About

The STERN-Preis 2026 – Photo Story of the Year will be awarded to a photo series for a photojournalistic work published in a German-language journalistic medium (newspaper, magazine, website) in 2025.

The project should masterfully illustrate a major event of the year 2025, global and socially relevant topics, or a significant aspect of our social life. The photo series should demonstrate a high level of journalistic understanding and at the same time be visually convincing.

Single images will not be accepted, the published photo story from a magazine, weekly newspaper, daily newspaper or website must contain at least five images.

The award focuses on the journalistic, narrative, and the multifaceted presentation of relevant content. The STERN-Preis recognises the dedicated photographic and journalistic work of professional photographers who tell compelling stories through powerful imagery.

Although we welcome submissions from international photographers, the STERN-Preis only accepts entries that were published in a German-language journalistic media outlet (newspaper, magazine, website) during the year 2025.

Works submitted to the competition must not contain any watermarks, signatures, markings or other identifying features of the creator. Works containing such features will be rejected and excluded from the competition. The date, location and name of the photographer must be included in the metadata of the image files.

The creator of the image must own all rights to the submitted work and must not infringe any intellectual property rights and/or copyrights. All permissions or consents from the people depicted (and/or copyright holders) and any necessary release forms must be obtained at the time of submission.

The STERN-Preis accepts submitted works on a basis of trust. By submitting the work, the entrant automatically declares that he or she is the author of the work and that the submitted work does not infringe any intellectual property rights or copyrights.

How to enter

• The photo story must have been published in a German-language journalistic medium (newspaper, magazine, website) in 2025
• The published story must contain a minimum of five images, single images will not be accepted
• For long-term projects, the oldest images may not be taken more than two calendar years prior to submission
• All published photos must be entered into the competition
• In addition, unpublished images may be submitted up to a total of 20 photos per entry
• All images must be submitted in jpg. format at 300dpi with 3000 pixels on the long edge
• All photographs must include accurate captions and descriptions in German or English
• The images must be numbered consecutively and the file must bear the name of the photographer (example: 001_Mika_Mustermensch.jpg).
• For print submissions a PDF of the layout of the published story must be included
• For online submissions, a link must be included (valid until at least August 2026)
• For online stories published behind a paywall, a complete PDF must be included and free access to the online publication
• Each photographer may submit only one project.

By submitting a work, the entrant authorizes STERN-Preis to publish, share, or distribute the work(s) for promotional purposes in print, digital, social media, and television without time or geographic limitation. However, the work(s) will not be shared with any individual, organization or other third party.

The STERN-Preis reserves the right to reject any work submitted without the required information (name, address, curriculum vitae, description, etc.).

The jury of the STERN-Preis will carefully examine each submitted work. This process will take some time. Please do not contact us to ask if you have been selected. We will notify you in due course.

We thank you for your participation and wish you good luck.