Seeking the New Photographic Portrait
LensCulture Portrait Awards 2016 is our 3rd annual competition to discover the very best contemporary portrait photography from all cultures around the world. We believe portraits are the most fundamental type of photograph — helping people to understand and celebrate human connections on a universal level. We encourage anyone, from anywhere, with a new perspective on the modern-day portrait to enter. 6 Winners, 8 Jurors' Picks and 25 Finalists will be chosen.
LensCulture is dedicated to helping all photographers move forward professionally. Through this competition, we will provide photographers from all over the world with opportunities for immediate exposure and meaningful feedback from a renowned group of industry professionals.
Portrait Awards
International
Jury 2016
Alessia Glaviano is the senior photo editor for Vogue Italia and L’Uomo Vogue. She curated a series of interviews with the masters of photography for the website version of Vogue Italia, which have acquired enormous popularity in the photography community and which are also broadcast on the Italian Sky Arte channel. Glaviano is also responsible for Photo Vogue, an innovative platform on which users can share their own photographs knowing they can rely on the curatorial supervision of professional photo editors.
Under Alessia Glaviano’s direction, Photo Vogue has reached over 120,000 users/photographers hailing from all over the world and launched a collaboration with the prestigious international agency Art & Commerce, which represents some of the most esteemed names in fashion photography, including Steven Meisel, Sølve Sundsbø, Paolo Roversi and Patrick Demarchelier. At Condé Nast, Alessia is responsible for the artistic direction of events and exhibitions for Vogue Italia and L’Uomo Vogue. Besides her editorial activity, Alessia teaches the IED’s Master courses in Milan and holds lectures and conferences on a regular basis. Some of the institutes and universities she was invited as guest lecturer include: IED, Bocconi University and the Milan Polytechnic.
Alessia Glaviano was invited to participate as a jury member in numerous internationally acclaimed photography contests including the World Press Photo and has participated in several portfolio review sessions, including the New York Times Portfolio Reviews.
Emma Bowkett is Director of Photography at the Financial Times FT Weekend Magazine. Joining in 2009, she was integral to the small creative team who reworked the visual language of the magazine ready for the 2010 re-launch.
Furthermore, she is a visiting university lecturer, and regularly participates at international portfolio reviews, festivals, art fairs and awards, including Unseen, Foam Paul Huf, and the Kraszner-Krausz Foundation Book Award. Emma has been a Master at both Foam and Fabrica Masterclasses and is part of Magnum Photos Professional Practice, which supports young and emerging photographers. In 2015, she co-curated a Financial Times special supplement and day of events as part of Photo London. She recently won the inaugural Firecracker Contributors Award, which recognises women who have had a substantial impact on the photography industry and is voted for by professional photographers.
The magazine won Supplement of the Year 2014 in the UK Press Awards.
Emma has a Masters degree in Image and Communication from Goldsmiths University in London.
Iatã Cannabrava was born in Brazil in 1962. He has worked as a photographer for decades, developing a series of social and documentary projects over his career. He worked at newspapers like Folha de São Paulo, Jornal da Tarde and magazines like Veja (among others). He also worked with numerous Brazilian publishers and was a photographer at the São Paulo Cultural Center. His work has been included in over 40 exhibitions and he was named the winner of the prestigious P/B photography award at the São Paulo photography quadrennial. He has published 10 books and his works are held in numerous galleries and private collections.
Besides his own work, Cannabrava has been active in the photographic community at large. He served as the President of São Paulo's photographer's union. He has organized over 30 exhibitions and personally overseen over 15 workshops. In addition, he created and directed the Photography Clinic, the site of over 80 workshops.
Born 1971 in Jerusalem, Israel, Elinor Carucci graduated in 1995 from Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design with a degree in photography, and moved to New York that same year. Her work has been included in many solo and group exhibitions worldwide. Solo shows include Edwynn Houk gallery, Fifty One Fine Art Gallery, James Hyman and Gagosian Gallery, London among others. Group shows include The Museum of Modern Art New York, MoCP Chicago and The Photographers' Gallery, London.
Her photographs are included in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art New York, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Houston Museum of Fine Art, among others. Her work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Details, New York Magazine, W, Aperture, ARTnews and many more publications.
She was awarded the ICP Infinity Award in 2001, The Guggenheim Fellowship in 2002 and NYFA in 2010. Carucci has published three monographs to date, Closer, Chronicle Books 2002 and Diary of a dancer, SteidlMack 2005 and MOTHER, Prestel 2013.
Carucci currently teaches at the graduate program of photography at School of Visual Arts and is represented by Edwynn Houk Gallery.
Her recent solo exhibition, The Effect of Motherhood, showing images from both personal work and editorial stories, was the launching show at the new Condé Nast gallery in New York.
Open to All Types of Portrait Photography
From Around the World
Second Row, left to right: © Diambra Mariani, © Fabienne Cresens, © El Rono, © Dianne Yudelson, © Candace Karch, © Giancarlo Rado
Third Row, left to right: © Giulio Festa, © Ashley Cunningham, © Iulia Popa, © David Pace, © Rita Koehle, © Colleen Fitzgerald, © Caitlin Sas
Winner, LensCulture Portrait Awards 2015
Career Launching Awards
— JURY SELECTED — | — LENSCULTURE — | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
winners | jurors' pick | finalists |
editors' picks* |
every entrant |
|
$22,000 in Cash Awards | |||||
Photo London Exhibition | |||||
International Festival Projections | |||||
‘Portrait Award 2016' Printed Annual | |||||
Live, Online Review with Expert | |||||
Featured Article on LensCulture.com | |||||
International Press Exposure | |||||
Visibility with LensCulture Insiders | |||||
Immediate Exposure in Competition Gallery | |||||
Invitation-Only LensCulture Portfolio Account | |||||
Submission Review by Photo Industry Expert** |
*Editors' Picks: During the competition, LensCulture's editors will curate hundreds of entries for immediate exposure to our global audience through the competition gallery and our Facebook page. Also, the highest-rated entries will gain visibility with LensCulture Insiders and receive an invitation-only LensCulture Portfolio account, which serve as a great platform to reach our huge global audience.
**Submission Review: Available for all Series entries, and Single Image entries with 5-or-more photos.
Awards & Benefits
Cash Awards
Series Award:
1st Place: $5000
2nd Place: $2000
3rd Place: $1000
Single Image Award:
1st Place: $3500
2nd Place: $1500
3rd Place: $1000
Jurors' Picks:
Each juror will select one photographer to receive a $1,000 Juror's Pick Award.
Exhibition at Photo London
All Winners and Jurors' Picks work will be exhibited at Photo London 2016 — a major international photography event for collectors and the general public that will take place at Somerset House, in London, from May 19-22, 2016. This is world-class exposure at its best!
Right: The LensCulture Exposure Awards Exhibition during Photo London in May 2015.
Projections at International
Photo Festivals
Visibility with LensCulture Insiders
Work from hundreds of the top-rated photographers from this competition will be shared with LensCulture Insiders, our network of influential names in the photography industry. We have significantly expanded our Insiders' network to hundreds of photo editors, curators, gallerists, and publishers. We believe this kind of exposure is critical for both emerging and established photographers to gain valuable jobs, opportunities, and global exposure in print and online media.
Aaron Schuman, Director/Editor, SeeSaw Magazine, UK
Ada Takahashi, Director, Robert Koch Gallery, USA
Afton Almaraz, Senior Picture Editor, Getty Images, USA
Aida Muluneh, Founder and General Manager, Desta for Africa Creative Consulting PLC, Ethiopia
Alan Taylor, Senior Editor, The Atlantic, USA
Alessandra Capodacqua, Instructor, Photographer and Independent Curator, NYU, Italy
Alessia Glaviano, Senior Photo Editor, Vogue Italia and L'Uomo Vogue, Italy
Alex Webb, Photographer, Magnum
Alexa Becker, Acquisitions Editor, Kehrer Verlag Publishers, Germany
Alona Pardo, Curator, Barbican Art Gallery, UK
Amy Feitelberg, Photo Art Director, Square, USA
Amy Pereira, Photography Director, Curator and Consultant, USA
Amy Wolff, Photo Director, Hearst Digital Media, USA
Andy Greenacre, Director of Photography, Telegraph Magazine, UK
Ángel Luis González Fernández, Founder and CEO, PhotoIreland Foundation, Ireland
Anna Dickson, Visual Lead, Image Search, Google, USA
Anna Goldwater Alexander, Director of Photography, WIRED, USA
Anna Gripp, Editor-in-Chief, Photonews, Germany
Anna Walker Skillman, Owner/Director, Jackson Fine Arts, USA
Anne Bourgeois-Vignon, Executive Creative Director, Culture Trip, UK
Anne Farrar, Director of Photography, National Geographic Traveler, USA
Anne McNeill, Director, Impressions Gallery, UK
Anne Morin, Director, diChroma Photography, Spain
Anne Wilkes-Tucker, Curator, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA
Antony Dickson, Features Photo Editor, South China Morning Post, Hong Kong
Arianna Rinaldo, Artistic Director, Cortona On The Move, Spain
Ariel Shanberg, Executive Director, Delaware Valley Arts Alliance, USA
Azu Nwagbogu, Director, African Artists’ Foundation, Nigeria
Barbara Čeferin, Owner, Galerija Fotografija, Slovenia
Barbara Tannenbaum, Curator of Photography, The Cleveland Museum of Art, USA
Bernadette Tuazon, Director of Photography, CNN Digital, USA
Bevin Bering Dubrowski, Curator, Photography Specialist, BBD Photography, USA
Bisi Silva, Founder and Director, Centre for Contemporary Art, Nigeria
Bonnie Rubenstein, Artistic Director, CONTACT Photography Festival, Canada
Brett Roegiers, Photo Editor, CNN.com, USA
Brian Paul Clamp, Owner/Director, ClampArt Gallery, USA
Brian Storm, Founder & Executive Producer, MediaStorm, USA
Bronwen Latimer, Senior Photo Editor, The Washington Post, USA
Bruno Ceschel, Director, Self Publish, Be Happy, UK
Carlos Carvalho, Director, FestFoto de Porto Allegre, Brazil
Caroline Hunter, Picture Editor, Guardian Weekend Magazine, UK
Caroline Wall, Director, Robert Mann Gallery, USA
Catherine Edelman, Owner, Catherine Edelman Gallery, USA
Celia Davies, Curator, Arts Council England, UK
Celina Lunsford, Artistic Director & Chief Curator, Fotografie Forum Frankfurt, Germany
Charles Guice, Founder/Director, Charles Guice Contemporary, USA
Charlotte Cotton, Curator & Writer, USA
Charlotte van Lingen, Head of Presentation, Museum Het Valkhof, Netherlands
Chelsea Matiash, Senior Editor, Digiital Storytelling, The New York Times, USA
Chris Littlewood, Independent Curator, Christopher Littlewood, UK
Chris Pichler, Founder & Publisher, Nazraeli Press, USA
Christopher McCall, Director, Pier 24 Photography, USA
Christopher Rauschenberg, Founding Member, Blue Sky Photographers' Collective and Gallery, USA
Christy Havranek, Photo Director, Huffington Post, USA
Clare Grafik, Head of Exhibitions, The Photographer's Gallery, UK
Claude Bussac, Director, PHotoEspaña International Festival, Spain
Corey Keller, Curator, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, USA
Corinne Tapia, Director, Sous Les Etoiles Gallery, USA
Cristina De Middel, Artist, Juana de Aizpuru, UK
Daphné Anglès, Journalist, The New York Times Paris, France
Daphne Palmer, Director, Fraenkel Gallery
Darius Himes, International Head of Photographs, Christie's, USA
Darren Ching, Owner, Klompching Gallery, USA
David Alan Harvey, Photographer, Magnum Photos, USA
David Campbell, Director, Programs, World Press Photo, Netherlands
David Chickey, Publisher, Radius Books, USA
David Drake, Director, Ffotogallery, UK
David Hurn, Photographer, Magnum Photos, UK
Deborah Klochko, Director, Museum of Photographic Arts, USA
Debra Klomp, Ching Owner/Director, Klompching Gallery, USA
Denise Wolff, Senior Editor, Aperture, USA
Dewi Lewis, Owner, Dewi Lewis Publishing, UK
Dimitri Beck, Director of Photography, Polka Magazine, France
Dina Mitrani, Gallery Owner, Dina Mitrani Gallery, USA
Donna Cohen, Photo Director, Bloomberg LP, USA
Dr. Shahidul Alam, Director, Chobi Mela Festival of Photography, Bangladesh
Ed Carey, Director, Gallery 291, USA
Eder Chiodetto, Independent Photography Curator, Brazil
Elena Boille, Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Photo Editor, Internazionale, Italy
Elena Firsova, Managing Editor, Foto&Video Magazine Moscow Russian Federation
Elie Domit, Director, East Wing Gallery, Qatar
Elinor Carucci, Photographer, USA
Elisa Medde, Editor, FOAM Magazine, Netherlands
Elissa Curtis, Deputy Photo Director, The Wall Street Journal, USA
Elizabeth Avedon, Independent Curator, Photo Editor, USA
Els Barents, Photo Historian, Writer & Researcher, Els Barents, Netherlands
Emilia van Lynden, Art Consultant, Emilia Van Lynden Art Consultancy, Netherlands
Emma Bowkett, Director of Photography, FT Weekend Magazine, UK
Enrico Bossan, Project Head, Galerrie delle prigioni, Italy
Enrico Stefanelli, Founder, President and Artistic Director, Photolux Festival, Italy
Erik Vroons, Chief Editor, GUP Magazine, Netherlands
Evan Pricco, Editor-in-Chief and Web Editor, Juxtapoz Magazine, USA
Evgeny Berezner, Deputy General Director, ROSIZO State Museum & Exhibition Center, Russia
Felicia Anastasia, Founder & Creative Director, Anastasia Photo Gallery, USA
Fiona Rogers, Chief Operating Officer, Magnum Photos, UK
Fiona Shields, Head of Photography, The Guardian, UK
Francesca Morisini, Photo Editor at Condé Nast Italia
Francis Hodgson, Professor of Photography, University of Brighton, UK
Francoise Callier, Program Coordinator, Angkor Photo Festival, France
Fred Ritchin, Dean of the School, International Center of Photography, USA
Frits Gierstberg, Curator, Nederlands Fotomuseum, Netherlands
Gaia Tripoli, Photo Editor, The New York Times, UK
Gail Marowitz, Creative Director, The Visual Strategist, USA
Genevieve Fussell, Senior Photo Editor, The New Yorker, USA
Gilles Steinmann, Photo Editor, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Switzerland
Giulia Ticozzi, Photo Editor, La Repubblica, Italy
Greg Hobson, Curator of Photographs, National Media Museum, UK
Gunther Dietrich, Director, Photo Edition Gallery, Germany
Hamidah Glasgow, Executive Director/Curator, The Center for Fine Art Photography, USA
Hannah Watson, Director, TJ Boulting Gallery and Trolley Books, UK
Hideko Kataoka, Director of Photography, Newsweek, Japan
Ian Shive, CEO & Founder, Tandem Stills + Motion, USA
Iata Cannabrava, Photographer & Festival Organizer, Estudio Madalena, Brazil
Ihiro Hayami, Director, Tokyo Institute of Photography, Japan
Ishida Tetsuro, Curator, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Japan
Jacob Aue Sobol, Photographer, Magnum Photos, Denmark
James Estrin, Photographer/Lens Blog Editor, The New York Times, USA
Jean-Jacques Viau, Digital Marketing Manager, Leica Camera, Germany
Jeff Gates, Lead Producer, Smithsonian American Art Museum, USA
Jeff Moorfoot, Editor, BETA Developments in Photography, Australia
Jennifer Blessing, Senior Curator of Photography, Guggenheim, USA
Jennifer Murray, Executive Director, Filter Photo, USA
Jennifer Pastore, Executive Photography Director, WSJ Magazine, USA
Jenny Smets, Director of Photography, Vrij Nederland, Netherlands
Jessica Lim, Director, Angkor Photo Festival & Workshops, Cambodia
Jessie Wender, Photo Editor, The New York Times, USA
Joanna Milter, Director of Photography, THE NEW YORKER
Joanne Junga Yang, Director, Y&G Art, South Korea
Johan Sjöström, Curator of Exhibitions, Gothenburg Museum of Art, Sweden
John Duncan, Editor, Source Photographic Review, UK
Jolene Hanson, Director, The G2 Gallery, USA
Jon Jones, Head of Photography, Tortoise Media, UK
Jorge de la Torriente, Owner / Photographer, De La Gallery, USA
Juli Lowe, Director, Catherine Edelman Gallery, USA
Julien Jourdes, Co-Founder and COO, Blink.la, USA
Kacy Burdette, Photo Editor, Adweek, USA
Karen Davis, Director/Co-owner, Davis Orton Gallery,USA
Karen McQuaid, Curator, The Photographers’ Gallery, UK
Karol Hordziej, Artistic Director, Krakow Photomonth, Poland
Kathy Moran, Senior Editor, National Geographic Magazine, USA
Kathy Ryan, Director of Photography, The New York Times Magazine, USA
Kaycee Olsen, Art Consultant & Fine Art Appraiser, Kevin Barry Fine Art, USA
Kenneth Dickerman, Photo Editor, The Washington Post, USA
Kottie Gaydos, Curator & Editor in Chief, Detroit Center for Contemporary Photography, USA
Kristen Gresh, Curator of Photographs, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, USA
Lars Boering, Managing Director, World Press Photo, Netherlands
Laura Moya, Director, Photolucida, USA
Laura Pressley, Executive Director, CENTER, USA
Lauren Ford, Commissioning Director and Producer, Dazed Magazine, UK
Lekgetho Makola, Director, Market Photo Workshop, South Africa
Lesley Martin, Creative Director, Aperture Foundation, USA
Linda Benedict-Jones, Executive Director, Silver Eye Center for Photography, USA
Lisa J. Sutcliffe, Curator of Photography and Media Arts, Milwaukee Art Museum, USA
Louise Clements, Artistic Director, Derby QUAD Limited and FORMAT International Photography Festival, UK
Luc Rabaey, Owner, 44 Gallery, Belgium
Lucy Bell, Director, Lucy Bell Fine Art, UK
Lucy Conticello, Director of Photography, M Magazine, Le Monde, France
Maarten Schilt, Publisher & Gallerist, Schilt Publishing & Gallery, Netherlands
Magdalena Herrera, Director of Photography, GEO France, France
Manila Camarini, Photo Editor, D La Repubblica, Italy
Manuel Rivera-Ortiz, President & Founder, Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation for Documentary Photography & Film, USA
Marc Prüst, Artistic Director, Photography Consultant and Curator, Netherlands
Marcel Feil, Artistic Deputy Director, FOAM, Netherlands
Marcia Allert, Director of Photography, The Dallas Morning News, USA
Margaret Kelly, Director, Exhibition and Art Fairs, Pace/Macgill Gallery, USA
Margy Dudley, Owner, Open Shutter Gallery, USA
Marion Hislen, Déléguée à la photographie, Ministere de la Culture, France
Mark Murrmann, Photo Editor, Mother Jones, USA
Martin Parr, Photographer, Magnum Photos, UK
Mary Virginia Swanson, Photography Marketing Advisor, Educator, Author, USA
MaryAnn Camilleri, Founder, The Magenta Foundation, Canada
MaryAnne Golon, Director of Photography, The Washington Post, USA
Matthew Craig, Co-Founder and CEO, Blink, USA
Matthew Tucker, Broadcast Journalist/Picture Producer, BBC News Online, UK
Maya Byskov, Project Manager, Centrifuge, Germany
Mazie Harris, Assistant Curator, Getty Museum, USA
Meaghan Looram, Director of Photography, The New York Times, USA
Melissa Ryan, Deputy Director of Photography, Nature Conservancy Magazine, USA
Mia Diehl, Photography Director, Fortune Magazine, USA
Michael Dooney, Director, Jarvis Dooney Galerry, Germany
Michael Famighetti, Editor, Aperture Magazine, USA
Michael Foley, Owner, Foley Gallery, USA
Michael Hoppen, Owner, Michael Hoppen Gallery, UK
Michael Mack, Founder, MACK Books, UK
Michael Weir, Director/Founder, Belfast Photo Festival, UK
Michelle Dunn Marsh, Chief Strategist, Photographic Center Northwest, USA
Miyako Yoshinaga, Director, Mikayo Yoshinga Gallery, USA
Molly Roberts, Senior Photography Editor, National Geographic Magazine, USA
Monica Allende, Artistic Director, GetxoPhoto & Landskrona Foto Festival, UK
Moritz Neumüller, Academic Director of Photography, IED Madrid, Spain
Moshe Rosenzveig, Founder and Director, Head On Photo Festival, Australia
Muhammed Muheisen, Pulitzer Prize-winning Photojournalist, Netherlands
Mutsuko Ota, Editorial Director, IMA magazine, Japan
Nadav Kander, Award-Winning Photographer, UK
Nakamori Yasufumi, Assistant Curator, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, USA
Natalie Matutschovsky, Photography Art Director, Apple, USA
Natasha Egan, Executive Director, Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College, USA
Newsha Tavakolian, Photographer, Magnum Photos, Iran
Nicolas Jimenez, Director of Photography, Le Monde, France
Oliva Maria Rubio, Directora Artística de La Fábrica, PhotoEspaña
Olivier Laurent, Photography Editor, The Washington Post, USA
Patricia Lanza, Art Consultant & Creative Director, USA
Paul di Felice, Senior Lecturer in Visual Arts, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Paula Tognarelli, Executive Director, Griffin Museum of Photography, USA
Pavel Banka, Editor in Chief, Fotograf Magazine, Czech Republic
Paweł Szypulski, Curator, Krakow Month of Photography, Poland
Peggy Sue Amison, Artistic Director, East Wing Gallery, Qatar
Phillip Prodger, Senior Research Scholar, Yale Center For British Art, USA
Raffaela Lepanto, Photo Editor/University of the Arts London, UK
Rebecca Morse, Curator, Wallis Annenberg Photography Department, LACMA, USA
Regina Maria Anzenberger, Founder, Anzenberger Gallery, Austria
Régina Monfort, Photo Editor, FotoEvidence, USA
Richard A. Brooks, Deputy Photo Director, Asia Pacific, Agence France-Presse (AFP), Hong Kong
Richard Renaldi, Photographer, Richard Renaldi Photography, USA
Roger Archibald, Photo Editor, Society of Environmental Journalists, USA
Ron Haviv, Visual Journalist, Filmmaker, Co-Founder, The VII Foundation, USA
Roxanne Behr, Visuals Director, GQ Magazine, USA
Roy Kahmann, Founder & Owner, Kahmann Gallery | GUP Magazine, Netherlands
Rui Prata, Director, Museu da Imagem, Portugal
Ruth Offen, Director/Curator, WaterWorks Gallery, USA
Sacha Lecca, Deputy Photo Editor, Rolling Stone Magazine, USA
Sadie Quarrier, Senior Photo Editor, National Geographic Magazine, USA
Sam Barzilay, Creative Director, United Photo Industries and Photoville, USA
Sarah Leen, Director of Photography, National Geographic Magazine, USA
Sean Corcoran, Curator of Prints and Photographs, Museum of the City of New York, USA
Sean O’Hagan, Critic and Writer, The Guardian and The Observer, UK
Selva Barni, Founder & Editor, Fantom Editions, Italy
Serge Belet, Senior Exhibitions Manager, National Gallery of Canada, Canada
Shoair Mavlian, Director & Curator, PHOTOWORKS, UK
Silvia Mangialardi, Artistic Director, Encuentros Abiertos, Argentina
Simon Bainbridge, Editorial Director, British Journal of Photography, UK
Siobhán Bohnacker, Senior Photo Editor, The New Yorker, USA
Stacey Baker, Associate Photo Editor, The New York Times Magazine, USA
Stephen Mayes, Executive Director, Tim Hetherington Trust, USA
Stephen Perloff, Editor, The Photo Review, USA
Steven Evans, Executive Director, FotoFest International, USA
Sujong Song, Independent Photography Professional, South Korea
Susan Spiritus, Owner, Susan Spiritus Gallery, USA
Susan White, Photography Director, WeWork, USA
Susan Zadeh, Founder/Photography Director, Eyemazing Editions, Netherlands
Taj Forer, Cofounder, Fabl and Daylight Books, USA
Thomas Seelig, Director, Folkwang Museum, Switzerland
Todd Hido, Artist and Photographer, USA
Todd James, Senior Photo Editor, National Geographic Society, USA
Todd Tubutis, Director, Art Museum of West Virginia University, USA
Tomoka Aya, Owner/Director, The Third EyeGallery Aya, Tokyo, Japan
Ute Noll, Photo Director, Du Kulturmagazin, Germany
Volker Lensch, Photo Editor, Stern Magazine, Germany
Whitney Johnson, VP Visual Experiences, National Geographic, USA
Wim Melis, Curator, Noorderlicht Photography, Netherlands
Xavier Canonne, Director, Musée de la Photographie, Belgium
Xavier Soule, CEO, Agence VU & Gallery VU, France
Yasunori Hoki, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Super Labo Publishing, Japan
Yuko Yamaji, Curator, Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts, Japan
Yumi Goto, Curator, Editor, Publisher, Founder, Reminders Project, Japan
Yuting Duan, Festival Founder and Director, Lianzhou Foto, China
LensCulture Portrait Awards 2016 Annual
A museum-quality competition catalog featuring the winning photographers' work will be distributed to all the Winners, Finalists and Jurors' Picks. In addition, the catalog will be made available to our entire network of LensCulture Insiders and industry professionals which includes influential editors, curators, festival directors, publishers, gallery directors and more.
Immediate Increase in Exposure of Your Work During the Competition
Just by entering, your work will be reviewed by our editors for immediate exposure in our Competition Gallery and across all our online channels. On average, our featured entries receive a total of 4 to 6 million views on Facebook, bringing those selected photographers a massive boost of visibility to their work. While our editors review all entries on a daily basis, they can only share a limited number of them as featured entries.
Live, Online Review Session With Photo Industry Experts
All Winners, Jurors' Picks and Finalists will have the opportunity to participate in a live, online review of their work with photo industry experts using our new, online learning platform — LensCulture Sessions. Get valuable feedback and expert advice and connect with other winning photographers from around the world.
Massive Online Promotion
Work from the top winners and finalists will be shared across our huge, global audience including our web site, mailing list, mobile platforms, and multiple social media channels. We have found this to be a very effective strategy for getting photographers the exposure that leads to career-boosting opportunities — see our Success Stories.
International Press Exposure
Each year the Portrait Awards receive extensive press coverage from around the world. Winners, finalists and entrants have been featured in major publications including BBC, the Guardian, Huffington Post, Spiegel Online, the UK Telegraph, and many other national and international media outlets. This kind of press exposure can lead to viral, global recognition and appreciation of your work!
Ongoing Exposure with a LensCulture Portfolio Account
All Winners, Finalists (plus 150 top-rated photographers) will gain access to a free, invitation-only portfolio account on LensCulture! This is an invaluable platform to showcase your work to our 1.5 million global audience as well as to our network of LensCulture Insiders. LensCulture’s editors will also be able to discover your latest work and potentially feature it in articles, Editors’ Picks and social media.
Free Submission Review by Industry Expert
Enter a series or 5+ single images in LensCulture Portrait Awards 2016 and get a free submission review! We believe that every photographer who enters deserves thoughtful feedback on their work. We have recruited dozens of top photo editors, portfolio reviewers, curators, and other industry professionals to give you constructive feedback on your photography plus recommendations for improving your practice.
This continues to be one of the most meaningful services at LensCulture, and an important part of our competitions. We are delighted with the positive feedback from photographers:
Finalist,
LensCulture Portrait Awards 2015
Show us
Your Work!
Portrait photography resonates in cultures all over the world. Why? Because people are truly interested in other people: from celebrities, politicians and cultural icons to the gaze of everyday people. We encounter portraits, self-portraits and selfies all around us, in advertising, magazines and social media. It's a captivating artform that continues to evolve with the times. At LensCulture, we are interested in discovering the full potential of 21st century portraits — the best portrait photography being made today.
Enter Early!
Our photography competitions are different. We believe every photographer who participates deserves an opportunity for global recognition AND expert feedback. The sooner you enter, the more opportunities you have to share your work and engage with the global photo community. During the competition, you will receive a weekly email of helpful ideas and resources on how to move forward creatively and professionally with your work. Unlike most competitions, you can change your entry after you submit all the way up to the deadline. Get started today and don't miss this opportunity.
There are no limitations on age, level, genre or location. For further information, please see our FAQ.
Career Changing Exposure
We believe that competitions are one of the best ways to gain valuable international exposure and to connect with the photography industry. Hundreds of photographers have used LensCulture to move forward in their careers and gain inspiration from our like-minded community. Hear how the lives of these photographers were impacted by winning a LensCulture competition.
Success Stories
Meet the photographers that are moving forward in their careers and gaining inspiration from the LensCulture community every day. You could be next — and we want to help you get there.
www.photolondon.org
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www.editiononebooks.com
All photographers retain full copyrights for their own work. Period. Winners and Finalists grant LensCulture limited, restricted use of winning photos only to promote the photographers themselves and in connection with marketing LensCulture Awards competitions. LensCulture editors will select and feature hundreds (but not all) of submissions during the competition in our online gallery and social media albums (always with copyright credit noted for each participating photographer).
Details can be found in the Competition rules