace/Macgill Gallery, USA

Margy Dudley, Owner, Open Shutter Gallery, USA

Marion Hislen, Déléguée à la photographie, Ministere de la Culture, France

Mark Murrmann, Photo Editor, Mother Jones, USA

Martin Parr, Photographer, Magnum Photos, UK

Mary Virginia Swanson, Photography Marketing Advisor, Educator, Author, USA

MaryAnn Camilleri, Founder, The Magenta Foundation, Canada

MaryAnne Golon, Director of Photography, The Washington Post, USA

Matthew Craig, Co-Founder and CEO, Blink, USA

Matthew Tucker, Broadcast Journalist/Picture Producer, BBC News Online, UK

Maya Byskov, Project Manager, Centrifuge, Germany

Mazie Harris, Assistant Curator, Getty Museum, USA

Meaghan Looram, Director of Photography, The New York Times, USA

Melissa Ryan, Deputy Director of Photography, Nature Conservancy Magazine, USA

Mia Diehl, Photography Director, Fortune Magazine, USA

Michael Dooney, Director, Jarvis Dooney Galerry, Germany

Michael Famighetti, Editor, Aperture Magazine, USA

Michael Foley, Owner, Foley Gallery, USA

Michael Hoppen, Owner, Michael Hoppen Gallery, UK

Michael Mack, Founder, MACK Books, UK

Michael Weir, Director/Founder, Belfast Photo Festival, UK

Michelle Dunn Marsh, Chief Strategist, Photographic Center Northwest, USA

Miyako Yoshinaga, Director, Mikayo Yoshinga Gallery, USA

Molly Roberts, Senior Photography Editor, National Geographic Magazine, USA

Monica Allende, Artistic Director, GetxoPhoto & Landskrona Foto Festival, UK

Moritz Neumüller, Academic Director of Photography, IED Madrid, Spain

Moshe Rosenzveig, Founder and Director, Head On Photo Festival, Australia

Muhammed Muheisen, Pulitzer Prize-winning Photojournalist, Netherlands

Mutsuko Ota, Editorial Director, IMA magazine, Japan

Nadav Kander, Award-Winning Photographer, UK

Nakamori Yasufumi, Assistant Curator, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, USA

Natalie Matutschovsky, Photography Art Director, Apple, USA

Natasha Egan, Executive Director, Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College, USA

Newsha Tavakolian, Photographer, Magnum Photos, Iran

Nicolas Jimenez, Director of Photography, Le Monde, France

Oliva Maria Rubio, Directora Artística de La Fábrica, PhotoEspaña

Olivier Laurent, Photography Editor, The Washington Post, USA

Patricia Lanza, Art Consultant & Creative Director, USA

Paul di Felice, Senior Lecturer in Visual Arts, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Paula Tognarelli, Executive Director, Griffin Museum of Photography, USA

Pavel Banka, Editor in Chief, Fotograf Magazine, Czech Republic

Paweł Szypulski, Curator, Krakow Month of Photography, Poland

Peggy Sue Amison, Artistic Director, East Wing Gallery, Qatar

Phillip Prodger, Senior Research Scholar, Yale Center For British Art, USA

Raffaela Lepanto, Photo Editor/University of the Arts London, UK

Rebecca Morse, Curator, Wallis Annenberg Photography Department, LACMA, USA

Regina Maria Anzenberger, Founder, Anzenberger Gallery, Austria

Régina Monfort, Photo Editor, FotoEvidence, USA

Richard A. Brooks, Deputy Photo Director, Asia Pacific, Agence France-Presse (AFP), Hong Kong

Richard Renaldi, Photographer, Richard Renaldi Photography, USA

Roger Archibald, Photo Editor, Society of Environmental Journalists, USA

Ron Haviv, Visual Journalist, Filmmaker, Co-Founder, The VII Foundation, USA

Roxanne Behr, Visuals Director, GQ Magazine, USA

Roy Kahmann, Founder & Owner, Kahmann Gallery | GUP Magazine, Netherlands

Rui Prata, Director, Museu da Imagem, Portugal

Ruth Offen, Director/Curator, WaterWorks Gallery, USA

Sacha Lecca, Deputy Photo Editor, Rolling Stone Magazine, USA

Sadie Quarrier, Senior Photo Editor, National Geographic Magazine, USA

Sam Barzilay, Creative Director, United Photo Industries and Photoville, USA

Sarah Leen, Director of Photography, National Geographic Magazine, USA

Sean Corcoran, Curator of Prints and Photographs, Museum of the City of New York, USA

Sean O’Hagan, Critic and Writer, The Guardian and The Observer, UK

Selva Barni, Founder & Editor, Fantom Editions, Italy

Serge Belet, Senior Exhibitions Manager, National Gallery of Canada, Canada

Shoair Mavlian, Director & Curator, PHOTOWORKS, UK

Silvia Mangialardi, Artistic Director, Encuentros Abiertos, Argentina

Simon Bainbridge, Editorial Director, British Journal of Photography, UK

Siobhán Bohnacker, Senior Photo Editor, The New Yorker, USA

Stacey Baker, Associate Photo Editor, The New York Times Magazine, USA

Stephen Mayes, Executive Director, Tim Hetherington Trust, USA

Stephen Perloff, Editor, The Photo Review, USA

Steven Evans, Executive Director, FotoFest International, USA

Sujong Song, Independent Photography Professional, South Korea

Susan Spiritus, Owner, Susan Spiritus Gallery, USA

Susan White, Photography Director, WeWork, USA

Susan Zadeh, Founder/Photography Director, Eyemazing Editions, Netherlands

Taj Forer, Cofounder, Fabl and Daylight Books, USA

Thomas Seelig, Director, Folkwang Museum, Switzerland

Todd Hido, Artist and Photographer, USA

Todd James, Senior Photo Editor, National Geographic Society, USA

Todd Tubutis, Director, Art Museum of West Virginia University, USA

Tomoka Aya, Owner/Director, The Third EyeGallery Aya, Tokyo, Japan

Ute Noll, Photo Director, Du Kulturmagazin, Germany

Volker Lensch, Photo Editor, Stern Magazine, Germany

Whitney Johnson, VP Visual Experiences, National Geographic, USA

Wim Melis, Curator, Noorderlicht Photography, Netherlands

Xavier Canonne, Director, Musée de la Photographie, Belgium

Xavier Soule, CEO, Agence VU & Gallery VU, France

Yasunori Hoki, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Super Labo Publishing, Japan

Yuko Yamaji, Curator, Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts, Japan

Yumi Goto, Curator, Editor, Publisher, Founder, Reminders Project, Japan

Yuting Duan, Festival Founder and Director, Lianzhou Foto, China

International Press Exposure
LensCulture award winners receive press coverage from publications and media outlets around the world. Winners, finalists and entrants have been featured in major publications like BBC, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Internazionale, VICE, The Times of London, Huffington Post, Spiegel Online, The British Journal of Photography, and The Telegraph. This kind of press exposure can lead to viral, global recognition of your work.
Opportunity for LensCulture Instagram Takeover
Our editorial team will pick some of the winners and finalists for a week-long, solo spotlight on LensCulture’s Instagram feed. This means your photographs will receive 7 days of exclusive exposure to our audience of over 600,000 followers from all over the world. An Instagram takeover is an excellent way to showcase your work and quickly grow your own following; previous takeovers have included Alec Soth, Bruce Gilden, Matt Stuart, Diana Markosian, Randy Olson, Gerd Ludwig, and many others.
Photographers: Gökhan Değirmenci (left) and Tania Franco Klein (right)
Photo © Laurence Rasti
Other Awards
& Benefits Include:
  • Permanent Exhibition in the LensCulture Online Gallery: The selected work will be featured in a permanent exhibition in LensCulture’s online gallery. It will be accessible to gallerists, photo editors, and curators from all over the world.
  • A Free LensCulture Portfolio Account to Showcase Your Work: Get a FREE LensCulture Portfolio Account when you submit a full series or 5 single images to the Portrait Awards! Our platform offers an easy-to-use, professional-looking display for your photographs.
  • LensCulture Network Membership: Winning photographers and the jurors’ picks will receive membership to the LensCulture Network. Network members benefit from entry into all of our annual competitions at no additional cost.
Get a Free
Submission Review
Enter the LensCulture Portrait Awards 2018 and get a free Submission Review of your work. This is an opportunity for you to receive critical and constructive feedback on your photography from top photo editors, curators, publishers, gallerists, educators, critics, consultants, and other industry professionals. These reviews not only help you have more success in future photo competitions but also provide major insight into moving forward creatively and professionally.
Read what LensCulture’s community of photographers is saying about Submission Reviews:

Thank you! This was really a terrific and thoughtful review. It’s tough once you hit a point in your work to get the type of critical review that pushes you forward, and I think you guys do as good a job as I’ve seen given the format and resources (i.e. not an in-person critique or formal portfolio review). In fact, your reviewers’ suggestions on a previous project helped me be named as PhotoLucida finalist in 2016 which led to a show at the Annenberg Space for Photography in LA.

— Mike Magers

This review helped me much more than I was expecting!! I was a bit lost selecting the photos for this portfolio, and now I have a better idea on what to do and how to proceed with this idea! Again, thank you!!!

— Andrea Schmidt

Wow! Thank you so much for the review on my submission. I wasn’t sure if submitting my work would be worth the price since I’m an amateur, but to receive the high quality feedback that I did is really a great surprise. It is the kind of honest review that is difficult to find, but it gave me both praise and critique and was very helpful. Thank you to your entire team for delivering a superior experience!

— Stephen Hoppe
Three Reasons to Join Our Global Photography Community!
With a global audience of 2.8 million, LensCulture is one of the largest communities of photographers and industry professionals in the world. Photographers from over 150 countries participate in our awards, receive written reviews of their work, and share their photography on our platform. We believe that all photographers deserve the opportunity for global exposure, an online portfolio, and personal feedback from an industry professional. We're the only organization that offers all of these benefits to our photographers—join us today!
Share your work for immediate exposure
Present your work with a free Portfolio Account
Get a free Submission Review from an Industry Professional
Show Us
Your Work
Become a part of our passionate community of photographers from around the world! When you share your work, you participate in a community with more than 2.8 million members worldwide. LensCulture is dedicated to offering you the best opportunities for exposure, engagement, recognition, and critical feedback. Don’t miss this opportunity—start your entry today!
There are no limitations on age, level, genre or location. For further information, please see our FAQ.
Photo © Candace Karch
Open to All Types of Photography
StudioCandidConceptualEnvironmentalStreetAlternative Process
Self-PortraitsGroups & CouplesStagedCompositesSelfies
6 Winners/8 Jurors‘ picks/25 Finalists
Are you currently an enrolled student?
Get a 30% discount on your entry fee. Start your submission and select the option to register as a student. Your discount will then be automatically applied to your entry.
Closed for new entries.
Career
Success
For over a dozen years, LensCulture has been committed to helping photographers of all levels move forward creatively and professionally. In that time, we have heard from hundreds of photographers who were able to achieve breakthroughs in their careers though participation in the LensCulture community. Here are 11 examples of LensCulture award-winners moving forward—
Photo © Carlotta Cardana
We respect artist’s rights
All photographers retain full copyrights for their own work. Period.
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.
Details can be found in the Competition rules
Closed for new entries.