Seeking the New Photographic Portrait
The fourth annual LensCulture Portrait Awards strive to discover the best and most interesting portrait photography from all over the world. We’re eager to see innovative new approaches as well as stunning traditional work — from quirky self-portraits to creative portrayals of family, friends, groups and ordinary people in diverse cultures around the planet. These Awards are open to all people and all interpretations of portraiture. Whether made in a studio with professional lighting, or on the run with a smartphone, portraits are clearly the most popular form of photography today. Have you taken a great portrait? If so, we want to see it!
Drawing from the best and brightest in the photographic community, our international jury is on the lookout for a fresh vision of the photographic portrait. Six Winners, eight Jurors’ Picks, 25 Finalists and five Student Spotlights will be selected for awards and benefits including international festival projections, exposure to our audience of over 2.5 million, and so much more.
PORTRAIT AWARDS INTERNATIONAL JURY 2017
White
Susan White has been the photography director of Vanity Fair magazine for more than 20 years. Throughout her tenure, she has worked with many of the industry’s leading photographers, covering a wide array of subject matter. During this time, Vanity Fair received numerous nominations and awards in the photography category from the American Society of Magazine Editors and the Society of Publication Designers. In 2005, Susan was named “Photo Editor of the Year” at the Lucie Awards.
Prodger
Phillip Prodger, Ph.D. (Cantab.) is Head of Photographs at the National Portrait Gallery, London, where he oversees acquisitions, research, loan and display of photographs from the 19th century to the present. Prodger has held several curatorial posts including at the Saint Louis Art Museum, the National Gallery of Canada, and the Peabody Essex Museum, where he was founding Curator of Photography. The curator of numerous exhibitions worldwide and the author and editor of fourteen books and catalogues, his writings on art and photography have been translated into nine languages. He is the curator, most recently, of “William Eggleston Portraits”, which made numerous ‘best of’ lists.
Pastore
Jennifer Pastore is the photography director of WSJ. The Wall Street Journal Magazine. Previously, she has worked as a photo editor for various magazines including Harper’s Bazaar, Teen Vogue, T: The New York Times Style Magazine and The New York Times Magazine. Jennifer teaches in the BFA photography program of The School of Visual Arts and her work has been recognized by American Photography, ASME, SPD, Graphis, PDN and the Society of Newspaper Design. Jennifer holds a BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Florida.
Johnson
Whitney C. Johnson is the Deputy Director of Photography at National Geographic. Before joining the Society in 2015, she was the Director of Photography at The New Yorker where she oversaw the photographic vision for the magazine in print, on the iPad, and at newyorker.com. Prior to that she worked at the Open Society Foundations. She has taught at Columbia University’s School of Journalism, New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and the International Center of Photography.
She is on the board of the W. Eugene Smith Fund, the Photojournalism Advisory Council for the Alexia Foundation, and the Advisory Committee for the Magnum Foundation’s Emergency Fund.
Hido
Todd Hido is a San Francisco Bay Area-based artist whose work has been featured in Artforum, The New York Times Magazine, Eyemazing, Wired, Elephant, FOAM, and Vanity Fair. His photographs are in the permanent collections of the Getty, the Whitney Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum, New York, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the de Young, the Smithsonian, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and Pier 24 Photography, as well as in many other public and private collections. He has over a dozen published books; his monograph titled Excerpts from Silver Meadows was released in 2013, along with an innovative b-sides box set designed to function as a companion piece to his award-winning monograph in 2014. Aperture published his mid-career survey in 2016.
Rogers
Fiona Rogers is the Global Business Development Manager at Magnum Photos International. Fiona is also the founder of Firecracker, a platform supporting female photographers. In 2012, Firecracker launched an annual grant, offered to photographers to complete a long-term documentary photography project. Fiona has a strong interest in emerging photographers and has participated in international platforms such as Recontres D’Arles, Format Festival and the Singapore International Photography Festival. She has participated as a judge for several notable competitions including the Mack First Book Award and the Getty Images Grant for Editorial Photography.
Fussell
Genevieve Fussell is a Senior Photo Editor at The New Yorker where she commissions and produces a range of photography for the magazine as well as contributing weekly to Photo Booth, The New Yorker’s daily photography blog. Before joining The New Yorker, she worked as the archivist for VII Photo, the international collective of photojournalists based in New York and Paris. She holds a degree in journalism from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo as well as having studied photography at California College of the Arts.
Casper
Jim Casper is the editor-in-chief of LensCulture, one of the leading online destinations to discover contemporary photography from around the world. As an active member in the contemporary photography world, Casper organizes annual international photography events, travels around the world to meet with photographers and review their portfolios, curates art exhibitions, writes about photography and culture, lectures, conducts workshops, serves as an international juror and nominator for key awards, and is an advisor to arts and education organizations. He serves on the board of directors at SPE, the Society for Photographic Education, the world’s largest association of photography educators.
It’s one thing to make the photographs, but to get those pictures in a forum to motivate change: that’s the most important thing. It’s not about me, it’s about getting my subjects’ voices heard...So to win an award from LensCulture—to be on this platform with millions of viewers—no one could ask for something better than that.
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.
Finalists
25 Finalists will be selected.
Student Spotlight
5 student photographers will be selected by our international jury to receive the Student Spotlight Award. We believe that the best form of learning comes through experience, so we’ve created an opportunity for students to access creative and professional development, as well as opportunities for international exposure, while still in school!
Showcase your work with a FREE Portfolio Account
Get a FREE LensCulture Portfolio Account when you submit five+ images or a series to the Portrait Awards! You’ll save money and countless hours updating your web site with our professional presentation of your profile and work. Our new photo viewer offers a stunning, full-screen display of your photos plus support for an unlimited number of projects. Join the world’s largest community of contemporary photographers with a global audience of over 2.5 million.
We know how important critical feedback is to fine-tuning your work, and we want you to feel as confident as possible every time you submit to a call for entry. Submit five or more images to the Portrait Awards 2017 and you qualify to receive a free Submission Review. Our expert written Submission Reviews include a personalized critique on how to make your submission stronger — what is working well and what can be improved — as well as recommendations for improving your practice and preparing your work for competitions, grants, juried exhibitions, and other calls for entries. We have over 100 trusted and qualified educators, photo editors, curators, publishers, gallerists, and other industry professionals who provide meaningful critiques and actionable feedback on your photography.
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We are focused on providing photographers with access to the best opportunities for exposure, recognition, and learning to help them move forward creatively and professionally. 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. Unlike most competitions, you can change your entry after you submit and all the way up to the deadline. So, get started today and don’t miss this opportunity.
Open to All Types of Portrait Photography
For over 10 years, LensCulture has been committed to helping photographers of all levels move forward creatively and professionally. In that time, we have heard from hundreds of photographers who were able to achieve a breatkthrough in their careers though participation in the LensCulture community. We continuously produce video interviews with these photographers to introduce you to individuals who have taken their work to the next level. Here are some of our favorites:
Renée C Byer
Sander Troelstra
Floriane de LasséeMore 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. Click the photographer photos to hear how their careers were impacted by winning awards.
- Roderick McNicolAustralia
Roderick McNicolA Portrait Revisited: 1986, 2006Juror’s Pick,
Portrait Awards 2016Having established some local recognition here in Australia for my quiet, somewhat obsessive portrait photography, I was keen to see if I could encourage a broader international profile for my work. So I decided to ‘fire an arrow into the dark’ and send in an entry to LensCulture. I am so glad I did! As an award winner, I was immediately given my own LensCulture profile page, and my series—A Portrait Revisited: 1986, 2006—was widely disseminated through the broad LensCulture network. Along with the other Portrait Award winners, my work was then exhibited by LensCulture at Photo London. I even took the long flight from Australia to see my work in person at the Somerset House. In the end, I was delighted with the response my work received—thousands of shares and likes from all around the world. My arrow into the dark really had hit its mark! Thank you LensCulture!
- Peter van der HeydenThe Netherlands
Peter van der HeydenBeholdJuror’s Pick,
Portrait Awards 2015Being awarded the Juror’s Pick Award was an enormous boost for my confidence. I received this Award shortly after my graduation at the Photo Academy. It really helped establish me as a serious photographer and gave me credibility.
- Pierre AbensurFrance
Pierre AbensurSubjective TrophiesFinalist,
Portrait Awards 2016After the awards were published and I was selected as a finalist in the LensCulture competition, I was contacted by many websites for interviews. Several of them (Slate, Huffington Post, Wired, and FotoRoom, to name a few) published my work online. I was also selected to be a member of a jury in one of your concurrent photography awards! All in all, I had the chance to present my work in several different countries around the world. My exhibition at Paris’ Museum of Hunting and Nature in 2015 had already brought me some visibility, but this opportunity gave the project a jump-start. There are also two exhibitions currently planned for hunting museums in Finland; they will start in February 2017.
- Polly BradenUnited Kingdom
Polly BradenGreat Interactions: Life with Learning Disabilities and AutismJuror’s Pick,
Portrait Awards 2016Since the LensCulture Portrait Awards, one of the photographs from my book Great Interactions: Life with Learning Disabilities and Autism, published by Dewi Lewis, won silver at the Royal Photographic Society. After the LensCulture competition, the Guardian weekend magazine ran an 11 page spread on the work and also included two dedicated photo galleries for the series. Additionally, David Campany and I published a book called Adventures in the Lea Valley; that series was also published by the Guardian. I am now working with the arts organization MultiStory on a book and exhibition called Fit to Plead. It’s about people with learning disabilities and autism, specifically their journeys through the criminal justice system.
- Irmina WalczakBrazil
Irmina WalczakMamaFinalist,
Portrait Awards 2016LensCulture Portrait Awards was very important for us. (I am working with my life partner Sávio Freire). First of all, it was like an injection of enthusiasm and self-confidence. We took advantage of this good vibe and played our first book project. We launched a crowdfunding campaign and to our surprise, it reached 135% of the target. At the end of the year the book was printed, with the art direction assigned by Edu Hirama & Mariana Simonetti and the foreword written by psychologist and photography critic Rodrigo Fernando Pereira. It is titled “Retratos pra Yayá”, Portraits for Yasmin in English, and is trilingual with Portuguese, Polish and English versions of texts. It will be launched this month and soon available for sale on our site.
- Kris SanfordUnited States
Kris SanfordThrough the Lens of DesireFinalist,
Exposure Awards 2015I’ve had quite a few accomplishments since Photo London last May! Here are the highlights: In June, I had a solo exhibition at Elizabeth Houston Gallery in New York, New York. In September I was invited to participate in GETXOPHOTO a photography festival in Spain featuring an international group of 20 photographers. I was also exhibited in Fort Collins, Colorado, received the Forward Award and was published in magazines and websites such as Black + White Photography Magazine, Slate and the Huffington Post.
- Joshua Rashaad McFaddenUnited States
Joshua Rashaad McFaddenAfter SelmaJuror's Pick,
Emerging Talent Awards 2015A lot has happened since becoming one of the Emerging Talents in 2015! I have won additional awards, including an International Photography Award (IPA Award) 1st place: Social Cause for "After SELMA". I also won the Society of Photographic Education Award and Scholarship (South East Region) for After SELMA. I have traveled all over the USA doing talks about After Selma. I have been accepted into the New York Times Portfolio Review 2016.
- Niki BoonNew Zealand
Niki BoonChildhood in the RawFinalist,
LensCulture Exposure Awards 2015Since being selected as finalist in the Exposure Awards this year, I have had requests from various international websites and publications to feature my work, which has allowed me to have some valuable exposure. This competition was the first I have ever placed in and it has given me the courage to enter more over the course of the year—which has allowed for further exposure of my current body of work. I want to thank LensCulture for providing a wonderful platform for this. It has certainly given me the exposure and confidence to take my pictures elsewhere.
- Steve ScalloneAustralia
Steve ScalloneUntitledFinalist,
Street Photography Awards 2015It has been an amazing year as I’ve won a few awards and presented a solo exhibition in Sydney, Australia called "Into the White". I also ended up winning the 2015 Australian Travel Photographer of the year (National Award) and the 2015 Victorian Professional Photographer and 2016 Victorian Travel Photographer of the year (State Awards). Love what LensCulture is doing...fantastic!!
- Denny RenshawUnited States
Denny RenshawStreet StoriesFinalist,
Street Photography Awards 2015Last October, I was shooting on the street in Tokyo when I received the email stating I was a finalist in the LensCulture Street Photography Awards. This good news was a substantial encouragement for me to continue towards my goals in street photography. Before being recognized by LensCulture I had not shown my street photography to anyone outside of a few close friends. Since winning, my work has received a lot of attention and I have made many new friends within the street photography community.
- Camille MichelFrance
Camille MichelThe Last MenWinner,
Emerging Talent Awards 2015After being published on LensCulture, my work received a lot of attention — the good news came one after the other! I received other awards such as "Sony Photo Magazine" award and the "30 Under 30 Women Photographer 2016." The project was published in magazines, books, as well as in newspapers such as La Croix (France), CityZine (China). The series was exhibited or projected in several places in France, England, Argentina, United States, Italy, Turkey, Brazil, and Russia. And my work will be exhibited at the Filature Scène Nationale de Mulhouse in France in 2017 for my first major personal exhibition! So, thank you to LensCulture, as the award enabled me to get introduced to many interesting people, to spread my work, and to pursue my projects.
- Thomas KieferUnited States
Thomas KieferEl Sueno Americano ProjectWinner,
Emerging Talent Awards 2015A high-profile photo agency saw my work and contacted me within a week of the announcement of the Emerging Talent awards. Since then, my project has been featured in magazines and publications in Europe, Asia and other markets that I never could have imagined. The project continues to grow in stature and visibility due directly to the Lens Culture recognition. I almost didn't enter the competition because of that familiar refrain of self-doubt. So thanks to LensCulture for what you do!
- Hans GindlesbergerUnited States
Hans GindlesbergerWeighing the Rain: PortraitsFinalist,
Portrait Awards 2014After the LensCulture Portrait Awards, my project was published in BLOW magazine as part of their "Monochromes" issue—I believe the editors found that work through LensCulture. In addition, a piece from a companion series just appeared at the Medium Festival of Photography in San Diego where it won the Director's Choice award. In all, LensCulture has been a terrific outlet for my own work along with being a go-to resource as an educator. Thanks for everything you do in helping to make so much great work visible and accessible.
- Daimon XanthopoulosThe Netherlands
Daimon XanthopoulosPortrait of West Africa’s Secret SocietiesFinalist,
Portrait Awards 2015Being finalist in the LensCulture Portrait award offered me great exposure online, created new clients and publications by international magazines. I would recommend it to every serious photographer to enhance their business and widen their network in the world of photography.
- Sandra PereznietoMexico
Sandra PereznietoBack to SilenceFinalist,
Street Photography Awards 2015Back to Silence was featured at the Slideshow Event for the exhibition “LIFE: Life A Journey Through Time" at the Annenberg Space for Photography in March 2016. This one-night special program highlighted the work of photographers who examine a variety of topics related to the overall theme of the exhibition. The project was also featured at Xataka Foto, where both Spanish photographers that were finalists of the Street Photography Award were published.
- Tony CorocherItaly
Tony CorocherBeauty in HellFinalist,
Portrait Awards 2014The award has given me incredible exposure, not only in my country, but internationally. LensCulture was one of the first and main awards that "Beauty In Hell" received, and it definitely helped to give credit to the project and to my work in general. Thanks to your exposure, I was invited to quite a few solo and group exhibitions in different countries and it helped increase the value of my prints and photobooks. Also I've been contacted by the Wall Street Journal who asked to do an article about "Beauty In Hell," and publish all 20 photos.
- Alan Thomas WilkieNorway
Alan Thomas WilkieThe War VeteranFinalist,
Portrait Awards 2014Doing what you love most is an important thing for me. But it is even better to know that your work is being recognized. After being named a finalist, I began to get that recognition. The award was a huge opportunity and gave me powerful motivation: it increased web traffic and led to more likes and followers on social media. I am still a humble amateur but I plan on working my photography genes as far as they can go and will be using the LensCulture community as a motivational source for future development.
- Franky VerdicktBelgium
Franky VerdicktThe South Street VillageSeries Winner,
Exposure Awards 2014LensCulture is great — it's become a reference for photography and through its awards, you can make yourself shown to the world. If you want to get inspired or to see good work or just to know what's going on, LensCulture is a very good place to be.
- Bela DokaHungary
Bela DokaFan Club PutinFinalist,
LensCulture Exposure Awards 2014Thanks my exposure on LensCulture, my series "FC Putin" got a 2nd life. Years after the series was first published, I saw a huge surge of renewed interest. Overnight, I was contacted by publications all around the world. Even now, I'm using the interest in the series to draw more attention to my latest work.
- Eugenio GrossoUnited Kingdom
Eugenio GrossoHeavily LoadedWinner,
Emerging Talent Awards 2014Since I won the LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards, my series "Heavily Loaded" won the Flash Forward Magenta Foundation 2015 and has been featured in its catalogue. The work has also been shortlisted for the BarTur Photobook Awards in 2015 and I had the chance to present it at The Photographers Gallery in London...To win the LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards gave me high visibility and now I can see the results. I am glad I applied for it and would definitely do it again.
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All photographers retain full copyrights for their own work. Period.
Winners, Jurors’ Picks 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.