Professional Photo Contests

Photography has always been a dialogue between light and darkness. When light fades, shadows emerge, revealing hidden narratives, sculpting forms, and transforming ordinary scenes into evocative visual stories. With its latest international call for entries, AAP Magazine invites photographers from around the world to explore this timeless relationship in AAP Magazine #56: SHADOWS.

Hasselblad Foundation has announced that Zanele Muholi is the recipient of the 2026 Hasselblad Award, widely regarded as one of the most prestigious honors in international photography. The award includes a SEK 2,000,000 prize, a gold medal, and a Hasselblad camera, recognizing Muholi’s profound contribution to contemporary visual culture

Center for Photography at Woodstock (CPW) is pleased to announce that Sridhar Balasubramaniyam is the recipient of the 2026 Saltzman Prize for Emerging Photographer. Selected by a distinguished jury from a shortlist of ten international candidates, Balasubramaniyam is a Chennai-based visual artist whose work in photography and video explores the complex relationship between body and land.

A powerful new chapter in contemporary photography unfolds as Female in Focus x Nikon 2025 announces its winners, a global initiative led by British Journal of Photography in partnership with Nikon. Built on a shared commitment to supporting women and non-binary photographers, the program continues to spotlight perspectives that have historically been underrepresented across the industry while offering meaningful visibility on an international stage.

Women have shaped photography since its earliest days, using the camera to challenge perspectives, tell untold stories, and redefine visual culture. From documentary and fine art to fashion and portraiture, women photographers continue to influence how the world is seen. AAP Magazine 55 now invites photographers worldwide to submit work for a special edition dedicated to celebrating women through powerful visual storytelling

Street Macadam announces the results of the 2nd edition of the Street Macadam B&W Awards, an international competition dedicated to black-and-white street and documentary photography.Open to photographers from around the world, the awards invited both amateur and professional participants to explore this year’s theme, “Daily Life.” The selected images reflect the quiet intensity, tension, and poetry of everyday moments, captured across diverse cultural and social contexts.

UNESCO’s World Water Assessment Programme and Onewater have revealed the winners of the Global Walk of Water Photography Contest, a celebration of water, identity, and human connection. This year’s edition, themed “Identities”, attracted nearly 1,000 submissions from 114 countries, exploring how water shapes lives, traditions, professions, and communities around the world. The winning stories will serve as a visual prelude to UN World Water Day 2026, focusing on the crucial topic of Water and Gender.

Last week, Cuban-Lebanese American artist and educator Ania Moussawel was awarded the highly prestigious Photography Fellowship from the Oscar Cintas Foundation. The fellowship, which comes with a $25,000 stipend, will support Moussawel in realizing a proposed project that continues her exploration of memory, family, and the intimate textures of everyday life.

AAP Magazine is pleased to announce the 25 winning photographers of Issue #54: Nature, an international photography competition celebrating the beauty and diversity of the natural world. This edition brings together a vibrant selection of photographic projects from around the globe, each offering a unique and captivating view of nature in its many forms.