About
Photography that explores how people shape, affect and respond to the world around them.
The Wex Photo Video Human Impact Awards, in partnership with Sony, are back for 2026.
This national photography competition invites photographers to submit a photo series exploring the theme of human impact. The brief is intentionally open. We want to see stories that examine people, place, identity, community, culture, conflict, care, technology, environment, resilience or everyday connection.
Human impact does not have to mean crisis. It can be quiet, local, personal, joyful, uncomfortable, urgent or reflective. It might be found in a changing landscape, a close-knit community, a protest, a subculture, a family, a workplace, a city street, a rural village, or a moment that says something meaningful about the way we live now.
What matters is that your series has a clear point of view and uses photography to help us understand something about people and the world we share.
Prizes
Submit a free-to-enter photo series of 5-10 images for the chance to win cash prizes and Sony gear. Open to all experience levels and devices. The winners will be invited to an awards ceremony attended by our judges, industry professionals and Sony officials.
Professional category prizes:
1st: £5,000
2nd: £3,000
3rd: £1,000
Student category prizes:
1st prize: Sony A7 IV + Sony FE 24-70mm f2.8 GM II
2nd prize: Sony A7C II + Sony FE 24-70mm f2.8 GM
3rd prize: Sony A6700 + Sony E 16-55mm f2.8 G
Our Student Awards are dedicated to the late Phil Smith, who was a much-loved member of the Wex Business Team. In honour of his life, his dedication to Wex, and his passion for the arts, our student award is named after him, with prizes going to the most exceptional submissions.
More details
Download the brief here.
Visit Wex Photo Video!
Who can enter?
The Human Impact Awards are open to UK residents aged 18 or over. There are two categories: the Professional Award and the Phil Smith Student Award.
Professional Award
Choose this category if you are not entering as a student.
This category is open to photographers of all levels, including professionals, freelancers, emerging photographers, independent practitioners and hobbyists. You do not need to earn your living from photography to enter; we’re looking for a strong photo series that responds clearly to the Human Impact Awards brief.
Phil Smith Student Award
Choose this category if you are currently enrolled on a recognised school, college or university course.
You do not need to be studying photography specifically. Entries are welcome from students across photography, film, art, journalism, media, design, humanities and other relevant courses. Student entrants will need to provide their course details, institution name, student or university email address and personal contact email.
Developed through long-term engagement, Shahrokhshahi’s projects often involve living alongside those he photographs, allowing for representations grounded in trust, proximity and collaboration. Through this process, he seeks a more humane and equitable mode of documentary, one that resists sensationalism and reveals quiet resilience within everyday experience, opening a window into complex situations.
For Shahrokhshahi, photography serves as both witness and catalyst, a means to reframe perceptions while fostering empathy and action. Several of his series have supported fundraising efforts for NGOs and vulnerable individuals, reflecting his belief that the documentary image can function not only as observation but also as collaboration and care.
Aria's Instagram
This work explores human impact through the lens of rave culture, looking at how young people create spaces of connection, identity and resilience in response to the world around them. These photographs focus on the communities that form within night-time environments - places where people gather not only to celebrate, but to belong, to breathe, and to momentarily escape the pressures of everyday life.
Rather than viewing nightlife as chaos or escapism, this series treats it as a powerful social space where human experience is amplified. Within sound, light and darkness, people find each other, build temporary communities, and express who they are without judgement. The images capture vulnerability, joy, unity and emotional release, revealing how shared moments can shape how we inhabit, respond to and cope with the world. This is human impact through togetherness: connection as survival, and collective joy as resilience.
Emily's Instagram
About Wex Photo Video
Wex Photo Video is the UK’s largest photography and video specialist retailer, supporting photographers, filmmakers and content creators with equipment, expertise and advice.
Alongside our retail work, we are committed to supporting the wider creative community through events, editorial projects, competitions and outreach initiatives. The Human Impact Awards are part of that commitment, giving photographers a platform to share meaningful visual stories and connect with a wider audience.
We also run #ChangeTheImage, an ongoing campaign created to challenge narrow representation within photography and filmmaking. Through interviews, films, editorial features and printed zines, the project highlights photographers and image-makers from a broad range of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives, encouraging a more inclusive and representative creative industry.
Through projects like the Human Impact Awards and #ChangeTheImage, Wex Photo Video aims to support not only the tools of image-making, but the people, stories and communities behind them.
Visit Wex Photo Video!