Photography competitions in New Zealand

Have you ever wondered how to find out about photography competitions in New Zealand? When are they on? How to enter?  I found it really difficult to work this out, hence this short blog to help us all.  Entering competitions is a way to challenge myself and to try to ensure my photos are telling a compelling story.  But remember always photography is a form of art keep an open mind and just have a go.

If you have read all this before jump to open competitions

Last updated 24/09/2024

Apart from an amazing win for my blogs very early on which got me a trip to Tahiti more recently here are a couple of photos that have done well in some competitions either short listed or into calendars such as D Photo magazine.

How do you decide which competitions to enter?

Should I enter? What photos are they looking for? Am I good enough? These are all questions we ask ourselves as we consider entering. My advice is that as long as you are happy with the terms and conditions then go for it!  I personally steer away from pure popularity vote competitions but if you have a huge following and are happy marketing yourself then just go for it. I don’t list popularity ones in this blog and I don’t list website based competitions like Gurushots either. The aim is to stick to photography competitions in New Zealand, and occasionally international ones. Generally also free or small fee to enter.

Some generic advice

• Read the Terms and Conditions – this might sound obvious but there are often little hooks that will catch you out like how to name a file for instance.
• Look carefully at the Copyright and photo use you might be giving away and make sure you are happy with it. A lot of competitions are used to gather marketing shots for companies, and you won’t be paid anything.
• Look back at past winners and look at the judge’s style, it might give you some clues as to what they are looking for.
• Have something a little bit special about the photo, a photo everyone might shoot has to have something different to make it stand out.
• If you use Lightroom or similar have a collection of photos or a tag on photo that you think might suit some of these competitions ahead of time, it’s hard work trawling back through photos.
• Often you have nothing to lose so just go for it!! Don’t be disheartened – photography, like any art is viewed differently by everyone. When I judge a competition, I find it really hard to make the final decision. 

If you have tips to add please include in the comments or message me and I am happy to add them in.

Photography Competitions

The following list is competitions that I have come across. Unless specified all can be entered for free.  Note I don’t generally include ones that cost to enter but if you google them there are heaps.  The list below provides most of the information you require, and the heading is a link. Please feel free to send me any feedback to improve this.  I have left the closed ones in the list as many rotate on an annual basis so if I am not up to date you should still be able to find it. 

Open (as at last update)

Auckland Camera centre – Closes 30/09/2024, 5 categories and you can only enter one image in each. Watch for naming conventions. Good photography prizes and judged by local photographers.

NZ Astrophotography competition – Closes 30/09/2024. 7 categories and you can enter up to 3 in each. Local judges and a great way to show off what NZ has to offer.

Closed (as at last update)

Sigma D-Photo Amateur Photography Competition, Closed 21/06/2020,   This competition has not run for many years so I think it has probably finished 

TrustPower Photographic Exhibition Closed 10/01/2020 Theme this year is ‘Home’. Competition is open to anyone but the exhibition is on in Tauranga. Good cash prizes and you can enter up to 10 images.

Sony World Photography Competition, Closed 07/01/2021 Four competitions professional, open, student and youth.  Photos must be taken in 2020. Any camera makes and can enter across a range of categories in each competition. High-value prizes

Canon Amateur Photography competition. Closed 02/02/20. Entries need to be within New Zealand and taken since July 2019. There are a range of categories and you can enter 3 per category. Winners get Canon gear. 

Nature Photographer of the Year (Nature TTL), Closed 15/02/2020 There is a small entry fee for this competition approx $15 for 5 images. There are four categories and no limit on the number of entries. Prizes are money or products and not huge but the competition has some impressive judges.

New Zealand Wilderness Photography Competition, Closed March 2024, three categories (huts and camping, out there and wildlife). This year the prizes are guided tramping expeditions.

Lexar Global Photo Contest. Closed 15/03/21. This was an entry of one type of photography, this competition it was nature.

Mackenzie Book and Art Festival Closed 30/07/2021.This is local competition without huge prizes but your photos will be displayed in a local town and be part of a calendar. There are some monetary prizes as well. Given I love the Mackenzie I have included it. Photographs must be taken since 1 January 2020 and you can only enter 2 photographs.

SonyAlpaha Aus-NZ often run competitions on their Instagram page – in 2022&2023 it was the 12 lens of Christmas but keep an eye on others that come up. This competition has a different theme and lens each day – very generous competition. Finishes with last theme on the 13th of December.

Landscape Photography World Awards  Closed 30 November 22.   This year is the inaugural competition and has a few local judges so even though there is a small entry fee I have included it. There are three categories and some great cash prizes along with a book made up of the top 50 entries. You get 4 entries for $25AUS fee, can enter more than once and there is an early bird price of $20AUS till the end of Sept.

Rubber Monkey  Rubber Monkey often has online competitions – latest one closes 17 September 23, they are looking for shoots with Adventure as the theme. Enter up to 4 shots and ensure you name them correctly.

Winterstella Celebration of Matariki. Closed 27/05/2024. This competition is for amateur astrophotography taken in the South Island (Te Waipounamu). Originally it was just Otago or Southland region. There are three categories and lots of info in the T&C. Most prizes are experiences. 

SonyAlpha awards, Closed 24/06/2024. This one is a little different as only for Sony cameras and lens but as a Sony shooter I am making an exception. Ten categories, plus youth, and you can enter up to 5 shots. Sony vouchers as prizes. (Laurie Winter won a category in 2020, 2021 and 2022)

New Zealand Amateur Photography Awards Closed 23/06/2024    This an inaugural competition in 2024 open only to amateurs which is defined in the T&Cs.  It does cost to enter $20 per entry but I have included it as it is run alongside the NZIPP Iris awards so some may be interested.

Tamron Photography, Closed 30/06/2024. This year it is shots taken in June 2024 – one week to go. The prize is a Tamron lens of the winners choice.
(In 2019 I was successful at getting two shots into the final 20)

New Zealand National Geographic Closed 17/07/2023, held annually with a good selection of categories you can enter between 15-21 photographs. Must be shot after 1 Jan 23. A great blog on telling you what to look for in a good photograph – does cost $25 to enter (just one fee) and you get a subscription for that.

Comedy Wildlife Photography competition Closed 31/07/2024. A new one to the blog but its free and very entertaining so I have added it in. The T&C are entertaining themselves but do read them carefully. A Safari is the grand prize. You can enter up to 6 photos but only 3 in any category but there is also a portfolio and video section.

More generic photography competitions spotted:

These are ones that are a bit more random but worth checking out from time to time

• D Photo Magazine that you can find out about through there facebook and website.  I made it into their calendar for 2018.
• The Metservice occasionally runs competitions and VicsClicks has a shot in the 2018 calendar
• Your local areas often have competitions – There is one I found in 2017 for the Auckland Botanical Gardens appears to be on again for 2018
• Canon runs a summertime’s competition through the newspapers which are worth checking out though it is largely popularity.
• Other sites around travel and or blogging they often have random competitions. In 2016 I was lucky enough to win one with Townske and got a trip to Tahiti writing blogs, you can check them out here or see an album of the pics here

Don’t forget to send me competitions you hear about and bookmark this page to check back occasionally.  Good Luck