Climate Photo AwardT&C

1. Presentation and Spirit of the Contest

We live in an environment that changes faster than we can name it. We inhabit it, transform it, and, at the same time, depend completely on it.

The Climate Photo Award seeks photographs that portray this tense relationship: the human footprint on the land, resilience and adaptation in the face of change, the health of ecosystems, the protection of threatened areas and species, and the deep connections between people and the nature that sustains them. A faithful record of the planet we inhabit, alter, and are learning to look at anew.

2. Participants

People over 18 years of age of any nationality, whether professional or amateur photographers, may participate. Members of the jury and the direct organizing committee of the contest are excluded from participating.

3. Categories

  • 1. Climate Crisis: Visual record of the environmental crisis and the effects of climate change. Covers the causes, consequences, and effects of extreme weather phenomena, droughts, floods, natural disasters, deforestation, spontaneous and intentional wildfires, and environmental catastrophes on territories, infrastructure, and populations.
  • 2. Biodiversity: A testament to the richness and fragility of the natural world. Focused on wildlife, biodiversity, threatened ecosystems (oceans, forests, rivers, glaciers, wetlands, marine flora...), protected and at-risk areas, poaching, overfishing, and the protection of flora and fauna. Stories focused on conservation, regeneration, environmental restoration, and species reintroduction strategies are also valued.
  • 3. People & Land: Stories that place people and territories at the center of the global crisis, documenting and promoting the search for socio-environmental equity and justice, affected communities, defense of the territory and natural resources, indigenous peoples as protectors of the land, climate displacement, and environmental activism. It encompasses the impact of human and extractivist activity (megamining, agrochemicals, pollution, waste, and plastics), as well as stories about a sustainable social pact, energy transition, and local and global positive impact initiatives.

4. Modalities and Submission Limits

Participants may enter in one or both of the following modalities:

  • Single Photograph: Each participant may submit up to 3 single images per category.
  • Series / Photo Essay: Each participant may submit 1 series per category. These must consist of a cohesive set of between 6 and 12 photographs, telling a story or issue related to each category.

In each of the categories, participants can enter both in the single modality and in series, and it is valid to enter both modalities and all 3 categories.

5. Technical Requirements, Texts, and Authorship

  • Authorship and Originality: Photos must have been taken by the author, who assumes full responsibility for their originality, holding the organization harmless from any claims by third parties.
  • Date of Execution and Previous Awards: Photographs awarded in other contests are accepted; they do not need to be unpublished, nor do they have a strict limitation regarding the date of execution, provided they document a properly justified current topic.
  • Integrity and Allowed Editing: Submitted works must strictly respect the contest's Code of Ethics. Color and B&W works are accepted. Basic darkroom adjustments are allowed (exposure, contrast, white balance), but photomontages, digital manipulations that alter the veracity of the documented scene, and works created with AI will not be accepted.
  • Image Format and Quality: Photographs must be submitted in JPG format, high quality, at 300 dpi, with a minimum size of 5000 pixels on the long side, and a maximum of 20 MB per image. The organization reserves the right to request the RAW file or original digital file from the camera to verify authenticity if selected.
  • Texts and Captions: Each single photograph must include a caption (maximum 500 characters) detailing the exact location and context in which it was taken. In the series category, a general descriptive text of the essay (maximum 2500 characters) must also be attached to elaborate on the story, narrative, or central theme of the work.

6. Entry Fees

  • Single Photographs: 10 euros per photograph.
  • Series: 15 euros per series.

The organization may issue discount codes or evaluate requests for entry fee waivers with properly justified cause by writing to: climatephotoaward@gmail.com

7. Selection, Winners, and Exhibitions

  • Pre-selection: A first evaluation phase will take place, resulting in a shortlist of selected works. This selection will enable some of the works to potentially be part of the exhibition and publication circuit.
  • Finalists and Honorable Mentions: From the official shortlist, the 5 finalist projects per category and modality will be selected by the main jury, from which first, second, and third place and 2 honorable mentions per category and modality will be decided in order of merit.
  • Overall Winners: Among the 3 winning projects in each category, a single overall winner per modality (single and series) will be selected.
  • Prizes: The overall winner of the single modality will receive a prize of €500, while the overall winner of the series category will receive a prize of €1000. All winning and finalist works will participate in a global exhibition circuit, including presentations in Buenos Aires, Paris, New York, and other cities around the world, in cultural spaces, festivals, and key climate events. Digital publication of all finalist works in the official contest catalog and other specialized international media, along with their corresponding certificates as winners and finalists of the Climate Photo Award.

(Note: Selection for exhibition does not cover travel or in-person accommodation expenses for the authors.)

8. Jury

The jury will be composed of an international panel of excellence, made up of curators, editors, photographers, and leading environmental figures with distinguished careers, coordinated by members of the organization. Their decision will be final and unappealable.

9. Evaluation Criteria

  • Theme and Commitment: Relevance and significance of the proposal, providing a clear, unique, and committed viewpoint on the issue addressed. Submitted works must maintain a direct and deep relationship with the contest's conceptual pillars, valuing the capacity of the works to bring visibility to environmental situations and issues of significance, guaranteeing honesty in recording facts, and directly engaging the viewer.
  • Narrative and Visual Impact: Expressive power, narrative depth, and the ability of the image or essay to move, provoke reflection, and communicate will be valued. In series, special attention will be paid to visual coherence, narrative structure, and the strength of the central theme. Titles, captions, and descriptive texts should not be a mere literal description, but a fundamental complement that enriches context, deepens the story, and adds new layers of meaning to the work.
  • Technical and Formal Quality: Technical execution of submitted works, mastery of photographic language, management of light, balance, distribution of elements, and framing will be evaluated.
  • Aesthetic and Authorial Proposal: Comprehensive composition, expressive strength, editing, tones, color or black and white usage will be evaluated, highlighting the author's own voice, originality, and uniqueness of perspective.

10. Timeline and Submission Deadlines

  • Call for entries opens: November 15, 2026.
  • Call for entries closes: Submissions will be accepted until the end of the day on January 15, 2027 (GMT-3 reference time).

11. Copyright and Usage Rights

Authors will retain full intellectual property rights over their submitted photographs and texts at all times.

Submitting material to the contest implies full acceptance of these terms and conditions and grants the organizers express, non-exclusive authorization to use the images and texts strictly for cultural, contest promotion, and exhibition purposes across the show circuit (including graphic pieces, press, and digital media), without creating any entitlement to financial compensation or remuneration of any kind.