Rules and questions
The terms your entry to Street Photographers Foundation Awards 2026 is bound by, and the questions photographers ask before entering.
Questions before you enter
The essentials
- What rights do I keep?
- You keep full copyright of your work. By entering, you grant the organizer a non-exclusive licence to reproduce winning and shortlisted work to promote this competition and its future editions. No licence duration is stated, so the organizer may keep using selected work indefinitely — ask them before entering if this matters to you. You are always credited when your work is used. The foundation's public promise is that photographers retain full copyright, and that winners and jurors' picks grant it limited use to promote the photographers and market the awards. Its rules go slightly further: clause 6.1 grants a non-exclusive, royalty-free promotional licence over every submitted photograph, not only the selected ones. Both are true and both are published; the rules are the operative text. Every use carries a credit line.
- Can I get a refund?
- Entry fees are generally non-refundable. The foundation may consider a refund for a duplicate charge or a technical error at its discretion.
- How many times can I enter?
- You may enter up to 50 times.
- When will I hear back?
- The organizer has not published a results date. You can ask them from their organizer page.
- Who decides the winners?
- The organizer reviews eligible entries and confirms each award placement; Lenspost records the decision before results are published.
- Is my work public before results?
- Your work stays private until the winners are announced.
- What can I submit?
- This competition accepts single photographs and series of 4 to 10 photographs judged as one work. You may enter up to 50 times. Submissions must be original photographs taken by the entrant. JPG, JPEG, PNG, WEBP, TIF, TIFF, HEIC, HEIF, up to 10 MB per photograph. Entered and judged online. This competition page is public.
Street Photographers Foundation’s answers
- What kind of street photography do you accept?
- All of it. Mobile, analogue, conceptual, street portraits, urban, street fashion, road trips, street art, travel, architecture, abstract, graphic and large format. The foundation's own words: the tools you use are not important to us.
- Does it matter when the photograph was taken?
- No. Photographs are accepted regardless of their date, and there is no restriction on when the work was made.
- What is the difference between a single image and a series?
- A single image is judged on its own. A series is four to ten photographs judged together as one coherent body of work — thematically or aesthetically — and it uses one entry, not four to ten.
- I cannot afford the entry fee. Can I still enter?
- Write to support@streetphotographersfoundation.com with a short explanation and ask for a single-photo fee waiver. They are limited, discretionary and subject to verification, and are not available in the restricted jurisdictions listed in the rules.
- Can I win if I have won before?
- Yes, with different work. A photograph or series that has already won a cash prize in a previous foundation competition cannot win one again, but previous finalists are eligible and a photographer may win more than once.
- Where do winning photographs end up?
- Winning work is exhibited and published, and may be included in future travelling group exhibitions and screenings worldwide. The 2020 and 2021 awards became a show of 62 photographs by 43 photographers at Galerie Joseph Le Palais in Paris. You keep your copyright and you are credited every time.
The rules
These exact words are copied into your entry record when you pay, so the terms you agreed to stay readable to you even if this page is edited afterwards.
Who can enter
You must be 18 or over. The competition is open worldwide to professionals and amateurs alike, except from Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and the regions of Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk, where compliance requirements prevent us from accepting entries.
By entering you accept these rules in full.
What you can enter
Single images are judged individually. Series contain four to ten photographs and are judged as one coherent body of work, thematically or aesthetically.
Photographs are accepted regardless of when they were taken.
You must be the sole copyright owner and creator of what you submit. Stock images you have merely licensed are not eligible.
Your subjects
You confirm that each person depicted has granted permission to be portrayed, and that any permissions required for costumes, props or locations have been obtained.
Editing
Photojournalism and documentary images should follow the NPPA Code of Ethics and UNICEF guidelines: do not add, remove or rearrange people or objects. If an image is staged, say so in your statement or caption.
Files
JPEG, at least 1200 pixels on the longest side — 2000 is better — and no more than 10 MB per file. Keep filenames under 50 characters.
Copyright
You retain full ownership of the copyright in every photograph you submit.
Not every photograph will be publicly visible on the foundation's website; editors pre-select a subset for display. Editorial display has no effect on jury outcomes.
By entering, you grant the foundation a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to reproduce submitted photographs, with credit, to conduct and promote its competitions. Any photograph used will carry a credit line.
Winning photographs may be included in future travelling group exhibitions and screenings worldwide. Photographers retain copyright and are credited.
Prize eligibility
A photograph or series that has won a cash prize in a previous foundation competition is not eligible to win a cash prize again. Previous finalists are eligible. A photographer may win multiple cash awards, but the same photograph or series cannot.
Payment and refunds
Entry fees are generally non-refundable. The foundation may consider refunds for duplicate charges or technical errors at its discretion, and reserves the right to cancel or refund any transaction that breaches these rules or its compliance obligations.
Fee waivers
Photographers who genuinely cannot afford the entry fee may request a single-photo waiver by writing to support@streetphotographersfoundation.com with a short explanation. Waivers are limited, discretionary and subject to verification.
These are a plain-language summary of the foundation's competition rules. The full rules, including the operative legal wording, are published at https://streetphotographersfoundation.com/rules/ — and the exact text is recorded with your entry when you pay.
Licence
Promotion licence
Refunds
Entry fees are generally non-refundable. The foundation may consider a refund for a duplicate charge or a technical error at its discretion.