Don't miss out! Be a part of portraiture history! Entries Close 8 May 2022.

If you haven't seen our 2021 International Portrait Photographer of the Year Awards book, check it out now (follow this link to the flipbook and you can view it on this site). Aren't the results simply AMAZING! And how incredible are the world's best portrait photographers - and we're not just showcasing the prize winners, we're showing a wonderful cross-section of the Top 101 portrait photographs.

Now imagine how those portrait photographers feel, seeing their photos published alongside the world's best.

And the International Portrait Photographer of the Year Awards book is a real book - printed on paper and bound between hard covers. Of course, the book is also presented as a PDF flipbook here on the website for far-reaching recognition. However the work is seen, being published is a mark of success!

This is our second International Portrait Photographer of the Year Award. Last year was very successful and we're gratefully encouraged to continue, following a similar philosophy to our popular International Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards (now in its ninth year). And because we want to create contemporary books, we're not interested in old chestnuts that have already won awards many years ago, we want to see what you're capturing and processing now. That's why your entries must have been captured after 1 January 2019 (so, within the 40 months or so, realising COVID has impacted all of us in some way).

The main aim of our Awards is to be one of the Top 101 Portrait Photographs of the year and be published in the Awards book. Will you be there?

There is US$10,000 in cash prizes shared between the overall winner and 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in each of the four categories, plus a printed copy of the book from Momento Pro for these 13 winners. The remaining Top 101 photographers also have the opportunity to purchase a printed copy of the book, or of course they can download an eBook version from the website.

So, what's the process? As an entrant, your job is to impress our judges - easy! And entry is also easy - just size your file to 4000-5000 pixels on the longest side, save it as a JPEG and upload it. The entry fee is US$25 per image and if you enter by 23 April 2022, every fifth entry is free. Final entries are accepted until 8 May 2022. 

When the competition closes, our judges will use calibrated computer monitors to judge each photograph one at a time, giving it a score out of 100. Judges can open the entry and view it pixel for pixel if required - and this is invariably done before they give their higher scores. Technique and craft are just as important as creativity for the top awards.

Once the first round of judging is completed, we have a score for each entry. We then take the top 10 scoring entries from each of the four categories and ask the judges to confirm their choice of 1st, 2nd and 3rd. This gives us 12 category winners.

To win the overall prize, our judges need to see more than one amazing photograph, they want to see a portfolio of portrait images that defines the International Portrait Photographer of the Year. A minimum of four entries is required (although we expect most entrants will enter at least five as the fifth entry is free if completed by 23 April 2022). 

For the book, we will take the top 10 entries from each category, and then a further 60-70 top scoring images, weighted for the number of entries in each category (categories with more entries will be more highly represented in the selection process). We then check to ensure the entries comply with the rules (e.g. not taken before 1 January 2019) and that there are not two or more photographs that are very similar (we are looking for variety). There is also a limit on the number of photographs a single entrant can have in the Top 101 - no more than two, just to share the experience around. In the past, we've found that selecting the top 105 to 110 allows us to end up with the top 101, taking into account these adjustments.

At this stage, we have everything we need and so it's into production. Our art director is given the photographs and she weaves her magic to produce the book. We aim to have all this ready so we can announce the winners on 15 June 2022.

So, that's the road map! We hope you enjoy getting your entries ready for our Awards and the best of luck!

Peter Eastway

International Portrait Photographer of the Year Awards

To enter, click on the 'Entrants Login' menu button at the top right of the page.