Wildlife Photographer of the Year 57
The competition
Whether you shoot in the wilderness or at the heart of an urban environment, Wildlife Photographer of the Year is open to everyone. Follow the links below to discover more about this prestigious competition and find out how to enter.
Rules
If you are planning to submit an image into an adult category of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, please read the following rules.
If you will be 17 years old or under on 8 December 2022, please read the rules for the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
The competition rules have been translated into 15 languages, read the translated rules here.
Read top tips for entering Wildlife Photographer of the Year from the competition team(PDF).
Please note that any entry to Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition will immediately be subject to these Rules. If entering, you the entrant (“you”) must read and abide by these Rules as they create a legally binding contract between you and the Natural History Museum Trading Company Limited.
1. ABOUT THE COMPETITION
(1) The Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition (“the Competition”) is owned by the Natural History Museum Trading Company Limited (“us” or “we”). We are a trading subsidiary of the body corporate called the Trustees of the Natural History Museum(“the Museum”). The Museum is an exempt charity under UK law. Profit made by us is gifted to the Museum and may be used to support its activities including without limitation further Competitions and scientific research. Any contact with us regarding the Adult Competition or the Young Competition (unless specified otherwise below) should be via the email address: wildlifephotographeroftheyear@nhm.ac.uk.
(2) The Competition comprises an Adult Competition open to photographers aged 18 and over, and a Young Competition open to photographers aged 17 and under.
(3) To promote the Competition, images given Awards by the Jury may be displayed in:
(i) an exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London (“the WPY Exhibition”);
(ii) subsequent versions of the WPY Exhibition operated by licensees in any country (“the Touring Exhibitions”) and
(iii) exhibitions operated by us or the Museum at any venue that feature selected images from Wildlife Photographer of the Year competitions (“Related Exhibitions”).
The WPY Exhibition, Touring Exhibitions and Related Exhibitions shall together be referred to as “the Exhibitions” in these Rules. Section 8 below sets out the specific license rights regarding the use of images given Awards.
(4) The Competition and the resulting exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London of winning or highly commended entries may be sponsored by such organisation as chosen by us in our sole discretion (“the Official Sponsor(s)”).
2. ENTRY TO THE COMPETITION
(1) Entries must be received by 11.30am GMT on the morning of Thursday 8 December 2022 (“the Closing Date”).
(2) The Adult Competition is open to anyone aged 18 or over on Thursday 8 December 2022 except:
(i) individuals (and their partners and family) involved in its organisation or judging; or
(ii) employees of either the Natural History Museum Trading Company Limited, the Trustees of the Natural History Museum or the Official Sponsor(s).
(3) By submitting an entry to the Adult Competition, you agree:
(i) to abide by the Rules and ensure that their entry complies with the Rules;
(ii) to maintain the highest standards in all matters relating to the Competition;
(iii) not to do or say anything that does or might damage our reputation or that of the Competition, the Exhibitions, the Museum, the Official Sponsor(s), a Touring Exhibition Licensee (defined in clause 8(5) or the other entrants; and
(iv) that you will be liable to us, the Museum and the Official Sponsor(s) in respect of any damages or losses incurred by those organisations as a result of a breach of the Rules by you.
(4) You are not permitted to submit images that:
(i) feature farm animals, family pets, and/or cultivated plants; or
(ii) breach any of the ethical obligations set out below.
(5) Any entry found not to comply with the Rules at any stage of the Adult Competition may be disqualified. No refunds or allowances will be made in the event of disqualification and any prizes will be forfeited. If a breach has occurred, but is discovered after an award, then we may withdraw the relevant entry from any of the Exhibitions and/or related activity and require the return or reimbursement of any prize already received. Any decision of ours relating to the Competition is final and binding. No negotiation will be considered and we will not enter into subsequent correspondence regarding such decisions.
(6) Whilst the information in these Rules is correct, we, in our sole discretion but acting reasonably, reserve the right without prior notice to:
(i) amend the Rules without refund;
(ii) change the prizes in accordance with section 6 (8);
(iii) decide whether any Competition award ceremony will be an event or carried out online only;
(iv) waive breaches of the Rules without refund; and/ or
(v) cancel the Competition and terminate the contracts and licences created by these Rules subject to the refund of entry fees.
3. THE ADULT COMPETITION – SUBMISSION
(1) Entry must be made via www.wildlifephotographeroftheyear.comno later than 11.30am GMT on Thursday 8 December 2022.
(2) A one-off non-refundable entry fee of £30.00 is required from each entrant up until 11.29am GMT on Thursday 1 December 2022. From 11.30am GMT on Thursday 1 December a one-off non-refundable entry fee of £35.00 is required from each entrant. To enable a wider range of applicants, applicants that live in any of the following countries will not have to pay the entry fees if they can provide evidence on request : Afghanistan, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia or Zimbabwe.
(3) The Adult Competition consists of the following categories:
(i) Animals in their Environment;
(ii) Animal Portraits;
(iii) Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles;
(iv) Behaviour: Birds;
(v) Behaviour: Invertebrates;
(vi) Behaviour: Mammals;
(vii) Plants and Fungi;
(viii) Under Water;
(ix) Urban Wildlife;
(x) Natural Artistry;
(xi) Oceans: The Bigger Picture;
(xii) Wetlands: The Bigger Picture;
(xiii) Photojournalism;
(xiv) Photojournalist Story Award;
(xv) Rising Star Award (ages 18 to 26); and
(xvi) Portfolio Award (ages 27 and over).
(4) You can submit a maximum of twenty five (25) images in total regardless of how many of the above categories you submit entries for. This includes:
(i) between six (6) and ten (10) images for the Photojournalist Story Award per story. You may submit up to two (2) stories only to this category. A maximum of six (6) images will be selected by the Jury per story.
(ii) between six (6) and ten (10) images to the Rising Star Award from which a maximum of six (6) images will be selected by the Jury. You may submit one (1) portfolio only to this category; and
(iii) between six (6) and ten (10) images to the Portfolio Award from which a maximum of six (6) images will be selected by the Jury. You may submit one (1) portfolio only to this category.
4. ETHICAL REQUIREMENTS
(1) Any breach of these Ethical Requirements below will constitute a breach of the Rules.
(2) Your images must report on the natural world in a way that is both creative and honest and ethical:
(i) entries must not deceive the viewer or attempt to disguise and/or misrepresent
the reality of nature;
(ii) caption information supplied must be complete, true and accurate; and
(iii) images must not portray captive, restrained, manipulated animals, animal models, taxidermy animals, and/or any other animal being exploited for profit. The only exception is when reporting on a specific issue regarding the treatment of animals by a third party, in which case you must make clear that the animal was captive, restrained, a model or a taxidermy animal.
(3) You must not do anything to injure or distress an animal or damage its habitat in an attempt to secure an image. This includes flying (or flying a drone) too low or noisily over an animal – an animal’s welfare must come first.
(4) You are responsible for ensuring full compliance with any applicable national or international legislation (including in relation to drones) and for securing any relevant permits (which, in the case of human portraits, will include the subject’s permission) and which must be made available to us if we request it.
(5) Live baiting is not permitted, neither is any means of baiting that may put an animal in danger or adversely affect its behaviour, either directly or through irresponsible habituation. Any other means of attraction, including bird seed or scent, must be declared in the caption for the Jury and us to review.
(6) If we suspect that an entry has been achieved through cruel or unethical practices, including the use of live or irresponsible bait or in any way in breach of these Rules, the entry will be disqualified and we reserve the right to report you to the applicable authorities.
5. IMAGE SPECIFICATIONS
(1) Submissions must be in digital format but the original entry does not need to have been taken on a digital camera. High-quality scans of transparencies or negatives are also acceptable.
(2) For all categories, digital files must be submitted as JPEGs, saved at a high-quality setting of at least 8 in Photoshop, Adobe RGB (1998), and at 1920 pixels along the longest dimension. No borders, watermarks or signatures should be included.
(3) If your image is shortlisted for the final round of judging you will be required to provide the following:
(i) RAW files (eg .ARW, .CR2/3, .NEF, .ORF, .PEF etc), or original untouched JPEGs (with a range of ‘before’ and ‘after’ original untouched JPEG files available on request); and original transparencies or negatives, will be required for authentication. DNG files are only permitted if this is the native RAW format of the camera.
(ii) High resolution files (preferably TIFF) required for printing should be 8-bit, Adobe RGB (1998) at full resolution, and match the colour and cropping of the JPEG submitted at entry. Please do not upscale. Files must not exceed 500MB.
(4) Any entry that cannot be authenticated or is not of an acceptable quality will be disqualified. We reserve the right to ask you to supply a range of ‘before’ and ‘after’ original files for any image that requires further authentication.
(5) Digital adjustments including tone and contrast, burning, dodging, cropping, sharpening, noise reduction, minor cleaning work (e.g. removal of sensor dust or scratches on transparencies/scans, removal of chromatic aberration), HDR, stitched panoramas, focus stacking are permitted providing that they comply with the Competition’s principles of authenticity – a true representation of nature – so that they do not deceive the viewer or misrepresent the reality of nature, or what was originally captured by the camera.
(6) The following digital adjustments – but not limited to these – are not allowed: adding, moving or removing objects, animals or parts of animals, plants, people etc; the removal of dirt, highlights, backscatter, bubbles, debris and similar; composites, painting the foreground / painting out the background.
(7) Caption information must be complete, true and accurate, and include a description setting out the behaviour observed; background story; exact location; if bait was used, and if so, of what nature (see section 4.5); and if the species is of scientific interest. Photographers are encouraged to keep captions concise – a maximum of 2,500 characters.
(8) You must not include your name in the caption or on the image itself. You must not include your name in the file data i.e. owner, copyright or creator fields. If you are not able to remove your name from these fields we will do this.
6. JUDGING, AWARDS AND PRIZES
(1) A panel of experts comprising a chair and judges (“the Jury”) will be appointed by us to select and award approximately one hundred (100) entries from the Adult and Young Competitions combined.
(2) The Jury will consider the images according to judging criteria comprising originality, narrative and ethical practice and will favour images that have not already been awarded in other international competitions i.e. winner, runner-up, commended, honourable mention etc. The individuals on the Jury will be set out on the Competition website here.
(3) During judging, and only with our express agreement, the Jury reserves the right to:
(i) move entries from one category to another where applicable and appropriate;
(ii) not award any entry within a category in the manner described in section 6(4) below; or
(iii) remove a category in its entirety.
(4) From those entries selected by the Jury from the Adult Competition, the following awards will be given (“Awards”):
(i) Category Highly Commended;
(ii) Category Winner; and
(iii) Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
(5)Only Category Winners will be considered by the Jury for Wildlife Photographer of the Year. The Jury reserves the right to also include for consideration one (1) image selected by them from the Category Winner of each of the following multiple image categories:
(i) Photojournalist Story Award;
(ii) Rising Star Award (ages 18 to 26); and
(iii) Portfolio Award (ages 27 and over).
(6) A further twenty-five (25) images from the Final Round of the Adult Competition and the Young Competition will be selected by us and made available to the public for three (3) months for an online vote. These entries will be specially promoted including via social media and through any of our print or commercial partners. The entry with the most votes will receive the People’s Choice Special Award, with the next four (4) most popular entries being Highly Commended. However, the winner of the People’s Choice Special Award will not be considered for Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
(7) If you are successful, you will be notified in strict confidence. It is a condition of entry, any Award and any prize that you do not disclose the details of any shortlisted or winning entries to any third party.
(8) The list of prizes is available on the website. They are non-transferable. We reserve the right, at our convenience, to substitute the whole or part of any listed prize with an alternative of equal monetary value or equal publicity value (but you shall not have any right to demand this). Please note that the prizes must be claimed within one year of the notification of success, or where it is a prize with a fixed occurrence date then up to one (1) month prior to that occurrence date, or in each case it will be forfeited (including any right to receive any substitute prize or publicity).
7. PUBLICITY
(1) You agree that, if your entry is selected by the Jury, you will participate in reasonable amounts of related publicity and agree to the use of your name and likeness for the purposes of advertising, promotion and publicity of the Competition and/or the WPY Exhibition and/or any Related Exhibition without additional compensation.
8. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS and LICENCE
(1) Any image you submit to the Competition must either be:
(i) your original work; or
(ii) submitted by you on behalf of the photographer, in which case you must inform us of the name of the photographer, and on request by us must provide written confirmation from the photographer that you are entitled to act on their behalf and that they fully accept and are bound by these Rules themselves.
(2) You must either be the sole owner of the copyright in the entry(s) submitted or have secured the written permission of the copyright owner or any joint owners of copyright to submit the entry(s) into the Competition. A copy of any such written permission must be supplied to us on confirmation to you that your image has been shortlisted for an Award.
(3) Ownership of the copyright in any entry submitted to the Competition will remain with the copyright owner(s).
(4) In consideration for the chance to win an Award for an image you submit to the Competition, you hereby grant to us and the Museum the right to reproduce, publicise and exhibit that images in any medium (including but not limited to physical copies, electronic copies and on social media) to enable it to be judged for an Award by the Jury or a public vote.
(5) Only with regards to any image you submit that wins an Award, in consideration for the Award and without need of further payment unless stated otherwise, you hereby grant us, the Museum, and if necessary organiations acting on either of our behalves, the right during the Licence Period to:
(i) reproduce and exhibit the image in any of the Exhibitions in print or digital format;
(ii) use the image in any medium (defined at clause 8(12)) to publicise and promote any of the Competitions or Exhibitions, without further payment unless stated in clause 8(5)(v) below;
(iii) sublicence the Official Sponsor(s) to use the image to promote and celebrate the Competition or WPY Exhibition and their relationship to them in any medium (defined at clause 8(12));
(iv) sublicence the Touring Exhibition venue or operator (a “Touring Exhibition Licensee”) to print or organise printing of your image for exhibition in their Touring Exhibition venue, exhibit your image in their Touring Exhibition in print or in digital format and use your image to publicise and promote their Touring Exhibition in any medium (defined at clause 8(12)); and/or
(v) print and publish your image and likeness in the annual Portfolio Book or the Highlights Book. Any decision to use such right shall be at the Museum’s discretion but if used then the Museum shall pay you the following fee: portfolio front cover £250.00; portfolio back cover £150.00; co editions front cover if not used already on UK edition £120.00; co editions back cover if not used already on UK edition £75.00; Highlights front cover £150.00; individual images £75.00 (may be used in both the Portfolio and Highlights for the one fee); Portfolio, Rising Star and Photojournalism stories £375.00 per collection.
(6) Other commercial opportunities may exist for you to benefit from the use of any entry selected by the Jury. Where such a commercial benefit is likely to arise, we will seek your permission in advance and provide you with an appropriate licence. Examples include:
(i) inclusion in merchandising associated with the Competition, or any of the Exhibitions, other than within the Portfolio Book and Highlights book; and
(ii) third-party merchandise licensing.
(7) The Licence Period shall:
(i) commence on the date you are notified of your Award and continue for a period five (5) years; and
(ii) after such period the Museum shall retain archive (electronic or otherwise) copies of the images but will seek your permission if we wish to use the images for any further purpose.
(8) We, the Museum and any organisations sublicensed under section 8(5) will, credit you, or (if different) the photographer, when using an image in accordance with these Rules. However, you agree, that we will not be liable to you, or (if different) the photographer, in the event of inadvertent omission of that credit.
(9) It is your responsibility to ensure that:
(i) any images you submit have been taken with the consent of:
a. anyone who is identifiable in that image; or
b. the consent of their parent/guardian if they are under 16, and
(ii) that those individuals have been advised:
a. that the image may be submitted to the Competition; and
b. that their photograph may be used in accordance with these Rules.
(10) You acknowledge that entry into the Competition does not grant any rights in relation to any names, logos or other intellectual property connected to or owned by us, the Museum or the Competition. You agree not to make any public statement using such names, logos or other intellectual property without our prior written consent.
(11) We will remind the public that copyright to the Exhibition images remains with the photographers and we will not directly encourage members of the public to post photos of Exhibition images on their personal social media accounts. However, you acknowledge that neither we nor the Museum, nor the Touring Exhibition Licensees are realistically able to prevent this from happening. You waive any right you may have (if any) to bring a claim against us, the Museum or the Touring Exhibition Licensees as a result of a failure to prevent members of the public taking or sharing photos of Exhibition images.
(12) The term “any medium” when used in clause 8(5) shall include but not be limited to any print, book, magazine, NHM’s stakeholders communication, digital media, applications or social media channels.
9. LIABILITY
(1) Proof of electronic submission is not proof of receipt by us.
(2) We cannot be held responsible for emails that do not arrive due to your email security settings or restrictions placed by your Internet Service Provider. You must ensure that your settings accept emails from wildlifephotographeroftheyear@nhm.ac.ukand msonlineservicesteam@microsoftonline.com.
(3) Non-awarded digital entries submitted into the Competition will not be stored or returned by us after the names of awarded photographers are announced.
(4) Except where expressly stated elsewhere in the Rules and to the fullest extent permitted by law, we will not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by you in relation to the Competition, the use of your entry in accordance with these Rules or the use of any prize. This exclusion shall include but not be limited to liability for any loss of or damage to any entry, liability for the misuse of images; and/or failure of any third party licensee to comply with the credit obligations in these Rules.
10. DATA PROTECTION
We will collect personal data about you (and your parent/guardian where applicable) at the time of registration, and as otherwise provided in order to administer the Competition, the Exhibitions and/or all associated activities. For more information about how we and the Museum process personal data please see our Privacy Notice here https://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/privacy-notice.html.
11. EVENTS BEYOND THE OWNER’S REASONABLE CONTROL
We shall not be in breach of these Rules nor liable for delay in performing, or failure to perform, any of its obligations under this Rules if such delay or failure result from events, circumstances or causes beyond its reasonable control. In such circumstances, we shall be entitled to a reasonable extension of the time for performing such obligations. If the period of delay or non-performance continues for 1 week, we may terminate the contract created by these Rules with you by giving you 14 days’ written notice.
12. ENTIRE AGREEMENT
These Rules and any other webpages or documents incorporated into them constitute the entire agreement between you and us and supersedes and extinguishes all previous agreements, promises, assurances, warranties, representations and understandings between them, whether written or oral, relating to its subject matter, including but not limited to any advertising or promotional materials. You agree that you shall have no remedies in respect of any statement, representation, assurance or warranty (whether made innocently or negligently) that is not set out in these Rules.
13. THIRD PARTY RIGHTS
Other than rights expressed as applying to us, the Museum, the Official Sponsor(s) or Touring Exhibition Licensees, the contract and licence created by the entrants submission in accordance with these Rules does not give rise to any third party rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any term of these Rules.
14. LAW AND JURISDICTION
The Rules shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English and Welsh courts.
Enter the competition
Are you ready to take part in Wildlife Photographer of the Year?
Awards and prizes
Find out what you could win when you enter your images into the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year is an internationally renowned competition that recognises, rewards and celebrates the work of talented photographers, from amateurs to professionals.
Enter the competition for a chance to:
- see your image premiered in a breathtaking exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London before it embarks on a global tour, reaching an audience of millions
- enjoy extensive international media coverage and public exposure of your image through the Wildlife Photographer of the Year online community
- attend the glittering Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards ceremony, hosted in the Natural History Museum’s iconic building in London
Watch the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 57 awards ceremony
Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards
For photographers aged 18 or over.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year
- £10,000, trophy and personalised certificate
Portfolio Award
- £2,500 and personalised certificate
- trip to London to attend the awards ceremony
Photojournalist Story Award
- £2,500 and personalised certificate
- trip to London to attend the awards ceremony
Rising Star Portfolio Award
- £1,500 and personalised certificate
- trip to London to attend the awards ceremony
Adult category winners
- £1,250 and personalised certificate
- trip to London to attend the awards ceremony
Adult category highly commended
- personalised certificate
- invitation to the awards ceremony in London
All prizes are subject to the disclaimer below.
Disclaimer:The list of prizes are non-transferable. We reserve the right, at our convenience, to substitute the whole or part of any listed prize with an alternative of equal monetary value or equal publicity value (but you shall not have any right to demand this). The trip to London will only apply in the event that there is a physical awards ceremony. The Natural History Museum reserves the right to cancel the Awards ceremony, or to change its format. Please note that the prizes must be claimed within one year of the notification of success, or where it is a prize with a fixed occurrence date then up to one (1) month prior to that occurrence date, or in each case it will be forfeited (including any right to receive any substitute prize or publicity).
