OD Photo Prize 2026 is open internationally to all artists working with photography. The selection process for the prize is based on a body of work, and is judged on the excellence, context and quality of the work submitted.

The organisers, Open Doors Gallery, will do a preliminary selection of entries. All submissions will be reviewed to ensure they adhere to the guidelines and terms & conditions of the prize.

Artists selected for exhibition will not incur any additional costs or hidden fees. There is a budget for the exhibition in November, which will be spread across all of the finalists. Open Doors Gallery is flexible and will liaise with each artist on a case by case basis. Due to the breadth and scope of this prize, the gallery acknowledges varying display strategies may be required. Artworks selected for exhibition will be viewable by the public and available for sale through Open Doors Gallery (unless otherwise stated and agreed by the entrant).

The Shortlisted artists will be announced in October 2026 (Dates TBC).

Entry Rules:

• £17 entry fee [Approx. €20 / $23]
• Artists submitting must be working within the first 10 years of starting their practise [Please state your career start date clearly at the end of your artist bio]
• Submissions must be in project form
• Consisting of between 6-15 images
• Images must be provided in JPG or TIFF format
• Submission process must be via the Picter platform

Entry fee and bursaries:

To continue offering meaningful awards, hosting physical exhibitions in London, and strengthening our growing global platform, we've made a small increase to the entry fee this year - now set at £17 / €20 / $23. This is the first change in over two years.

We remain committed to keeping the OD Photo Prize as accessible as possible for early-career artists, while continuing to provide a wide range of exciting opportunities for participants.

That said, we recognise that even a relatively low fee can still be a barrier for some. While our entry price remains significantly lower than many comparable prizes, we offer a limited number of bursaries for outstanding projects. If you'd like to be considered, please get in touch to register your interest.

Exhibition and production. There is no cost to exhibit in the OD Photo Prize. Production of shortlisted artists' prints for the group exhibition, along with the associated OD Print Sale print and production costs, is covered by the gallery. The gallery also provides a dedicated budget towards the presentations of the winning artist and the two runners-up. Artists are of course welcome to contribute to their own presentations should they wish to expand on what the gallery provides.

Submissions open 11 June - 11 August, 2026

2026 Judging Process:

All judging will be carried out individually online by each Juror through the Picter platform. Each member of this year's jury is encouraged to spend time on each submission, reading the accompanying texts and exploring the images. All eight Juror's take part in this judging process. Points are awarded to each submission from a 0-5 star rating. Juror's are looking for overall excellence including thoughtful, concise context and of course strong aesthetic qualities. This process can take some weeks to finalise the shortlisted artists.

The accumulation of points will determine the Grand Prize Winner, 2 x Runners-Up as well as the selection of Shortlisted Artists. The x8 Jurors Picks are selected by each Jury member based on their voting and further discussions with Open Doors Gallery.

Open Doors Gallery reserves the right to select which artworks are included in the OD Photo Prize exhibition and to not include some entries at its discretion. The decision of the Juror's panel and Open Doors Gallery is final and they are not obliged to enter into further discussions with unsuccessful applicants.

Through submitting your work to OD Photo Prize 2026, you give permission to Open Doors Gallery to highlight your entry online and on social media platforms. Only selected applications will be highlighted by Open Doors Gallery across social media platforms and the website. Please note that if your work is shared on any Open Doors Gallery platforms this does not mean that your work has or has not been selected for OD Photo Prize 2026 as successful applicants will be determined later (October 2026) after the works have been seen by the Jury.

Photographs and documentation of your entry may appear in Open Doors Gallery press and third-party documentation of OD Photo Prize 2026. All work remains the sole copyright of the entrant. By taking part in the open submission you agree for Picter to share your email with us, including promotional usage.

On authorship and the use of AI. The OD Photo Prize takes a deliberately broad view of the photographic medium and welcomes lens-based work that incorporates other forms, including collage, construction, archival and mixed-media approaches. What we ask is that the work originates from a genuine photographic or lens-based process and that the artistic vision behind it is your own. Where artificial intelligence or generative tools form part of your process, this should be declared in your submission and used as a considered, authored element of the work rather than as its sole means of creation. Fully machine-generated imagery without a lens-based foundation or clear authorial hand falls outside the scope of the prize.