Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Wildlife Photographer of the Year 63 · by Natural History Museum, London (opens in a new tab)
Opens in
Deadline
- Closes 03 DEC
- Fee from £35
- UW cat. 2 of 2
The Natural History Museum's long-running global wildlife photography competition, judged by an international jury. It has a dedicated Under Water category for marine and freshwater subjects, plus an Oceans category on the wider story of the sea.
Key dates
Entries open
Final deadline
- First-round results: Fri 22 Jan 2027
- Final judging decision: Fri 12 Mar 2027
Capture window: Images must have been taken within roughly the past five years; official pages word the cut-off date inconsistently (late 2021), so check the rules.
Entry fees
| Adult entry (up to 25 images across all categories) | £35 |
|---|
Free for: Entrants aged 18 to 26 on 3 December 2026; Residents of certain eligible countries (proof of residency required); The separate Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition (under 18s, up to 10 images) is free
Prizes
Grand title winner receives £10,000, a trophy and a certificate.
- cash
- exhibition
- publication
Which category to enter
This is a general contest. Underwater work belongs in these categories:
Under Water
OpenLife below the surface in marine or freshwater settings — either animal behaviour or animals and plants shown as part of their underwater habitat.
Restriction: Wild, non-captive subjects only; no baiting or luring with food, scent or sound.
Oceans - The Bigger Picture
ConservationImages about the ocean's wider role and the pressures on it; not limited to underwater shots, but a natural home for marine stories.
Who can enter
- Open to
- Open to all
- Entry limit
- 25 per person
Adult competition plus a free Young competition for under-18s.
Rules at a glance
- Editing
- Minimal adjustments onlyGlobal adjustments such as tone, contrast, dodging/burning, cropping, sharpening and noise reduction are fine if they don't misrepresent the scene; adding, moving or removing elements is not.
- Composites
- Not allowed
- AI-generated images
- Banned
- AI-assisted editing
- Limited tools only
- RAW files
- Required from finalists
- Captive subjects (aquaria)
- Not allowed
- Wildlife ethics
- All forms of baiting are banned except as part of legitimate scientific research, which must be stated in the caption.
Finalists must supply RAW files or untouched originals for authentication.
Your image rights
Read carefullyYou keep copyright. All entries may be reproduced for judging. Winning images are licensed to the museum and its charity, without extra payment, for exhibitions including touring shows, promotion, sponsors and the annual books, for five years (seven for print). You are credited.
- Licence
- Broad, non-exclusive
- Duration
- Limited (Licence on winning images runs five years from notification; print and publication rights run seven years.)
- Commercial use by organiser
- Yes
- Credit promised
- Yes
How "Read carefully" is decided
- Read carefully: the entrant grants an exclusive licence or transfers rights, or the organiser may use entries commercially (sell, license, use in paid products).
- Photographer-friendly: use is limited to promoting the contest, there is no commercial use by the organiser, and credit is promised.
- Standard: everything in between — typically a broad non-exclusive licence for marketing without commercial resale.
This is our plain-language summary, not legal advice. Read the official terms before entering: official rules & terms (opens in a new tab).
Research notes
Opening time was reported as both 10:30 and 11:30 GMT in search extracts, so only the opening date is given. Official pages could not be opened directly during research; facts come from search-engine extracts of nhm.ac.uk pages and should be spot-checked. Jury not yet found for this round.
Provenance
Verified · 4 sources
- WPY - enter the competition (opens in a new tab) · accessed 2026-10-15
- WPY rules (opens in a new tab) · accessed 2026-10-15
- WPY awards and prizes (opens in a new tab) · accessed 2026-10-15
- WPY categories (opens in a new tab) · accessed 2026-10-15
All editions
- Wildlife Photographer of the Year 63closes Thu 3 Dec 2026Opens soon
- Wildlife Photographer of the Year 62closed Thu 4 Dec 2025Results out7 judges Results (opens in a new tab)