Lens Culture International Exposure Awards discover, reward, and promote talented, new, emerging and established photographers and multimedia creators from around the world.

We’re looking for exciting work from every continent, and from diverse points of view: documentary, fine art, nature, photojournalism, activism, street photography, sports, fashion, poetic, personal, abstract and human.

A stellar international jury of photography experts will review and judge every entry submitted.

The winners for 2011 can be seen here:





Three Categories for Awards in 2012:

Portfolio Awards
Submit 5 to 15 photographic images that work well together as a group — thematically, aesthetically, as a story, or simply as a range of your photographic talent.

Portfolios from all genres and categories will be considered, including, but not limited to: documentary / photojournalism / fine art / conceptual / fashion / cinematic / fiction / storytelling / nature / portraits / alternative processes / iPhone / other.

Edit your selections carefully, since this category will be judged on the strength of the group of photographs as a whole, and not as individual photographs. Entry fee: $75.

Single Image Awards
Often, a single powerful photograph captures our attention as important, artistic, meaningful, and memorable. A great photo can stand on its own, demonstrating a remarkable level of visual perception, sensitivity, and creativity.

Photographs from all genres and categories will be considered, including, but not limited to: documentary / photojournalism / fine art / conceptual / fashion / cinematic / fiction / storytelling / nature / portraits / alternative processes / iPhone / other.

Entry fees: $35 to enter one single image, or $55 to enter 2 to 5 single images.

Multimedia Awards
Presentations that combine photography, video, graphics and sound are becoming prominent headline features in the world of social networking, activism, fine art, and online news. Photographers are taking more and more control over how their work is edited, produced and presented. And we want to discover who is creating the most engaging multimedia projects today.

Multimedia from all genres and categories will be considered, including, but not limited to: documentary / photojournalism / fine art / conceptual / cinematic / music / fiction / storytelling / nature / other.

Maximum length should be 8-10 minutes, but shorter is fine, too. If your full-length multimedia piece is longer than 10 minutes, please submit an edit, or a trailer or teaser of 10 minutes or shorter. You can also submit one still image plus a link to your multimedia on your own website. The link should be part of your artist's statement. Winners will be shown in their full original length. Entry fee: $75.

25 Honorable Mention Awards:
25 Honorable Mention photographs or multimedia (chosen by the judges from all categories) will win prominent placement of a single image on the Award Winner's Page in Lens Culture, including a link to your own personal or professional website. PLUS the possibility of participation in public exhibitions and screenings around the world.

Enter today!
Applicants must submit their entries online at: lensculture.slideroom.com. After you have uploaded your entries and information, you will be asked to pay your submission fee. Our online portal offers additional instruction for submitting work. For complete submission guidelines and rules, please see our FAQs and rules.


About Lens Culture
Lens Culture is one of the most popular and influential online magazines about contemporary photography today. On average, the site attracts 10,000+ unique visitors every day, from more than 50 countries (over 3 million visits each year). Our audience includes photography collectors, photo editors, book publishers, museum curators, art gallery owners, agents, critics, journalists, festival directors, and other passionate lovers of photography. Several artists whose photographs have gained attention as a result of their feature in Lens Culture have won book publishing contracts, solo and group art gallery shows, museum exhibitions, participation in international photography festivals, and commissions from around the world.


Previous Award Winners
Thank you to everyone who participated in the three previous years — Photographers from 48 countries submitted over 20,000 photographs and multimedia projects!

All previous International Exposure Award winners and Honorable Mentions (including links to each of the winners' websites) can be seen online here online: 2009, 2010, 2011. All 2011 winners are currently being featured in a traveling video presentation that is screening at festivals and arts institutions worldwide.